With its glittering sea, towns that look like film sets and a rich history of A-list visitors, the Amalfi Coast has long been a draw for celebrities and tourists alike.

Whether its the pearl of Ravello, the clifftop Sorrento or Positano, which hugs a steep hillside, there are plenty of places visitors can go to soak up the sun and culture.

But now, new Netflix series Ripley is set to shower more attention on that picturesque part of the Italian coast – and for the locals who live there, that attention is likely to be unwelcome.

The series comes 25 years after the Amalfi Coast was stunningly presented in the 1999 film adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s novel, The Talented Mr Ripley. 

Amalfi has been a favourite of Hollywood royalty for decades. Greta Garbo, Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor and Gina Lollobrigida were all keen visitors. 

Princess Margaret also holidayed there with wealthy merchant banker Mario D’urso.  

However, in recent years, the stretch of coast has been deluged with selfie-hunting tourists who have upset locals.

In 2022, officials went as far as banning some tourists from the roads to try to tackle the problem of overcrowding.

And in Positano, the mayor imposed two ‘red zones’ in the resort’s most scenic areas in an attempt to stop tourists from lingering too long in a single spot.

Selfie-hunters who fell foul of the rule were fined up to €275.

Speaking to Scottish outlet The National, Rosalba Irace, an Italian local, complained last year: ‘Many visitors today don’t care about our history, culture or even our food, just about being seen here and taking a selfie.’ 

Giacomo Miola, manager of food travel firm Gastronomic Trekking, added: ‘It’s very serious. We’ve lost 65% of our biodiversity over the last 50 years. 

‘It’s not just the busy roads and villages like Positano, but we’re now getting more wildfires and landslides. I attribute that to young people being drawn from farming to tourism.’

Other tourists have been criticised after complainining about the coastline’s geography. 

Influencer Lexi Jordan moaned last year that visiting was ‘literal manual labour’ because she had to walk up many flights of stairs.

The Denver-based TikToker was blasted for being ‘tone deaf’ and ‘entitled’ after she shared a clip of herself lamenting about the tourist hotspot.

She said that the Amalfi Coast was not a ‘vacation’ and added that everyone who had recommended it to her deserved ‘jail time’.

When American author John Steinbeck visited the Amalfi Coast in 1953, he said it was one of the ‘most beautiful and dramatic coastlines in the world’.

Hollywood scion Gina Lollobrigida made several films in Ravello. 

The town’s heart, with its cobbled streets and secret lanes heading to little squares and secret gardens, is perfect for the screen.

Dotted around are plaques paying homage to famous visitors. 

In the main square, one displays photos of Humphrey Bogart, John Huston, Lollobrigida and Truman Capote working on the 1953 film Beat the Devil.

Greta Garbo and Leopold Stokowsky, who allegedly had an affair, also stayed in Ravello. 

D.H. Lawrence was another frequenter. He even worked on Lady Chatterley’s Lover while he was there.

Other literary visitors to Amalfi included Henry Longfellow, Graham Greene and Virginia Woolf. Some, such as Gore Vidal, had their own villa.

Composer Richard Wagner drew on the setting of Ravello for the magic garden of Klingsor in Parsifal.

Grace Kelly spent time at the Hotel Buca di Bacco in Positano, whilst Elizabeth Taylor visited with both husband Richard Burton and boyfriend Henry Wynberg. 

Jacqueline Kennedy enjoyed a visit to the Amalfi Coast in 1962, when she was the US First Lady.

She spent three weeks in Ravello and it was there that she met future lover Gianni Agnelli for the first time.  

Amalfi’s breathtaking coastline was sumptuously depicted in the 1999 version of The Talented Mr Ripley, which was the first on screen adaptation of Highsmith’s 1955 novel.

The characters portrayed by Matt Damon, Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow were seen enjoying the exclusive delights of the region, from the palatial villas to ill-fated boat trips.

The fact that Damon’s character Tom Ripley was an amoral psychopath did nothing to dampen the allure of the majestic backdrop.

In Netflix’s new version, which stars Andrew Scott as Ripley, the coastline is on display once again.