The Amalfi Curse

The unique history and beauty of the Amalfi Coast contribute to the allure and suspense of Penner’s novel, which depicts the region in two timelines, centuries apart. Amalfi comprises 34 miles of coastline and 13 seaside towns in the Campania region of southern Italy overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea. The region is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The novel centers on Positano, a small town on the Amalfi Coast with an estimated population of 3,678 in 2025. One of the two protagonists, Haven, is a nautical archaeologist who comes to Positano to research the shipwrecks in Li Galli. This archipelago of small islands in the Gulf of Salerno is part of the Punta Campanella Marine Reserve, which offers protection to the area’s delicate ecosystem and marine life. Li Galli is also called Le Sirenuse, or the Sirens, after the mythological beings who were said to live on the islets and tempt the epic hero Odysseus with their song. These legends likely developed as a way to explain the many ships that sank in Li Galli due to “strong winds and hidden currents” (“Li Galli Islands Guide: Myths, History & How to Visit.” Positano Tourism Board, 2025). Penner draws upon the region’s rich mythos by making siren ancestry the source of Mari DeLuca and the other sea witches’ powers.

The novel takes inspiration from Positano’s history but provides magical explanations for some of the shifts that have occurred in the town’s economy and population over the centuries. The town “enjoyed a period of prosperity as a major port and trading hub” during the 1700s but was “reduced to little more than a humble fishing village” in the 1800s (“The History of Positano.” Positano Tourism Board, 2025). The story attributes the town’s success to the secret yet vital work of Positano’s sea witches, and the town’s fortunes and population dwindle when the sea witches depart from the Amalfi coast in the 1820s.

As depicted in The Amalfi Curse, Positano is a popular travel destination today. The town’s fame has surged since the 1950s, receiving a significant boost from an essay by American author John Steinbeck published in Harper’s Bazaar in May 1953: “Positano bites deep. It is a dream place that isn’t quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone” (“Positano: Italy’s Idyllic Getaway Loved by John Steinbeck.” Newsweek, 26 May 2015). Today, travelers from around the world come to sightsee, shop, swim, snorkel, scuba dive, sunbathe, and soak up the mild Mediterranean climate. The town’s economy depends heavily on tourism, and Penner uses this fact to raise her story’s suspense by having Savina’s magic scare away travelers and imperil Enzo’s local business. Another detail that proves essential to the story’s structure is that Mount Vesuvius is only about 12 miles from Positano. As a result of this proximity, concerns about a possible volcanic eruption derail Haven’s leadership of Project Relic, an important development in the novel’s examination of women’s struggle for independence. The Amalfi Coast’s distinctive geographical features and history play a key role in the development of the novel’s archaeological thriller and historical fiction elements.