It was as I bobbed in the crystal-clear waters off Punta Scario beach on the island of Salina that I truly began to appreciate the magical and restorative powers of the Tyrrhenian Sea.
It had been a tough few months – I was juggling three jobs at the time and felt like I was being pulled in a million directions – but as I swam out towards the island of Vulcano, I felt all my worries drain away,” says Tuscany-based food writer Amber Guinness in her new book Italian Coastal, a love letter to the cuisines and curiosities of Italy’s west coast. “Yes, I was on holiday, so of course my mood was bound to lift, but as I floated there, I realised that so many of my favourite spots in Italy have something in common: they are all scattered across this particular body of water,” she adds.
Guinness was born in London but raised at Arniano and has worked as a cook in both London and Italy. As she sees it, all major destinations of the Tyrrhenian retain their own distinct style of cooking. “Campania, the tomato-growing
