A terrace on the Gulf of Naples Sorrento 1 by amalficoasting.org Just across the Bay from Naples lies the Sorrentine Peninsula. Looking out over the Bay of Naples, Mount Vesuvius, and the Isle of Capri, Sorrento has a great setting and much to offer its visitors beside its famous lemons and limoncello liquor. A popular resort town for the Romans since the beginning of the empire, Sorrento is known for its gardens, its Cathedral, or Duomo, and in general the old section of town, a wonderful place to get lost in its narrow streets and alleyways with colorful shops and quaint trattorias. The main cultural institution of the town is the Museo Correale (#1 on the map), housed in a building that belonged to the noble family of the Correales, who donated it along with their collections (via Correale, 48; tel. 081/878.18.46; opening hours: from Wednesday to Monday, 9.30 A.M. - 1.30 P.M.; closed on Tuesday and national holidays). It is one of the most imposing palazzi of Sorrento, with a splendid depressed arch portal, which enhance a façade elegantly enriched with ornamental double lancet windows with pointed arches in dark tuff and a gorgeous large ogival window. On the ground floor furniture and local crafts, archaeological finds of Greek, Roman and medieval origin mostly taken from religious buildings in Sorrento (two 4th century B.C. fragments of Artemis on a deer; a celebrated base of Augustus (second and 3rd century A.C.), Attic pottery found during the excavation of local necropolis and various other ancient objects, including some of prehistoric times. On the first floor there is a collection of paintings and decorative art from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, with paintings by Neapolitan and Flemish artists (including a splendid interior of the Cathedral by Abel Grimmer); finely decorated furniture, and a collection of Bohemian crystal and Venetian glass. On
the second floor are paintings by the Neapolitan artists from the 18th and the 19th centuries, including still lives and landscapes of Sorrento, Naples, Pompeii and Herculaneum. In the attic is a collection of ceramics from Naples and Marseille and in the main hall, a collection of 18th and 19th century porcelain sorted by geographical origin (Italy, Germany, Austria, France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Switzerland, England and Russia). The adjoining garden, of ancient origin, has been improved over the centuries. Via Correale leads to piazza Tasso (#2), which in ancient times was at the edge of the urban area but is now considered the historic center of the town. Along the north side of the square, a terrace overlooks the Gulf of Naples. If you are looking for a spot to just chill and relax for a bit, we suggest a table atpone of the cafés on the piazza. From the west side of piazza Tasso is corso Italia with its elegant 19th century buildings on Sorrento 2 The Duomo of Sorrento
1 Museo Correale, 2 Palazzo Correale 3 Palazzo Veniero 4 Duomo, or Cattedrale di Santi Filippo and Giacomo 5 Sedil Dominova, 6 Conservatorio di Santa Maria delle Grazie 7 Basilica di Sant'Antonino 8 Marina Piccola 9 Chiesa di San Francesco 10 Chiesa e Monastero di San Paolo 11 Marina Grande 12 Porta di Parsano 13 Porta della Marina Grande 14 Casa di Cornelia Tasso 15 Chiesa dei Servi di Maria 16 Chiesa dell Addolorata 17 Chiesa della Santissima Annunziata 18 Chiesa del Carmine 19 Excelsior Vittoria Hotel 21 Museo-Bottega della Tarsia Lignea
5 both sides. Going up a few steps to the left of the Corso, one arrives at via Pietà (#3), with some of the oldest buildings in town, including two of the most interesting examples of local architecture, Palazzo Correale (first half of the 14th century) and Palazzo Veniero (#4), a 13th century building of late Byzantine and Arabic taste (the rage at the time in the South of Italy), with a large arch-shaped windows decorated with strips of yellow and grey tuff alternating with geometrical patterns of unusual beauty. Through an underpass, via Pietà leads to the Duomo (#5), or Cathedral or Santi Filippo and Giacomo, with its beautiful clock tower. Of ancient origin, the Duomo has been rebuilt over the centuries. The façade, which was destroyed by a cyclone in 1904, was rebuilt in 1924 Sorrento in a 19th century postcard with marble facing. In the apse there is a 19th century choir, a masterpiece of the local art of inlay. Under the pulpit, a small and significant altar piece by Silvestro Buono (1573), known as La Vergine tra San Giovanni Battista e san Giovanni Evangelista; (The Virgin between St. John the Baptist and St John the Evangelist); next to the baptismal font, Sacrificio del Sangue di Cristo (Sacrifice of the Blood of Christ) (1522) and 12 splendid 14th century panels; in the chapel of the Sacrament, on the 17th c. altar, a wooden 15th century Crucifix. On the right, the secondary en- Conservatorio di Santa Maria delle Grazie
trance has an elegant rectangular portal dating back to 1478. To the right of the entrance, on a swivel hinge, there is a 10th century marble slab with a depiction of a lioness. In the first chapel on the right there is a baptismal font where Italian writer Torquato Tasso was baptized. From corso Italia continuing along via Tasso, the ancient center of the Greek-Roman town, turning right onto via San Cesareo one reaches piazzetta Padre Reginaldo Giuliani, known for Sedile Dominova (#6), an elegant 15th century building with a loggia open on two sides with round arches and topped by a 17th century majolica dome. This Renaissance building, covered in elegant yellow and green majolica riggiole (hand-decorated tiles), represented the center of the lives of the aristocratic and administrative life of the area. Turning into via Luigi De Maio one arrives in piazza Sant Antonino, with its the Conservatorio di Santa Maria delle Grazie (#7). Inside the Conservatorio there are well executed canvases by painters who worked on the Costiera (Buono, Malinconico, Caracciolo, Corenzio), and typical elements of a cloistered convent such as the choir to the tribunes or the wooden shutters made to protect the nuns pri- Sorrento 6 Cloister of San Francesco
7 vacy. The floral majolicated floor is very beautiful, on white worked enamel to give an unusual glass-effect. Also in the piazza is the Municipal Palace, formerly a convent, and the Basilica di Sant'Antonino (#8). Dating back to the High Middle Ages, around the year 1000, this Basilica shows significant and evident elements from temples or ancient building (for instance, the shafts of Roman type columns). Inside, a lovely 18th century crib; in the crypt, the votive offerings testify to popular religiosity and faith in the Patron Saint. The interior of the Basilica is divided by ancient marble columns into three naves. From the aisles, going down a double marble staircase, is the Crypt, rebuilt in 1753, whose vaults rest on ancient columns. Under the central altar is the tomb of St. Antonino; on the smaller altar, on the right, is a small 16th century wooden crucifix with silver, and on the left a 15th century fresco of the Madonna and Child. From piazza S. Antonino, via De Maio leads to the seaport, Marina Piccola (#9), where ferries and hydrofoils depart for Capri and Naples. Via Bernardina Donnorso leads into piazza Gargiulo, with the Chiesa di San Francesco (#10). The original convent dates back to the mid 8th century. The architecture of the mystical and atmospheric Cloister (16th century), has crossed arches in tuff on two sides of the portico, while the other two sides have round arches on octagonal pillars, and a harmonious collection of elements from pagan temples, such as the three corner columns. Next to the convent, the 16th century church houses a 17th century wooden statue of the Saint from Assisi next to the crucified Christ. The Chiesa e Monastero di San Paolo (#11), a 9th century Benedictine complex, characterized on the outside by a bell tower (with a majolicated cupola) serves also as a belvedere. Inside the church, decorations, stuccos, majolicated floor and 18th century paintings. Marina Grande
8 Chiesa dei Servi di Maria The road that leaves piazza della Vittoria goes down to Marina Grande (#12), a quaint fishing village with beach concessions and restaurants. Shopping in Sorrento can be a fun and enjoyable way to spend an afternoon. Visitors will find a wide variety of small shops offering everything from leather goods and ceramics to jewelry, locally grown fruits and vegetables, and anything lemon. Corso Italia is the main roadway through town. Whether you are looking for something particular or just browsing it s a great way Also of interest: to discover the heart of Sorrento and get a flavor for this small community. Porta di Parsano (#13), opened in 1745 within the old town walls that had defended the town since Greek times. Porta della Marina Grande (#14), the oldest of Sorrento s gates, up to the 15th century probably the only access to the town from the sea.
9 Ruins of Villa Pollio felice Casa di Cornelia Tasso (#15), a noble portal with flat ashlar above which sits a heraldic coat of arms leads into the house of the sister of Torquato Tasso, the great poet from Sorrento, who stayed here for some time. His parental home, in Via Vittorio Veneto, is now part of the Imperial Tramontano hotel. Chiesa dei the Servi di Maria (#16, finished in the 18th century, Via Sersale), splendid Baroque temple, inside it has three venerated wooden statues: a Cristo Morto (Dead Christ), carried in procession through the streets during the rites of Good Friday, and two 15th century pieces a Madonna and a San Giuseppe (St Joseph). Chiesa dell Addolorata (#17, built in the 18th century), a Baroque façade in splendid tuff, inside it celebrates this warm local stone with two unusual altars in the same material; on the altar, a wooden sculpture of the Vergine Addolorata (Our Lady of Sorrows) to whom the temple is dedicated. Chiesa della Santissima Annunziata (#18, built in the 18th century), behind this elegant façade in tuff, once upon a time there was a pagan temple dedicated to Cibelis. When Christianity took over, the cult of the eastern pagan Mother of all gods was exchanged for the Catholic Virgin and Mother. Inside: on the ceiling Madonna col
Bambino (Madonna and Child) handing her sacred belt to St Augustine and St Monica (18th century); a beautiful wooden Crucifix (17th century); altar in polychrome marbles with the statue of the Madonna della Consolazione (Mother of Consolation) (18th century); numerous 18th century canvases; in the sacristy: interesting late 16th century Annunciazione. Chiesa del Carmine (#19, built in the 16th century) a Baroque temple with one nave, dedicated to the Black Madonna of the Neapolitan church with the same name; inside, 17th and 18th century canvases; 17th century artistic reliquaries in inlaid wood. Excelsior Vittoria (#20), built on an ancient Imperial Roman Villa, the hotel is now universally famous among classical music fans because here in 1921 the tenor Enrico Caruso spent the last troubled months of his life. His room, the holy of holies for music lovers and fans, is still kept exactly as he left it. Ruins of Villa Pollio Felice and Baths of Regina Giovanna (#21, on Via Capo di Sorrento) are the fascinating remains of a majestic Roman villa, complete with landing stages, terraces and cisterns, which the poet Stazio attributed to Pollius Felix, historian and patron of the Arts, protector of Virgil and Horace. Next to the ruins there is a naturally protected pool of water, a pool created by nature and protected by a natural arc, an ancient Roman nymphaeum. Because of the legends surrounding it, the locals nicknamed it after the exuberant and temperamental noblewoman Giovanna Durazzo d Angiò. Museum-Workshop of Wooden Intarsia at Palazzo Pomarici Santomasi (#22, Via San Nicola, 28 - Opening Hours: from Monday to Saturday: 10.00-13.30, 15.00-18.00. Sunday visits may be booked). In a splendid VIII c. palazzo, the structure houses a historic collection of 19th c. furniture and objects that sheds light on the technique of inlay and in particular the uniqueness of Sorrento intarsia, through an unusual and educational exhibition layout. The aim of the museum-workshop is to give continuity to this valuable craft, through the design and marketing of a culturally innovative production. Sorrento 10