Sorrento

A terrace on the Gulf of Naples

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
oer 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 faade elegantly enriched with ornamental double
lancet windows with pointed
arches in dark tu and a gorgeous large ogival window.
On the ground oor furniture
and local crafts, archaeological
nds 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 rst oor 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); nely decorated furniture,
and a collection of Bohemian
crystal and Venetian glass. On

The Duomo of Sorrento

proved 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 cafs on the
piazza.
From the west side of piazza
Tasso is corso Italia with its elegant 19th century buildings on

Sorrento

Sorrento

the second oor 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 im-

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 dellAddolorata
17 Chiesa della Santissima Annunziata
18 Chiesa del Carmine
19 Excelsior Vittoria Hotel
21 Museo-Bottega della Tarsia Lignea

Conservatorio di Santa Maria delle Grazie

Sorrento in a 19th century postcard

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 rst
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 ma-

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 signicant 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,
Sacricio del Sangue di Cristo
(Sacrice 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 Crucix.
On the right, the secondary enCloister of San Francesco

jolica 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
SantAntonino, 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

Sorrento
5

both sides. Going up a few

steps to the left of the Corso,
one arrives at via Piet (#3),
with some of the oldest buildings in town, including two of
the most interesting examples
of local architecture, Palazzo
Correale (rst 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 tu alternating with geometrical patterns of unusual
beauty.
Through an underpass, via
Piet 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 faade,
which was destroyed by a cyclone in 1904, was rebuilt in 1924

Marina Grande

the smaller altar, on the right, is

a small 16th century wooden
crucix 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 tu 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 crucied 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 oor and 18th century
paintings.

Sorrento

Sorrento
7

vacy. The oral majolicated oor

is very beautiful, on white
worked enamel to give an unusual glass-eect.
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 signicant 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 oerings 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

Chiesa dei Servi di Maria

The road that leaves piazza

della Vittoria goes down to Marina Grande (#12), a quaint shing
village
with
beach
concessions and restaurants.
Shopping in Sorrento can be a
fun and enjoyable way to spend
an afternoon. Visitors will nd a
wide variety of small shops
oering 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 its a great way

Also of interest:
to discover the heart of Sorrento
and get a avor 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 Sorrentos
gates, up to the 15th century
probably the only access to the
town from the sea.

Ruins of Villa Pollio felice

Casa di Cornelia Tasso (#15),

a noble portal with at 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 dellAddolorata (#17,

built in the 18th century), a
Baroque faade in splendid tu,
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 dei the Servi di Maria

(#16, nished 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 della Santissima Annunziata (#18, built in the 18th

century), behind this elegant
faade in tu, 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

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 noChiesa del Carmine (#19, blewoman Giovanna Durazzo
built in the 16th century) a dAngi.
Baroque temple with one nave,
dedicated to the Black Madonna
Museum-Workshop
of
of the Neapolitan church with Wooden Intarsia at Palazzo Pothe same name; inside, 17th and marici Santomasi (#22, Via San
18th century canvases; 17th cen- Nicola, 28 - Opening Hours:
tury artistic reliquaries in inlaid from Monday to Saturday:
wood.
10.00-13.30, 15.00-18.00. Sunday
visits may be booked).
Excelsior Vittoria (#20), built
In a splendid VIII c. palazzo,
on an ancient Imperial Roman the structure houses a historic
Villa, the hotel is now univer- collection of 19th c. furniture
sally famous among classical and objects that sheds light on
music fans because here in 1921 the technique of inlay and in
the tenor Enrico Caruso spent particular the uniqueness of
the last troubled months of his Sorrento intarsia, through an
life. His room, the holy of holies unusual and educational exhibifor music lovers and fans, is still tion layout. The aim of the mukept exactly as he left it.
seum-workshop is to give
continuity to this valuable craft,
Ruins of Villa Pollio Felice through the design and marketand Baths of Regina Giovanna ing of a culturally innovative
(#21, on Via Capo di Sorrento) production.
are the fascinating remains of a
majestic Roman villa, complete

Sorrento

Sorrento

Bambino (Madonna and Child)

handing her sacred belt to St Augustine and St Monica (18th century); a beautiful wooden
Crucix (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.

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