Sorrento

Sorrento is the most important city on the Sorrento Peninsula which puts out into the sea between the Bay of Naples and the Gulf of Sorrento.

It is sing by poets and writers for its spectacular (beauty) charm.

Sorrento, not to be rhetorical is indeed the land of colours which are bright or delicate depending on the change of the season: the blu of the sea, the light blu like the colour of the traditional crafts that the fisherman face the sea in, green like the pine and olive treets that frame the magnificent view of the gulf, like the orange and lemon treets that give the air its sweet smell, like the vegetation and the gardens that are the pride of the people of Sorrento.

Many civilitations have passed through here: the Etruscans, the Greeks, who give the city its urban layout that is still clearly visibible today in the historical centre, the Oscans, the Romans. Later the subgugation to Byzantium, the seek by the Longobards, the conquest by the Normans, the influence of the Aragonese.

After a long period of stagnation, the beginning of the 1700 saw a period of cultural and economic rebirth for the whole Sorrentine peninsula, which reached its climax during the 1800. In this period Sorrento become a touristic destination and it was included in the so-called “Grand Tour”, a journey through Italy that every noble European son had to make to complete his cultural formation. For that reason guests such as Byron, Keats, Scott, Dickens, Goethe, Wagner and Nitzsche come to stay in Sorrento in search of sun and inspiration. In the same time also the tourist industry was born that is now the most important sector of the Sorrentine economy.

Today Sorrento is a charming city with over one hundred comfortable hotels.

It is rich of artistic sights as St. Francis’s Church, Villa Comunale, Correale Museum and the Cathedral.

The church of St. Francis with its lovely bell tower and the monastery which contains interesting cloisters from the 14 the century whose capitals support arches pointed in the Morish style.

The cathedral is renovated in the 15th century with its campanile.

The museum Correale di terranova is housed in an 18th century palace. On the grand floor there is a very interesting archaelogical collection. Particulary impressive are the museum’s collections of 17th and 18th century, furniture mostly Neapolita and china from Dresden, Vienna and Naples.

Beyond the Correale Museum you reach a terrace called “Belvedere” where you can admire the view of the sea and beatiful sunsets.

As legends tell Ulisses resisted here the call of the sirens. The city is also the birthplace of Tasso (1544), the author of Jerusalem Delivered. The villa where he was born is now part of the well known Hotel Tramontano.

Food and Drink

In the meny restaurants of the city you can taste several spacialities of the traditional local way of cooking as the “pizza”, “gnocchi alla sorrentina”

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Positano

Set into the mountain, surrounded by rich mediterranean vegetation, Positano is so picturesque as to seem a spontaneous stage setting. Seen from the sea it looks like a huge nativity scene, a waterfall of little multicoloured houses clinging onto its sides.

The town develops vertically. The homes, one on top of the other, are characterised by arched porticos that give onto the sea, and are painted in pastel colours, giving it the look of a multifaceted precious stone. It is not for nothing that Positano is called “the gem of the divine coast”. The narrow streets, lined with boutiques, run downhill between the houses flowing onto the Spiaggia Grande, a wide beach. From here there is a beautiful view of the sea, as well as of the town as it clambers up the mountainside.

On the main square of Positano is the parish church of Santa Maria Assunta, there since the year 1,000. The great coloured majolica cupola is visible from all over town. The little beaches of Positano are charming, and easy to get to on foot or by boat: Fornillo, Fiumicello and Arienzo.

Positano is a holiday destination appreciated for VIP vacations. Around 1940 Irene Kowaliska, a painter who lived here in Villa Sette Santi, used Positano as inspiration for her paintings on cloth. The Villa Stella Romana has been host to, among other Popes, Pope John Paul II. Illustrious artists, fashion moguls and screen stars love to come here to relax. A few miles from the coast are Li Galli, or “Sirenuse”, a tiny archipelago made up of three islets: the Gallo Lungo, the Rotonda and the Castelluccio, considered the ancient dwellings of the enchanting Sirens. Positano is not just about the sea: pleasant walks take one to visit the evocative areas around Lattari Mountains, like Montepertuso, so-called because it is said that the Madonna appeared here in a hole in the cliff (“pertuso” stands for hole) . A stairway of 1,700 steps takes you to Nocelle. It is from here that the famous Trail of the Gods (Sentiero degli Dei) begins, with beautiful views over the entire coast. Or you can reach the beautiful coastal Punta San Pietro, where there is a little church on a precipice over the sea.

On a slope cultivated with vines and olive trees one finds Furore. The ancient name for the entire area was once Terra Furoris, for the deafening noise made by the sea and the wind during tempestuous nights as they echoed among the high walls of the sheer fjords that come straight down from the plateau of Agerola. A steep set of steps takes you to the bottom. The attraction of this piece of coast is irresistable, with the fjords wedged between vines and cliffs, tiny houses and the sea.

Praiano, halfway up the promontory of Capo Sottile, was the summer residence of the Doge of Amalfi, a precocious sign of the future of the village toward becoming a relaxing holiday resort. The lower part of town goes towards Marina di Praia, a beach carved between two high rock walls. Guarding over this marina is one of the many watch-towers that dot the coast.

The nearby Conca dei Marini is a fishing village hemmed in by a marine loop that offers a stunning slice of panorama. The two extremes of this marvellous bay are Capo di Conca, dominated by the Torre di Conca (erected in the 1500’s) testimony to the terrifying incursions of pirates, and the Emerald Grotto. The waters breaking into the grotto take on an intense green hue, caused by light filtration. This grotto is full of stalactites and stalagmites, often fused together to form limestone columns of up to 10 meters. From Conca you can get to the plateau of Agerola (650 mt), passing through woods and fields. The area, blessed with flowering fields renown since antiquity, is famous for its dairy products and for the exceptional views of the coast from above.

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Amalfi

The heart and soul of the coast is Amalfi. In the serene blue of the sky and sea, Amalfi, guarded by its port, seems held in the palm of a hand. Above, the scenic drapery of the mountains, hinged like a backdrop, dotted with houses; below, a picturesque weaving of alleys and steps, all the way to the Piazza, where the Cathedral dominates from the top of its majestic stairs. A unique scene, where historic memory intertwines with unforgettable natural beauty. Suspended between the slopes of Lattari Mountains and the sea, the picturesque alleys of Amalfi today host a large number of tourists, but there was a time, when the powerful Marine Republic had its moment of maximum splendour between the 10th and 12th centuries, that they kept the outsiders (Longobards and Saracenes) at bay. Rich and populated Amalfi enjoyed lively contact with the Orient. In memory of its ancient power every four years, in June, Amalfi holds the “Historic Regatta of the Marine Republics”.

The town of Amalfi, clinging to the slopes of the coast, is characterised by the famous Duomo (9th century). Its scenic position at the top of steep stairs, that open up among the houses gathered around the small square, give a particular flavour to Amalfi’s historic centre. The imposing polychromatic façade of the church, illuminated by gilded and enameled mosaics, is impressive. Traces of the middle ages are to be found in the elegant Cloister of Heaven, with its arabesque lines. From the cloister go to the Crucifiction Chapel, where the Diocesan Museum is hosted. In this chapel is the entrance to the crypt, dating back to the 1200’s. The complex is one of the best examples of Romanesque architecture of the Amalfi coast. An exploration of Amalfi that desires the inclusion of the less known places should make a stop at the Antichi Arsenali, where famous galleys, with over one hundred oars, were constructed and destined to commerce with the Orient.

The Tabula Amalphitana is preserved in Palazzo Morelli, seat of the municipality and of the Civic Museum. It was the first code of naval law, established in the times of the Republic and valid for the entire Mediterranean Sea. The famous “drafts” of Domenico Morelli, one of the most famous painters of the 1800’s, from which the mosaics which adorn the church were created, can be admired. Amalfi is also famous as the home of handmade paper.

The first workshops were opened along the Valley of the Mills, where the Paper Museum is. This area, crossed by the Canneto River, and that of the nearby Valley of the Ferriere, a charming natural environment, constitute a Natural Biogenetic Reserve. The ascent from Amalfi is tiring but fascinating. The remains of the mills that brought the water to the paper workshops are discovered, and the walk in nature that hides secret charms, is rewarded with springs and waterfalls, and glimpses of the sea between the lush mediterranean scrub. Almost tied to Amalfi, Atrani preserves in the intricacy of its little streets, stairs and overpasses, its medieval texture. During the Republican era of Amalfi, Atrani was inhabited by noble families. Here Doges were crowned and buried. Between alleys, arches, courtyards, little squares and with its typical small stairways, it seems like a nativity licked by the sea.

Atrani faces the sea with the characteristic profile of the Maddalena Church (1274) that is topped by a belltower and cupola that is covered with vividly coloured majolica. The neoclassic church of San Salvatore de’ Bireto, on piazza Umberto I was founded in 940. It was in this church that the election ceremonies and inaugurations of the new Doges of the Republic were held. The Grotto of the Saints can be reached by the state road. Here the ruins of the ancient benedictine monastery of Santi Quirico e Giulitta, founded in 986, are visible. The little grotto is decorated with byzantine style frescoes that date to the 12th century.

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Ravello

From Amalfi a winding road ascends seven kilometres up the “Dragon’s Valley” to the hill town of Ravello. Located on the small escarpment of Monte Lattari, it is set amidst vast semi-tropical gardens and overlooks, from 350 metres, the coast south towards the Gulf of Salerno, and the town of Amalfi directly below. It is no wonder then, that this town, with its head in the clouds and its clear, sunny climate, has appealed for centuries to writers, artists, musicians, travellers… and dreamers! Boccaccio, D. H. Lawrence and Wagner are among the “greats” who succumbed to the spell of Ravello. Wagner partly composed his opera “Parsifal” here, and today author Gore Vidal lives and derives inspiration from this charming town.

Chamber Musik on the Amalfi Coast

Built in the thirteenth century as a Convent of the Order of St. Augustine, its paved balconies and weathered stone walls crystallize an ambience which is ageless. It is easy to conjure images of medieval life in this town as you stroll through its intriguing alleys, stairways and roofed passages to find yourself at Villa Rufolo.

Beautiful gardens with views across the mountains and the Coast below, surround this home of the powerful medieval family of that name. It is a magnificent building; its Moorish cloisters beckoning from an avenue shaded by ancient trees. The extensive gardens of exotic plants and brilliantly coloured flowers frame vistas of the water far below. Here, each Spring a Wagnerian festival is held at sunset; there, suspended high above the cerulean sea and the coastline, the composer is commemorated, and so too is the inspiration he derived from his love of Ravello.

The charms of Ravello also captivated an Englishman, Lord Grimthorpe, who built the Villa Cimbrone early this century with the help of his valet, Nicola Mansi, a native of Ravello. Together they transformed an ancient villa, enriching it with antiques, paintings and relics collected from all over Italy. Today the gardens of Villa Cimbrone are a mediterranean sanctuary. Tall cypresses reach heavenward, the fragrance of massed roses fills the air; pathways lead us to statues of Roman gods. Along the “Avenue of Immensity” huge pink oleanders line the way to the Belvedere posed on the cliff’s edge. From this little building you can pause to take in the unforgettable views from here across the “Infinite Terrace” to the sea and sky beyond, and recall the words of Omar Khayam which are carved above a stone seat in the rose garden at Villa Cimbrone:

“Ah, Moon of my Delight who know’st no wane,

The Moon of Heav’n is rising once again:

How oft hereafter rising shall she look

Through this same Garden after us in vain!”

[Rubaiyat: Omar Khayam]

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