Accommodation:
The fragrance and colours of Sorrento
Celebrated by great authors and a source of inspiration for epic poems, Sorrento is a city full of history, culture and sea. The mild climate makes it possible for tourists to visit Sorrento in any period of the year and to participate in the many seasonal activities. Defined the land of the sun, Sorrento has a typically Mediterranean climate with hot Summers and mild Winters, you will come across beautiful sunny days all through the year. Take a taste of tradition back home with you by purchasing some of the many typical local products, for example Limoncello and olive oil, which may be offered to you by the local shopkeepers during your stroll through the cobblestoned alleyways.
History
The Roman name for Sorrento was Surrentum. Legends
indicate a close connection between Lipara and Surrentum, as though the
latter had been a colony of the former; and even through the Imperial
period Surrentum remained largely Greek. The oldest ruins are Oscan,
dating from about 600 BC. Before the Roman supremacy, Surrentum was one of
the towns subject to Nuceria, and shared its fortunes up to the Social
War; it seems to have joined in the revolt of 90 BC like Stabiae; and was
reduced to obedience in the following year, when it seems to have received
a colony.
Numerous sepulchral inscriptions of Imperial slaves and freedmen have been
found at Surrentum. An inscription shows that Titus in the year after the
earthquake of 79 AD restored the horologium of the town and its
architectural decoration. A similar restoration of an unknown building in
Naples in the same year is recorded in an inscription from the last-named
town.
The most important temples of Surrentum were those of Athena and of the
Sirens (the latter the only one in the Greek world in historic times); the
former gave its name to the promontory. In antiquity Surrentum was famous
for its wine (oranges and lemons which are now so much cultivated there
not having been introduced into Italy in antiquity), its fish, and its red
Campanian vases; the discovery of coins of Massilia, Gaul and the Balearic
Islands here indicates the extensive trade which it carried on.
Vintage near Sorrento, Jacob Philipp Hackert, c. 1784.The position of
Surrentum was very secure, protected by deep gorges. The only exception to
its natural protection was 300 metres on the south-west where it was
defended by walls, the line of which is necessarily followed by those of
the modern town. The arrangement of the modern streets preserves that of
the ancient town, and the disposition of the walled paths which divide the
plain to the east seems to date in like manner from Roman times. No ruins
are now preserved in the town itself, but there are many remains in the
villa quarter to the east of the town on the road to Stabiae, of which
traces still exist, running much higher than the modern road, across the
mountain; the site of one of the largest (possibly belonging to the
Imperial house) is now occupied by the Hotel Victoria, under the terrace
of which a small theatre was found in 1855; an ancient rock-cut tunnel
descends hence to the shore. Remains of other villas may be seen, but the
most important ruin is the reservoir of the (subterranean) aqueducts just
outside the town on the east, which had no less than twenty-seven chambers
each about 270 by 60 cm. Greek and Oscan tombs have also been found.
Another suburb lay below the town and on the promontory on the west of it;
under the Hotel Sirena are substructions and a rock-hewn tunnel. To the
north-west on the Capo di Sorrento is another villa, the so-called Bagni
della Regina Giovanna, with baths, and in the bay to the south-west was
the villa of Pollius Felix, the friend of Statius, which he describes in
Silvae ii. 2, of which remains still exist. Farther west again are villas,
as far as the temple of Athena on the promontory named after her at the
extremity of the peninsula (now Punta Campanella). Neither of this nor of
the famous temple of the Sirens are any traces existing.
According to the Roman historian Diodorus Siculus, Sorrento was founded by
Liparus, son of Ausonus, who was king of the Ausoni and the son of Ulysses
and Circe. The ancient city was probably connected to the Ausoni tribe
indeed, one of the most ancient ethnic groups in the area. In the
pre-Roman age Sorrento was influenced by the Greek civilization: this can
be seen in its plant and in the presence of the Athenaion, a great
sanctuary, also, according to the legend, founded by Ulysses and
originally devoted to the cult of the Sirens, whence Sorrento's name.
Rites of Holy week
The two principal processions that are developed in Sorrento on Good
Friday are those of the Our Lady of Sorrows or of the "Visit in the
sepulchres", organized by the Venerable Arciconfraternita of Saint Monica
and that of the Dead Christ, organized by the Venerable Arciconfraternita
of the Death.
The first procession takes place at 3:30 AM on Holy Thursday and involves
hundreds of participants dressed in hooded white gowns. The Madonna is
carried aloft in the procession, and accompanied by several religious
articles as she searches the town looking for her son. The procession
commences in the Corso Italia, turns through Piazza Tasso, and then visits
each of the town's churches - stopping in each one for a short ceremony.
The Madonna is accompanied by aides carrying incense, and a large male
choir and band. The procession concludes at 5:30 AM.
The second procession occurs at 8 PM on Good Friday and reflects the
Madonna's mourning as she finds her son dead. Hundreds of participants,
dressed this time in hooded black gowns, march down the Corso Italia and
then wind through the smaller laneways of Sorrento. This procession is
much larger and better attended generally.
Sorrento Coast
The Sorrento coast, suspended between the sea and the green hillsides, creates the most picturesque and breathtaking scenery in Campania. Moreover, Sorrento is an important departure point for organizing excursions to Capri, Ischia, Positano, Amalfi, Paestum, all of which are just a short distance away.