The Sorrento peninsula: emerald green waters and the scent of lemons

Sorrento enjoys a scenic location on a cliff overlooking the sea - as well as the Gulf of Naples, Vesuvius, Ischia and Procida (designated the Capital of Culture 2022). While strolling around typical small shops along characteristic streets, you can breathe the scent of lemons and oranges growing nearby and stumble across its most unmissable points: the central Piazza Tasso and his birthplace, now a luxury hotel, the cloister of San Francesco with the adjacent public gardens of the Villa Comunale, the Basilica of Sant'Antonino, the Correale di Terranova Museum, and the characteristic seaside village of Marina Grande.

This is the extreme tip of the Sorrento peninsula, separating the Gulf of Naples from the Gulf of Salerno and behind which the Amalfi coast begins. It can be discovered on foot along a nature trail set deep in the Mediterranean scrub: there are several important panoramic points, such as the one overlooking the bay of Ieranto with its populations of rare birds such as the peregrine falcon and the red woodpecker. According to legend, Punta Campanella was home to the Sirens of Ulysses, since the rough seas arising from the meeting of currents makes navigation difficult, causing the sailors to shipwreck on the rocks called by their song.

The ruins of the majestic Roman villa Pollio Felice are to be found not far from Sorrento. They date back to I century B.C. and stand on a huge rock overlooking the sea. Yet the site is best known for being where, in later centuries, the Queen of Naples, Giovanna d'Angiò, entertained her young lovers in a kind of natural pool with sparkling emerald waters, protected from prying eyes by its particular position among the rocks. It is still possible for tourists to take a plunge, after accessing it through a special downhill path carved into the rocks.

The entire peninsula is dotted with small coves lapped by transparent, crystal clear waters. Some of the finest are the small beach in the Bay of Ieranto, reached along a path that sets off from the extreme tip of the promontory, the nearby beach at Marina del Cantone in Nerano, and the Bagni della Regina Giovanna, the heart of a centuries-old archaeological site. The centre of Sorrento itself has the tiny volcanic sand beaches of Marina Grande and Marina Piccola, mainly involving wooden palisades above sea level, and Puolo, divided between a sandy part and the rocks of Pignatella.

Located opposite the Sorrento peninsula (just half an hour for the ferry crossing), the most glamorous island of the Campanian Archipelago invites you to stroll from the famous square to the panoramic terrace overlooking the spectacular "faraglioni" stacks. It is truly well worth going up to the town of Anacapri, the highest point on the island, and then relax on the beaches of Marina Grande and Marina Piccola. A tour of the island by sea reveals many natural caves lapped by incredibly colourful waters, first and foremost the spectacular Blue Grotto with its astonishing play of natural light.

Sorrento and its surroundings boast their own style of pizza, whose characteristic ingredients and preparation differ distinctly from the typical Neapolitan version. The traditional thick border, sometimes filled with ricotta gives way to a thinner, ungarnished one, Sorrentine fiordilatte takes the place of Campania Bufala mozzarella, and the water used to prepare the dough comes from the pure springs on the Lattari Mountains overlooking the peninsula. Overall, this pizza is crunchier and more consistent. Gnocchi alla sorrentina are an equally typical dish, with tomato and fiordilatte, as well as the Delizie al Limone dessert and, of course, Limoncello.