Food, wine, art and nature: the delights of Sorrento

Vico Equense stands on the site of the ancient ‘Aequa’, celebrated in the poem ‘Punica’ by the poet Silius Italicus precisely for its wines. In Latin, 'aequus' means 'flat': indeed, the town is situated on a level section of the cliff, and this area is certainly not lacking in the fruits of the land and in typical products, born of ancient traditions and crops. 

After parking your car, head to the historic centre before indulging in some culinary delights. It was Charles II of Anjou who founded the new walled town of Vico Equense in the 14th century, and the Church of the Santissima Annunziata, with its 16th-century bell tower, also dates back to the Angevin period. After a short stroll along the churchyard, which offers a breathtaking view overlooking the sea, take the steep path that descends rapidly from the village to the base of the tufa cliff and on to the beaches of Marina di Equa or Marina di Seiano.

For lunch, you simply cannot miss out on the most humble and, at the same time, most refined product in the whole of Campania: pizza. In Vico, you will find the Università della Pizza, known as the ‘temple of pizza’, where you can enjoy this speciality served by the metre. Indeed, Vico boasts an ancient tradition of bakers who, over time, have created a crisper variant of the traditional Neapolitan pizza.

If you’re not a fan of the time-honoured dish beloved by Queen Margherita, you’ll be spoilt for choice here: the local culinary offerings are endless. However, the undisputed star of the show is Provolone del Monaco DOP. It is a semi-hard, matured, spun-curd cheese made from the milk of cattle that graze in the Lattari mountains, the mountain range behind the village. Provolone is excellent on a plate of ravioli with pears and truffle, or with spaghetti served with water, lemon and oil. 

These hills also produce 'priest's chestnuts' and the walnuts used to make the liqueur nocino. Don't forget the extra-virgin olive oil. You will find it exceptionally fragrant: it has been awarded the Sorrento peninsula's PDO label. Before heading back to Sorrento along the former State Road 145, you simply must stop off in the enchanting village of Meta, where limoncello is produced.

Begin your visit by wandering through the streets of this jewel of southern Italy, known and loved all over the world for its extraordinary location: Sorrento is a veritable terrace overlooking the sea.
Take your time wandering through the historic centre. Don't miss a visit to the Cathedral, stroll along Via S. Cesareo and admire the splendid historic villas, and be sure to visit Piazza Tasso, with its monument dedicated to the famous poet born here in 1544, and the Church of Sant'Antonio. For the more inquisitive, we recommend hopping back into the car and driving a few minutes to the Georges Vallet Regional Archaeological Museum of the Sorrento Peninsula in Piano di Sorrento. Of course, the beach at Marina Grande di Sorrento is not to be missed.

Sorrento is renowned not only for its sea, its scenery and its beautiful historic centre, but also for its excellent cuisine: a must-try dish is gnocchi alla sorrentina, served with tomato, basil and stringy fiordilatte cheese. Enhance your stroll along the main street of your choice with a limoncello sorbet, a fluffy hot gelato, or the famous delizia al limone, a classic of Neapolitan pastry-making. Thanks to the lush citrus groves that surround the town, lemon-based products reign supreme in Sorrento. In the streets of the town centre, you will have no trouble coming across fantastic greengrocers, patisseries and ice cream parlours. In the more secluded alleys, on the other hand, you can stock up on spices, hot chilli peppers and sun-dried tomatoes, as well as the famous Sorrento walnuts and follovielli, parcels of citrus leaves filled with sultanas and candied orange, prepared according to an old recipe.

As for wines, the typical product is DOC Penisola Sorrentina, available in both white and red, but the two red wines, Lettere and Gragnano, are also renowned.

At this point, continue on to nearby Massa Lubrense.

From Massa Lubrense, feast your eyes on Capri and the azure blue of the Tyrrhenian Sea, and set off in search of the old farmhouses that have escaped modernisation and lie off the beaten track of mass tourism. Here, you will find delicacies and local produce that will warm your heart.

As in other municipalities in the Monti Lattari area – a name derived from the extensive production of milk – small dairies here continue to produce cheese as they did in times gone by. In the Massa area, two types of cheese are produced in particular. These are protected European Union designation-of-origin cheeses: Treccia, a fresh spun-curd cheese shaped like a braided doughnut, and Caciocavallo, a medium-mature cheese in the shape of a pear with a small head. The name of the latter derives from the fact that the cheeses (caci) are tied in pairs by their heads and left to mature straddling a pole: hence cacio a cavallo ('cheese on a pole').

About 6 kilometres south of Massa Lubrense lies the hamlet of Termini, from which you can descend to Marina del Cantone, the largest beach on the Sorrento peninsula, known for a culinary speciality with a secret recipe: spaghetti with courgettes and fish. If you visit in summer, you will be lucky enough to enjoy this dish on board a boat.

Once you reach Termini, if you enjoy discovering rare but beautiful places, continue on foot to Campania's most northerly headland. It is an easy, flat walk, and in about 45 minutes, you will reach the Punta di Campanella Marine Protected Area, with its small coves such as Iéranto.

Punta Campanella is the final headland of the Lattari Mountains, which separates the Gulf of Naples from Capri and the Gulf of Salerno. From here, you will enjoy a unique view of the island of Capri, unlike any other.
Punta di Campanella is a marine area rich in unusual crustaceans, such as the rare Parapandalo. Indeed, the unique morphology of the seabed here provides the ideal habitat for this pinkish crustacean. The culinary speciality of this area is, of course, fish – fresh and flavourful: anchovies, horse mackerel, mackerel, garfish, common dolphinfish and other local fish and crustaceans.
The nooks and crannies and caves along the coast also make this stretch of sea one of the richest breeding grounds for shrimp.