Sorrento: three hours from Rome in Cab for a wonderful full day in the Amalfi Coast
Sorrento is an Italian municipality in the metropolitan city of Naples, in Campania region. It is about fifty kilometers from Naples city and is located to the northwest of the peninsula named after it. The center is spread over a large tuff terrace characterized by lush vegetation and imposing cliffs. The city had the first Etruscan inhabitants, but it is in Roman times that it enters the annales for having joined the insurrection of the Italics in the 90th BC, but cut off from Silla on the birth. The destiny of Sorrento is then confused with that of the other nearby cities: it overcomes the Byzantine rule, fought the Lombards and suffered the fights between the local aristocrats. When in 1137 it passed under the Norman crown, the Duchy of Sorrento lost forever its autonomy. After centuries of anonymity, the town entered a period of cultural and economic revival that reached its peak in the nineteenth century when it was annexed to the so-called Grand Tours circuit: a trip to the most significant places in Italy that every noble European scumbag of the time he had to complete to complete his work of cultural, historical and literary training. Sorrento was therefore the destination of illustrious guests such as Byron, Keats, Scott, Dickens, Goethe, Wagner, Ibsen and Nietzsche to name only the most well known.
The driving industry is certainly tourism, as hotels and other types of accommodation facilities, as well as restaurants and bars, have a lot of tradition and significant numbers. Of a certain interest is the service activity with the presence of many banking, insurance and tourist agencies.
Agriculture is also thriving: it is based on high-quality and organic crops, among them citrus, nuts, olive oil and wine products. There are two festivals in honor of St. Anthony Abbot, patron of Sorrento: the official one is February 14th, the other day, also called Sant’Antonino dei giardinieri, takes place on the first Sunday of May. The events to which the Sorrents are most attached are surely the Holy Friday processions that have originated since the Middle Ages and whose tradition has been passed down for centuries by ancient archconfraternites, who still have a great role on the history and culture of Sorrento and all The peninsula. The city is also internationally known from a cinematic point of view through the International Film Meetings Festival, which attracts artists and filmmakers from across the globe. Gian Luigi Rondi, dean of Italian film critics who died in December 2016, was among the founders of the “Encounters” and artistic director until 1990, contributing to an unprecedented season of success. The Sorrento Peninsula is full of wonderful itineraries looking for unusual flavors, production excellence and local wines, an expression of the territory. Magnificent are dairy products such as burrini (caciottine stuffed with delicate butter sauce) and caprignettes (small balls produced by a goat cheese cream, cacio-ricotta) that are stored in oil not before being seasoned with aromatic herbs . The most famous of all dairy products is Provolone del Monaco DOP, typical melon shaped, slightly elongated or pear and preserved according to a seasoned pasta filament. Local produce is still handmade and visitors and tourists can visit the gastronomy shops and farms where you can taste and buy these typical cheeses, but also be active spectators throughout the entire production cycle. The famous IGP lemon in Sorrento is truly an international excellence, and it is the case that the two most famous specialties come from lemon: the delicious lemon delight, a cake created by a local master (the heir to the secular artisanal pastry art) and limoncello , The most celebrated liquor in the world, made from lemon peels of the famous Sorrento PGI lemon, alcohol, sugar and water. It is worth mentioning the extra virgin olive oil DOP Penisola Sorrentina, which can be tasted for wineries and crushers that bring back their beauty from time to time. In the neighborhood of the town, we find the famous Gragnano pasta and the dairy products of Agerola. It is also worth mentioning absolute excellences that meet in the nearby Massa Lubrense and Vico Equense (true gastronomic paradise) where small “meat artisans” produce high butchery products such as sausage and salami of swine and pork meat Of orange. The famous song Back to Surriento has long been the subject of research on its genesis, but according to recent studies by Attorney Nino Cuomo, former mayor of the city as well as historically esteemed, it appears that the composition was written by the brothers De Curtis in honor Of the Tsarina of Russia who stayed at the Grand Hotel Imperial Tramontano and not for a visit to the town of the statista Giuseppe Zanardelli. Historical sources say that the text was written before the political man’s visit and was expressly dedicated to a woman. The song was officially presented at the Piedigrotta Festival in 1905 with some modifications to the original words: from here it began its great success until it became one of the most famous Neapolitan songs in the world. The economy of Sorrento is therefore largely based on international tourism, thanks to its natural seaside design and the beauty of the graceful town center. The old town still shows the orthogonal path of Roman roads with horns and decumans, while the hillside is surrounded by the sixteenth-century walls. Inside there is the Duomo, rebuilt in the 15th century with neo-gothic façade and the Church of Saint Francis of Assisi, two wonders not to be missed.
