Sorrento and the coast

Sorrentocoast  has always been a tourist destination thanks to its mild year round climate and the Sorrento Peninsula is just waiting to be explored by land or sea to allow you to discover the many picturesque villages along the coast. These villages are artistic and cultural testimonies to the history of Sorrento, the amazing sea around the marine reserve in Punta Campanella, the craftwork carried out on wood inlays and tiles and the flavors of food and wine specialties.

Sorrento dates back to ancient Greek times. Then it hosted the Romans and in the historic center to this day there are alleys with Roman “decumano” roads. There are numerous Aragonese testimonies from the seventeenth-century, which are evident on the doors of noble family residences decorated with the traditional tiles. In 1554 the poet Torquato Tasso was born here and in the eighteenth-century Sorrento became the destination of many artists from around Europe who arrived in Italy to study art and find inspiration, including Byron, Goethe and Wagner who lived in the city.

You really must see St. Anthony’s Basilica, which dates back to the year 1000 with many decorative votives from sailors and fishermen who survived the floods. Also worth a visit, the picturesque San Francesco Pavilion, the Bottega della Tarsia Lignea Museum, which is testimony to the popular art of wood inlays, and the Romanesque Cathedral, the Sedile Dominova, an elegant building from the fifteenth-century where nobles would once meet to discuss city affairs.

Shopping in Sorrento takes place in Via San Cesareo, where shops and boutiques allow you to choose from the colorful artistic ceramics and wood inlay objects, works in coral set in real jewelry and refined lace and embroidery.

Food and wine specialties are a chapter in their own right: in primis those based on lemons. You really must try the lemon delights, Sorrento dessert with a Madeira base and lemon cream and Limoncello, the internationally renowned liquor; you can also try the excellent extra virgin olive oil from the Sorrento Peninsula, Provolone del Monaco cheese with its intense, spicy flavor, excellent Sorrento walnuts, which are tender and have little oil content; Campana mozzarella processed in its typical plait style.

Three excellent wines from the Peninsula with age-old tradition can accompany the delights presented at your table. They are Lettere, Gragnano and Sorrento, already recognized by Plinio and Columella.

Hotel Mediterraneo is a great gateway to live Sorrento and Sorrentocoast at its best…