The City Sorrento

Explore the grand city Sorrento with the fisher port and art nouveau hotels

Sorrento - a glamorous coastal city with Mediterranean charm

 

With its almost 17 000 people Sorrento is actually a small town, but in the season tourists from all over the world visit the small town. The city is located on a terrace from tufa, about 50 meters above the sea. The waterfront of the terrace that overlooks the sea is lined with large palatial hotels of the Belle Epoque that characterize the cityscape.

 

The history of the town since the 7th century BC.

 

The origins of the town date back to the Phoenicians in the 7th century BC. After a brief occupation of the peninsula by the Greeks, Sorrento became an important city under Roman rule with the name "Surrentum". This name referred to the mythical Sirens, who confused sailors and finally, the legend tells, they were transformed into the rock "Li Galli" just south off the coast of Positano.

The remains of the noble residence "Villa Pollio," which can be visited in Sorrento, are a testimony of the glory days of the city under the Romans. Roman aristocrats and patricians had their summer residences here to retreat to during the hot summer months. Due to the wonderfully mild climate and breathtaking natural scenery Sorrento was already an attractive destination for well-off travelers back then.

In the 4th century, Sorrento became an archbishopric and belonged to the Eastern Roman / Byzantine Empire. Over the following centuries, southern Italy was a highly contested area and so Sorrento belonged over the centuries to different kingdoms and witnessed many sovereigns such as the Saracens, Normans and the Ottomans.

In the 19th century Sorrento became part of the Kingdom of Italy, which was later to become the Republic of Italy. Towards the end of the 19th century Sorrento also became a popular destination for travelers, just like it still is today. Noblemen and rich Europeans loved Sorrento for its climate and its beauty, and the town attracted, among others, Goethe on his famous Italian Journey .

 

Optimal location at the Gulf of Naples

 

Sorrento has many sights and some nice beaches, but the city is also the starting point for excursions in the extremely interesting region. Thanks to the location of the peninsula, between Naples with the Mount Vesuvius and the world-famous archaeological sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum in the north and the Amalfi Coast from Sorrento to Salerno in the south, as well as the Greek temples in Paestum south of Salerno, Sorrento is probably the best base to visit this culturally and scenically unique region, with many World Heritage Sites.

 

The historic center of Sorrento

 

There are many sights to visit in Sorrento. Start your tour with the magnificent palatial hotels from the turn of the century along the waterfront, which still preserve the glamour and the "Dolce Vita", which was perpetuated in many film classics.

After visiting the waterfront, walk along the main street which is blocked for traffic and lined with beautiful boutiques. Lunchtime can be spent comfortably in the shade of trees and palms with a coffee at the Piazza Tasso, named after the author -Sorrento’s most famous son, before continuing on a discovery tour through the town. In the many streets of the city, there are countless, nice shops waiting for you.

Here you find information about the sights of Sorrento