Sorrento

The title of this article is ambiguous. Further meanings are listed under Sorrento (disambiguation) .

Sorrento
Country	Italy
region	Campania
Metropolitan city	Naples  (NA)
Coordinates	40 ° 38 '  N , 14 ° 23'  E Coordinates: 40 ° 37 '34 "  N , 14 ° 22' 34"  E
height	50  m slm
surface	9 km²
Residents	16,183 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density	1,798 inhabitants / km²
Factions	Casarlano, Sorrento Capo, Sorrento Marina Grande
Post Code	80060 Capo di Sorrento (Sorrento Capo), 80067 Sorrento (capoluogo, Sorrento Marina Grande)
prefix	081
ISTAT number	063080
Popular name	Sorrentini
Patron saint	Antonino di Sorrento (February 14th)
Website	Sorrento

Sorrento

Memory of Sorrento by Carl Gustav Carus , 1828

Sorrento (Italian Sorrento, Neapolitan Surriento) is an Italian city ​​with 16,183 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2019) in the metropolitan city of Naples . It is part of the Comunità Montana Monti Lattari - Penisola Sorrentina mountain community .

geography

The city of Sorrento is located on the Sorrento Peninsula on the Gulf of Naples . It is located on steep black cliffs made of dark volcanic rock on a tuff terrace . Sorrento is surrounded by the imposing cliffs of the limestone mountains.

Touristic

For centuries, Sorrento has been the destination of Northern European longing for Italy. Writers and painters have immortalized the place in words and pictures.

Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast are known for their large lemons (ital. Limoni ). Typical products made from these fruits are the lemon liqueur Limoncello and lemon chocolate. In addition, numerous ceramic studios in the city produce articles with city views, Amalfi representations or lemon motifs. The heart of the town is the Via S. Cesareo shopping street and the Piazza Tasso.

Because of its convenient location, Sorrento is also popular as a starting point for the sights in the area. The tip of the Sorrento peninsula is just 5 km from Capri , which can be easily reached from the port of Marina Piccola . Also, Ischia and Procida , whose silhouettes can be seen on clear days, can be reached by speedboat in a short time. The Circumvesuviana regional train takes visitors to Pompeii and Herculaneum or to Naples .

The Amalfi Coast , Italian costiera amalfitana , can be reached from Sorrento via Strada Statale 163 Amalfitana , a popular destination for excursions.

history

Mythical past

The current name Sorrent (Sorrento) goes back to the ancient name Surrentum and the myth of the sirens , which confused the seafarers with their song. According to a legend, only Odysseus and his companions were able to escape the magic of the siren song, whereupon the sirens turned into the rock called Li Galli (on the south side of the peninsula near Positano in the Gulf of Salerno).

History facts

Sorrento's origins date back to the 7th century BC when it was founded by the Phoenicians . From 474 to 420 BC Sorrento was under the rule of Greeks until 150 years later it became a Roman Municipium . During this period of the Roman Empire , it became the summer residence of aristocrats and the wealthy. Best-preserved testimony is already of Statius in his work Silvae described seaside villa located Felix Pollio, near the fishing village of Puolo.

Over the centuries, many peoples have attempted to break through the city wall built by the Greeks and to conquer the town. So Sorrento was conquered by the Normans in 1133 .

Attractions

Museo Correale di Terranova

Cloister of the Convent of San Francesco

• The Museo Correale di Terranova in a former aristocratic palace shows z. B. Furniture, marquetry, porcelain, paintings from the 17th to 19th centuries. The museum was donated by the brothers Pompeo and Alfredo Correale.
• Cathedral: a Romanesque church building in which u. a. Torquato Tasso was baptized
• Franciscan Monastery (San Francesco)
• Chiesa Santa Maria del Carmine
• Chiesa Sant'Antonio
• Villa Communale (city garden) with a view of the Gulf of Naples
• Museobottega della Tarsialignea: an exhibition of the works of 19th century Italian marquetry artists and modern applied marquetry, collected by the architect and designer Alessandro Fiorentino.
• Greek city gate and Romanesque arch on the old city wall

Sorrento in the media

• The film Pane, amore e… (German: love, bread and a thousand kisses; 1955) with Sophia Loren is set in Sorrento . The film was shot in the Grand Hotel Excelsior Victoria and in neighboring cities.
• Giambattista and Ernesto De Curtis set Sorrento and the sea a musical monument with the song Torna a Surriento . Enrico Caruso was one of the many performers.
• Most of the film Love Is All You Need (Danish original title:  Den skaldede frisør , 'Die kahle Frisörin'), a romantic comedy by the director Susanne Bier  from 2012, stars Trine Dyrholm and Pierce in and around Sorrento Brosnan .

traffic

A branch of the narrow-gauge regional train Circumvesuviana (Napoli Porta Nolana – Sorrento) ends in Sorrento.

There are ferry connections to Capri , Ischia and Naples .

The closest airport is Naples Airport, 53 km away .

In addition to internal bus lines, there are bus connections via Positano to Amalfi , as well as to Massa Lubrense and transfers to Naples Airport.

Town twinning

• Mar del Plata , Argentina
• Kumano , Japan, since 2001
• Santa Fe , United States, since 2000
• Skien , Norway, since 2004
• Nice , France

Personalities

Born here

• Antoninus of Sorrento († around 870), abbot and patron saint of the city
• Niccolò d'Acciapaccio (1382–1447), cardinal of the Catholic Church
• Torquato Tasso (1544–1595), poet
• Antonino Sersale (1702–1775), Archbishop of Naples and Cardinal
• Gianluigi Aponte (* 1940), founder of the Mediterranean Shipping Company

Others

• The Russian writer Maxim Gorki lived in Sorrento for several years from 1924 to cure his tuberculosis.

Web links

Commons : Sorrento  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Wikivoyage: Sorrento  travel guide

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Statistiche demografiche ISTAT. Monthly population statistics of the Istituto Nazionale di Statistica , as of December 31 of 2019.
2. ↑ Details on the Sorrento marquetry (from Albatours); Retrieved October 28, 2010
3. ↑ ^{a b} Naples. Amalfi Coast. Cilento . Dumont travel paperback , ISBN 978-3-7701-7241-2 , pp. 163ff.
4. ↑ Bus traffic overview at Friends of Sorrento ( Memento of the original from October 14, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (engl.)