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Sorrento Surriento (Neapolitan)
Comune
Città di Sorrento
Vesuvius overlooking Sorrento and the Bay of Naples
Coat of arms
Location of Sorrento
SorrentoLocation of Sorrento in ItalyShow map of ItalySorrentoSorrento (Campania)Show map of Campania
Coordinates: 40°37′34″N 14°22′34″E / 40.62611°N 14.37611°E / 40.62611; 14.37611
Country	Italy
Region	Campania
Metropolitan city	Naples (NA)
Frazioni	Casarlano, Cesarano, Marano, Priora, Santa Lucia, Sorrento Capo, Sorrento Marina Grande
Government
• Mayor	Massimo Coppola (since 2020)
Area
• Total	9 km (3 sq mi)
Elevation	50 m (160 ft)
Population
• Total	16,547
• Density	1,800/km (4,800/sq mi)
Demonym	Sorrentini
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	80060 and 80067
Dialing code	081
Patron saint	St. Antoninus
Saint day	February 14
Website	comune.sorrento.na.it

Sorrento (/səˈrɛntoʊ/ sə-REN-toh, Italian: [sorˈrɛnto]; Neapolitan: Surriento [surˈrjendə]; Latin: Surrentum) is a town overlooking the Bay of Naples in Southern Italy. A popular tourist destination, Sorrento is located on the Sorrentine Peninsula at the southern terminus of a main branch of the Circumvesuviana rail network, within easy access from Naples and Pompei. The town is widely known for its small ceramics, lacework and marquetry (woodwork) shops.

The Sorrentine Peninsula has views of Naples, Vesuvius and the Isle of Capri. The Amalfi Drive, connecting Sorrento and Amalfi, is a narrow road along the high cliffs above the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Ferries and hydrofoils connect the town to Naples, Amalfi, Positano, Capri and Ischia.

Limoncello, a digestif made from lemon rinds, alcohol, water and sugar, is produced in Sorrento along with citrus fruit, wine, nuts and olives.

History

Origins

The Roman name for Sorrento was Surrentum. From the 8th century BC the area had the presence of a community of indigenous villages, which was a crossing point for Etruscan traffic. Subsequently, the area fell into the hands of the Osci, who exercised an important influence there, in fact the oldest ruins of Surrentum are Oscan, dating from about 600 BC.

Before its control by the Roman Republic, Surrentum was one of the towns subject to Nuceria, and shared its fortunes up to the Social War; it seems to have joined in the revolt of 90 BC like Stabiae; and was reduced to obedience in the following year, when it seems to have received a colony.

Numerous sepulchral inscriptions of Imperial slaves and freedmen have been found at Surrentum. An inscription shows that Titus in the year after the earthquake of 79 AD restored the horologium (clock) of the town and its architectural decoration. A similar restoration of an unknown building in Naples in the same year is recorded in an inscription from the last-named town.

The most important temples of Surrentum were those of Athena and of the Sirens (the latter the only one in the Greek world in historic times); the former gave its name to the promontory. In antiquity, Surrentum was famous for its wine (oranges and lemons which are now widely cultivated there were not yet introduced in Italy in antiquity), its fish, and its red Campanian vases; the discovery of coins of Massilia, Gaul, and the Balearic Islands here indicates the extensive trade which it carried on.

The position of Surrentum was very secure, protected by deep gorges. The only exception to its natural protection was 300 metres (984 feet) on the south-west where it was defended by walls, the line of which is necessarily followed by those of the modern town. The arrangement of the modern streets preserves that of the ancient town, and the disposition of the walled paths which divide the plain to the east seems to date in like manner from Roman times. No ruins are now preserved in the town itself, but there are many remains in the villa quarter to the east of the town on the road to Stabiae, of which traces still exist, running much higher than the modern road, across the mountain.

The site of one of the largest (possibly belonging to the Imperial house) is now occupied by the Hotel Vittoria, under the terrace of which a small theatre was found in 1855; an ancient rock-cut tunnel descends hence to the shore. Remains of other villas may be seen, but the most important ruin is the reservoir of the (subterranean) aqueducts just outside the town on the east, which had no less than twenty-seven chambers each about 270 by 60 cm (106 by 24 in). Greek and Oscan tombs have also been found.

Another suburb lay below the town and on the promontory on the west of it; under the Hotel Bellevue Syrene are substructions and a rock-hewn tunnel. To the north-west on the Capo di Sorrento is another villa, the so-called Bagni della Regina Giovanna, with baths, and in the bay to the south-west was the villa of Pollius Felix, the friend of Statius, which he describes in Silvae ii. 2, of which remains still exist. Farther west again are villas, as far as the temple of Athena on the promontory named after her at the extremity of the peninsula (now Punta Campanella). Neither of this nor of the famous temple of the Sirens are any traces existing.

In the mythology, according to the Greek historian Diodorus Siculus, Sorrento was founded by Liparus, son of Ausonus, who was king of the Ausoni and the son of Ulysses and Circe. The ancient city was probably connected to the Ausoni tribe, one of the most ancient ethnic groups in the area. In the pre-Roman age, Sorrento was influenced by the Greek civilization: this can be seen in its plant and in the presence of the Athenaion, a great sanctuary, also, according to the legend, founded by Ulysses and originally devoted to the cult of the Sirens, hence Sorrento's name.

Middle Ages and modern era

Sorrento became an archbishopric around 420 AD. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, it was ruled by the Ostrogoths and then returned to the Eastern Empire. The Lombards, who conquered much of southern Italy in the second half of the 6th century, besieged it in vain.

In the following centuries the authority of the distant Empire of Byzantium faded; initially part of the substantially independent Duchy of Naples, later Sorrento became in turn an autonomous duchy in the 9th century. It fought against neighbouring/rival Amalfi, the Saracens and the nearby Lombardic duchies, such as that of Duchy of Benevento, whose forces besieged it in 839, although Sorrento was able to resist with Neapolitan help. Sorrentine forces took part in the anti-Saracen leagues at the battles of Licosa (846) and Ostia (849). The duchy was ruled by figures elected by the people, which received honorary titles from the Byzantine Emperor.

In 1035 the city was acquired by Guaimar IV of Salerno, who gave it to his brother Guy. After a brief return under the Duchy of Naples, it returned in Lombard hands with Gisulf II of Salerno; when the latter was defeated by Robert Guiscard, Sorrento entered the Norman sphere of influence: any residual independence was ended in 1137 when it was conquered by Roger II of Sicily, and annexed to the Kingdom of Sicily.

On 13 June 1558 it was sacked by elements of the Ottoman navy under the command of Dragut and his lieutenant Piali, as part of the struggle between the Turks and Spain, which controlled the southern half of Italy at that time. 2,000 captives were reportedly taken away. This struggle was waged throughout the Mediterranean and lasted many decades. The attackers were not "pirates" as often characterised, though some may have been mercenaries from North Africa. The campaigns were conducted on the direct orders of Sultan Suleiman. The attack led to the construction of a new line of walls. The most striking event of the following century was the revolt against Spanish domination of 1648, led by Giovanni Grillo. In 1656 a plague struck the city. However, Sorrento remained one of the most important centres of southern Campania.

Sorrento entered into the Neapolitan Republic of 1799, but in vain.

In the 19th century the economy of the city improved markedly, favoured by the development of agriculture, tourism and trade. A route connecting Sorrento to Castellammare di Stabia was opened under the reign of Ferdinand II (1830–1859). In 1861 Sorrento was officially annexed to the new Kingdom of Italy. In the following years it confirmed and increased its status of one of the most renowned tourist destinations of Italy, a trend which continued into the 20th century. Famous people who visited it include Lord Byron, Keats, Goethe, Friedrich Nietzsche, Henrik Ibsen and Walter Scott.

Fortifications and castles

Having been a city victim of numerous attacks by pirates for its riches, Sorrento boasted in the past numerous castles and fortifications, especially on the strip of land that runs along the sea.

Sorrento, legends and myths

The myth of the Sirens has been loosely associated with Sorrento since antiquity. Three mermaids settled near Punta Campanella enchanting the seafarers sailing through those waters.

The beach of Queen Giovanna

A beach near to Sorrento natural swimming pool near the summer residence of the homonymous ruler. It is said that Queen Giovanna d'Angiò spent her summer holidays pleasantly in Sorrento. Having many lovers, she indulged them right on this beach. After taking advantage of them she had them drowned by her soldiers.

Rites of Holy week

The two main processions that take place in Sorrento on Good Friday are the Procession of Our Lady of Sorrows (or the "Visit in the Sepulchres"), organised by the Venerable Arciconfraternita of Saint Monica and the Procession of the Crucified Christ, organised by the Venerable Arciconfraternita of the Death.

Geography

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2013)

Climate

Sorrento experiences a Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csa). with mild, wet winters and warm, dry summers. The mild climate and fertility of the Gulf of Naples made the region famous during Roman times, when emperors such as Claudius and Tiberius holidayed nearby. Temperatures can get as high as 29 °C (84 °F) in April, as happened in 2013.

Culture

Sorrento has been visited by Lord Byron, John Keats, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Charles Dickens, Richard Wagner, Henrik Ibsen, and Friedrich Nietzsche. Sorrento was the birthplace of the poet Torquato Tasso, author of the Gerusalemme Liberata. The town was featured in the early 20th century song "Torna a Surriento" (Come Back to Sorrento) with lyrics by Giambattista De Curtis, brother of the song's composer, Ernesto De Curtis.

In the 1920s, famous Soviet writer Maxim Gorky lived in Sorrento.

Songs that have featured Surrento prominently have included "Torna a Surriento" and "Caruso", a song composed in Sorrento, in the summer of 1985, by the Bolognese singer-songwriter Lucio Dalla, whose fifty-years ties with Sorrento are described in the novel by the Sorrentine writer, Raffaele Lauro, titled "Caruso The Song - Lucio Dalla and Sorrento", which was released in December 2014.

The local football team is Football Club Sorrento that plays at the Stadio Italia, and currently plays in the Eccellenza Campania of the Italian Football League.

Main sights

• Amalfi Coast
• Marina Grande, port of Sorrento
• Marina Piccola, small port of Sorrento
• Park of Villa communale with a view of the Gulf of Naples with the volcano Vesuvius
• Piazza Tasso, central place in Sorrento
• Sorrento funicular (1883-1886), remnants of the defunct inclined railway descending from Hotel Vittoria
• Museo della tarsia lignea (intarsia)
• Museum Correale (Museo Correale di Terranova), museum with small archeologic department
• Via San Cesareo, Sorrento's main shopping street
• Cathedral of Sorrento (Santi Filippo e Giacomo Cathedral), from the 14th century with façade reconstructed in 1924. It was built over time in different styles, with doors of the 11th century from Constantinople
• Church of Santi Felice e Baccolo [it]
• Monastery of St Francesco, 14th century
• Roman ruins at the Punta del Capo
• Vallone dei Mulini (Valley of the Mills), see Vallone dei Mulini at Misplaced Pages Italiano

Transportation

Sorrento is served by ferry or hydrofoil from Naples or Capri as well as by boat services from the ports of the Bay of Naples and the Sorrentine Peninsula. Naples is served by two ports, Mergellina and Molo Beverello. Sorrento is connected to Naples by the Circumvesuviana rail line. Friends of Sorrento has details of buses serving Sorrento.

Airports

The nearest airports are:

• Napoli-Capodichino (NAP) 53 km
• Salerno-Pontecagnano (QSR) 75 km

Notable people

• Antoninus of Sorrento (555 or 556 – 625), an Italian abbot, hermit and saint
• Saint Baculus of Sorrento (7th c.), venerated as a Bishop of Sorrento
• Nardo Mormile (died 1493), a Roman Catholic prelate, Archbishop of Sorrento 1480–1493
• Antonius Agellius (1532 in Sorrento – 1608), Bishop of Acerno and a member of the Theatines
• Torquato Tasso (1544–1595), Italian poet of the 16th century
• Giuseppe Agellio (1570 in Sorrento – after 1620), an Italian painter of the Baroque period
• Giacomo di Castro (c. 1597 in Sorrento – 1687), an Italian painter of the Baroque period
• Sylvester Shchedrin (1791 – 1830 in Sorrento), a Russian landscape painter, emigrated to Italy in 1818
• Edoardo De Martino CVO (1838 Meta di Sorrento – 1912), an Italian-British painter, mainly active in London, painted warships and marine battles
• Bonaventura Gargiulo (1843–1904), Italian Capuchin friar, editor and publisher and Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Severo
• Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900), the German philosopher, was in Sorrento for six months in 1876. He there wrote Human, All Too Human
• Maxim Gorky (1868–1936), a Russian and Soviet writer, a founder of the socialist realism literary method and a political activist, five-time nominee for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Lived in Sorrento during his second exile from 1921 to 1928
• Aniello Califano (1870 in Sorrento – 1919), an Italian poet and writer, author of Neapolitan songs
• Pasquale Troise (1895, in Minori village – 1957), mandolinist and bandleader, active in England from the 1920s.
• Enrico Garff (born 1939), an Italian portrait painter and colourist, he has worked in Positano, Sorrento, Rome, Sicily and in Sweden and Finland
• Raffaele Lauro (born 1944 in Sorrento), politician and writer

Twin towns – sister cities

Sorrento is twinned with:

• Dubrovnik, Croatia
• Eilat, Israel
• Kumano, Japan
• Mar del Plata, Argentina
• Nice, France
• San Martino Valle Caudina, Italy
• Santa Fe, United States
• Skien, Norway
• Taurasi, Italy
• Sorrento, Australia

See also

• Amalfi Coast
• Sorrentine Peninsula
• Torna a Surriento

References

1. "Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
2. "Popolazione Residente al 1° Gennaio 2018". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
3. "Sorrento". Lonely Planet. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
4. "History, origin, recipe of Limoncello - Sorrento Italy". Sorrento Italy Guide. 2013-07-30. Archived from the original on 2023-04-02. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
5. "storia di sorrento". www.sorrentoholiday.info. Retrieved 2022-02-19.
6. ^ "origins of Sorrento history of Sorrento song torna a Surriento Sorrento holidays". Sorrento Online. 2022-10-02. Archived from the original on 2022-10-02. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
7. "Sorrento The Romance". Sorrento The Romance. 2017-06-15. Archived from the original on 2016-09-25. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
8. "History of the ancient walls of Sorrento". www.oldtavernasorrentina.it. Retrieved 4 Oct 2023.
9. "Arciconfraternita di Santa Monica". Arciconfraternitadisantamonica.com. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
10. "World Map of Köppen−Geiger Climate Classification". Institute for Veterinary Public Health – Vienna. 2011. Archived from the original on September 6, 2010. Retrieved December 16, 2012.
11. "Antic Naples". Naples.Rome-in-Italy.com. January 8, 2008. Archived from the original on December 25, 2008.
12. "AccuWeather.com for Sorrento, Italy". © 2013 AccuWeather, Inc. Retrieved 2013-06-24.
13. "Sorrento historic weather averages in Italy". Intellicast. Retrieved 3 June 2009.
14. "7 facts about Sorrento that might surprise you | Go Live It Blog". GO LIVE IT. 2019-01-30. Archived from the original on 2022-08-20. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
15. Symonds, John Addington (1911). "Tasso, Torquato" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 26 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 443–446.
16. Delgado, Yolanda (2014-07-13). "The final days of Russian writers: Maxim Gorky". Russia Beyond. Archived from the original on 2023-04-24. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
17. ""Caruso The Song" di Raffaele Lauro: la biografia interiore di Lucio Dalla attraverso il suo capolavoro e il suo legame con Sorrento". Sorrento The Romance. 2017-06-15. Archived from the original on 2018-09-28. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
18. "Enjoy our Amalfi Coast tours with Sorrento limousine service". sorrentocoastlimo.com. Archived from the original on 2017-02-21. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
19. "Home - Museo Correale di Terranova". Museocorreale.it. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
20. "Cattedrale di Sorrento". Cattedralesorrento.it. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
21. "Sorrento transport". Friends of Sorrento. 2015-11-29. Archived from the original on 2013-10-14. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
22. "Tasso, Torquato" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 26 (11th ed.). 1911.
23. Mauro Siniscalchi. "Raffaele Lauro". Raffaelelauro.it. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
24. "Caruso the Song | Caruso the Song - Lucio Dalla e Sorrento". Archived from the original on 2015-02-23. Retrieved 2015-10-23.
25. "Lucio Dalla e Sorrento - I luoghi dell'anima". www.carusothesong.com. Archived from the original on 13 September 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
26. "Delegazione di Sorrento in partenza per la Cina per un nuovo gemellaggio nel segno del turismo". sorrentopress.it (in Italian). Sorrento Press. 2019-11-23. Retrieved 2020-05-26.

Other sources

• "Sorrento" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 25 (11th ed.). 1911.
• Sorrento travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Media related to Sorrento at Wikimedia Commons

v t e Campania · Comuni of the Metropolitan City of Naples
Acerra Afragola Agerola Anacapri Arzano Bacoli Barano d'Ischia Boscoreale Boscotrecase Brusciano Caivano Calvizzano Camposano Capri Carbonara di Nola Cardito Casalnuovo di Napoli Casamarciano Casamicciola Terme Casandrino Casavatore Casola di Napoli Casoria Castellammare di Stabia Castello di Cisterna Cercola Cicciano Cimitile Comiziano Crispano Ercolano Forio Frattamaggiore Frattaminore Giugliano in Campania Gragnano Grumo Nevano Ischia Lacco Ameno Lettere Liveri Marano di Napoli Mariglianella Marigliano Massa Lubrense Massa di Somma Melito di Napoli Meta Monte di Procida Mugnano di Napoli Naples Nola Ottaviano Palma Campania Piano di Sorrento Pimonte Poggiomarino Pollena Trocchia Pomigliano d'Arco Pompei Portici Pozzuoli Procida Qualiano Quarto Roccarainola San Gennaro Vesuviano San Giorgio a Cremano San Giuseppe Vesuviano San Paolo Bel Sito San Sebastiano al Vesuvio San Vitaliano Sant'Agnello Sant'Anastasia Sant'Antimo Sant'Antonio Abate Santa Maria la Carità Saviano Scisciano Serrara Fontana Somma Vesuviana Sorrento Striano Terzigno Torre Annunziata Torre del Greco Trecase Tufino Vico Equense Villaricca Visciano Volla

v t e Amalfi Coast and Sorrentine Peninsula
Amalfi Coast	Municipalities Amalfi Atrani Cetara Conca dei Marini Furore Maiori Minori Positano Praiano Ravello Scala Tramonti Vietri sul Mare Places of interest Amalfi Cathedral Grotta dello Smeraldo San Giovanni Battista San Giovanni del Toro Roman Villa of Minori Villa Cimbrone Villa Rufolo
Sorrentine Peninsula	Agerola Massa Lubrense Meta Piano di Sorrento Pimonte Sant'Agnello Sorrento Vico Equense

v t e Maritime republics
Duchy of Amalfi  Republic of Genoa  Republic of Pisa  Republic of Venice
Duchy of Gaeta Republic of Ancona Republic of Noli  Republic of Ragusa
Regatta of the Historical Marine Republics Coat of Arms of the Navy [it]

• Cities and towns in Campania
• Municipalities of the Metropolitan City of Naples
• Sorrento
• Coastal towns in Campania
• Roman sites of Campania