Day 2 - SORRENTO, ITALY - SWEET, SUNNY SORRENTO October 10, 2021

If You Love To Eat, You’ll Find The Dining Experience Here Second To None. Lemon Is The Star In
Sorrento’s Cuisine; It’s In Everything: Risotto, Olive Oil, Gelato, And Of Course, Limoncello.

The little town of Sorrento (you'll hear it called Surriento in the local dialect) sits amid lemon and orange groves on the south side of the Bay of Naples, surrounded by craggy cliffs that rise 55 meters above the sea.  With its many pedestrian-only streets, Sorrento is a lovely city to explore on foot, but if you really want to see Sorrento, you’re going to have to travel vertically since most of the town is set up on the cliffs. To get to the top, you can hop on a minibus, take the lift, or go on a short but steep hike.

 The isle of Capri, the playground of the rich and famous, is looking out from Sorrento, in the Gulf of Naples. Well known for its sparkling Blue Grotto, Capri is easily and quickly reached.

Marina Grande and Marina Piccola

The two harbors, Marina Grande and Marina Piccola, extend along the steep coast. In terms of boats arriving and departing, Marina Grande, which means large, is actually smaller than Marina Piccola, but more interesting for tourists. Its waterfront has a boardwalk atmosphere, lined by seafood restaurants with terraces overlooking the water, and if you step away from the beach and swimming piers lined with sunbathers, you'll find a little fishing village. Fishermen still unload their boats here in the morning to supply the restaurants.

 Cloister of San Francesco

The monastery dedicated to St. Francis dates to the early eighth century, and its highlight is the late-13th-century cloister. On two sides are crossed arches of tufa, and the other two have round arches above octagonal columns. As in other Sorrento buildings, look for pieces of earlier structures - three of the corner columns were once part of pagan temples.

Bagni della Regina Giovanna

At the point of Capo di Sorrento are the ruins of a Roman villa, the Villa Pollio Felice, dating from the first century BC, and one of the unique things to do in Sorrento is to swim in the beautiful natural pool below it. Separated from the sea by a rock arch, the pool is surrounded by steep rock cliffs. You can get here by boat or by a path from the road (a bus will bring you from the center of town or it's a half-hour walk); a walkway leads across the bridge formed by the natural arch. Although there are plenty of beaches in Sorrento, swimming here is an unforgettable experience.

Basilica of Sant'Antonino

The ninth-century oratory dedicated to Sorrento's patron saint Sant'Antonino - St. Anthony Abbot - developed into a church in the 11th century. Today, you can find Roman columns and other pieces recycled from earlier buildings. Don't miss seeing the crypt, where grateful people have brought silver votive offerings, and others, primitive paintings in thanks for being saved from disasters at sea. Perhaps St. Antonino's fame for sea rescues stems from the story of his saving a Sorrento child who had been swallowed by a whale; inside the church you'll see bones that are believed to be from the same greedy whale.