Population: 16,500
Official site: Sorrento
Wikipedia: Sorrento
Map:  MapQuest

Sorrento has been a polular vacation resort since 600 AD when Roman nobles and gentry made there way here.  Many  built splendid villas, a few of which have survived.  It was also a way-station on the "Grand Tour" and so many notable people have spent time here, including Byron, Walter Scott, Dickens, Goethe, Ibsen and Nitzche.

The town's nickname is "La Gentile" because it is genteel and cheerful. But, as the largest resort town on the Amalfi Coast drive it is also quite busy.

Sorrento is a good place for many English travelers to stick a toe into southern Italy because English is widely spoken here.  Many of the locals have learned to seduce us with renditions of "fish and chips".

The surrounding countryside is characterized by lushly wooded hills, interrupted by olive, lemon and olive groves, whose fragrances seem to permeate the air.

Unlike most of the other resort towns on the Amalfi Coast drive, the Sorrento townsite is perched on cliffs overlooking the Bay of Naples.  The City of Naples is due north approximately 30 kilometers, and can be faintly seen on a clear day, of which there are many.  The sharp-eyed can also make out the top of Mount Vesuvius to the east, and the Isle of Ischia to the west.

Tourists who want to bask on a thin strip of beach, swim, or board boats and ships must descend to the water about 150 feet below.  Obviously, the elderly, the infirm and the very young will have some difficulty participating in water related activities - unless the water is in the pool of their hotel, of course.

The Marina Piccola is one of the busiest on the Bay of Naples or even the entire Tyrrhenian Coast.  You can catch a ferry, jetboat or hydrofoil to a number of "must see" destinations, including the islands of Capri and  Ichsia, or to other points along the Amalfi Coast, including Positano, Amalfi and Minori.  Needless to say you can also cruise to Naples and other points further north.

The remarkable and bustling Piazza Tasso, a social epicenter in the town, is built over a millstream in a very deep, sharply cut ravine.  If you don't mind a little vertigo with your site-seeing, you will see the ruins of an ancient flour mill below.

If you intend to stay a night or two (or longer), be careful when you select your hotel or pensione.  Those located in the center of the town, particularly those close to the Corso Italia, which is noisy even into the wee hours.  Some hoteliers even dispense ear plugs to guests who insist on sleeping!

Some of the hotels further out along the cliffs are quieter, and some of them even have elevators to take you down to sea level.

For travelers of almost any predilection, there is much to do in Sorrento.  The Moorish-style cloisters of the Church of San Francisco, close by the Piazza Tasso, are highly rated (for good reason), as is the Villa Correale where you will find Italian painting, cermamics and furniture on display.

The Societa Operaia is not an opera house, but a club where local men play cards and talk politics throughout the day - and most of the night.  The trompe l'oeil frescoes in the club create a stunning backdrop to the card shuffling.

The Via Communale terminates at the north end at a terrace from which one can gaze out across the Bay of Naples.

Shoppers will enjoy the shops where one can purchase a wide variety of luxury goods - including inlaid woods, woolen goods, ceramics, jewellery and high fashion.

There are any number of cafes and restaurants, as well as bakeries, cheese shops, butchers and green grocers for those who want to cobble together a picnic.  Local specialties include seafoods, cheeses, almond cakes and limoncello - a sweet and sour liqueur derived from locally grown lemons.

It's an easy, if hair-raising drive to Positano, Amalfi and Ravello, other beautiful places on the Serrentine Peninsula.  You can stay in Sorrento and make them into outings, or you can simple stay a day or two and move on to one or the other.  Either way, it's a win-win!