Not just St. Valentine.........
by leics
14th February may be St Valentine's day for the rest of Europe, but in Sorrento it's also when they celebrate their own patron saint, St Antonino.
By the evening of 13th the whole of Corso Italia was crammed with market traders setting-up their stalls, and street sellers from Naples arrived on the early Circumvesuviana train the next day. The vast majority of stalls were for sweeties of some sort or another........Haribo and nougat seeming most popular.... closely followed by all types of nuts and dried fruits. Other stalls sell everything from tools and toys to (very cold, poor things) baby hamsters and live fish.
There are processions during the day (I missed them, sadly) and the whole town seems to turn out to wander the stalls........probably all the nearby villages too. It was certainly a crush, made even more Italian in the evening by the cars crawling through the crowds; none of this fancy health & safety stuff, just make sure you get out of the way! Fireworks too.....the day seemed to start off with huge bangs!
And, of course, people visited the Basilica de S. Antonino, and his statue in P. Tasso was garlanded with flowers, oranges and lemons.
Well worth a wander if you happen to be in the area at the right time (thpough parking will be a nightmare, so get the bus or train).
Fasten Your Seat Belts!
by Krystynn
For YOUR own safety, DON'T drive in Sorrento if you're a foreigner. Really.
Join a day tour, hop onto a local bus or hail a cab.... but never try to be a hero (if you aren't a local or an Italian) and try to drive along the streets of Sorrento. And please, don't dash out of your hotel/hostel during rush hours too. Let the Italians go to work first and then you go out - shopping, sightseeing et al. Trust me on this.
Public transportation here is relatively inexpensive and it will not burn a hole in your pocket. Compared to New York or Tokyo!
People watching Paradise
by Balam about Bar Erculano
Situated in Piazza Tasso opposite Fauno Bar this is a lovely looking Kiosk type bar that sells everything from drinks, ice creams (in cones or dishes) to meals. It's a great place to sit and watch the world go by. Cheaper than the other bars around the square and with a much more friendly and traditional atmosphere. The local snacks are fantastic.
Bottle beer 3.50 Euro
Pizza margherita 3.50 Euro
If you don,t want to sit down you can just purchase snaks and drinks to eat while walking around as many people do. Nice Ice cream and Fantastic Local snack foods.
Basilica di San Antonino
by mallyak
This basilica was built around the 10th century in honor of Saint Anthony, patron saint of navigators, and in c.1300 it became the home of the "Confraternita dei Battenti", an heretical confraternity originating from Naples. It was splendidly restored in the C17th by the Theatine Fathers. The crypt holds the tomb of Saint Anthony, where thousands of votive offerings have been made by sailors.
Under the Sorrentine Sun
by goodfish
This lovely, old Italian town is a fabulous base for exploring the Amalfi coast. Safer and prettier than Naples, less expensive than Capri or Positano and with more hotels, restaurants and shopping than Ravello or Amalfi, all of these places can be day-tripped from Sorrento by train or ferry. We only had 2 and 1/2 days here - not nearly long enough - and with one spent seeing Pompeii and a good share of another at Positano, we didn't have the time to explore all that Sorrento itself has to offer. What didn't get done? Almost all of the beautiful churches, the museums and some of the better walks above the sea. What would bring us back? Pastel houses along Marina Grande and watching the boats unload the day's catch; two memorable dinners; passeggiatas - evening strolls - by tiny shops on impossibly narrow streets; the lights of Naples beneath the shadow of Vesuvius from Villa Comunale; wine and people-watching on Piazza Tasso. We had a wonderful time and will be back again someday to do all the things we missed!
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view from my seat, looking out onto Piazza Tasso
A Tribute to the Beatles
Versuvious
? guess
