Sorrento: the Land of the Mermaids. According to the legend the mairmaids who tempted Ulysses with their enchanting songs,lived in the surrentin sea. And nowadays,looking at that sea, with his beautiful green hue, we can still see, coming out from the waves, the mairmaids. But Sorrento is such a charming place that it could be regarded as a mairmaid. Its lemon and orange trees cannot but remain impressed in the memory of those who come here. This Greeks and the Romans hold it dearest, the Byzantins ruled over it. Later on Sorrento became a free dukedom but it was subsequently conquered by Ruggero the Norman and did not become part of the Reign of Naples. Sorrento was often attacked by the Saracens. Torquato Tasso, the famous poet,was born in Sorrento in 1544, in a house which is now a part of the Imperial Tramontano Hotel. In the centre of the town, in S.Nicola lane, there is still the house of his sister, Cornelia, the wife of don Marzio Sersale, a surrentin nobleman. Sorrento was visited by many writers, poets and playwrights. The lanes, where the old roads of the Roman town were located, are made lively by many little shops offering a wide range of typical goods. The Museum "Correale di Terranova", a refined building surrounded by a beautiful garden overlooking the Gulf of Naples, with its collection of paintings, its valuable pieces of china, its inlaid pieces of furniture, its pieces of "majolica" and its laces, is really worth a visit. Sorrento is the little capital of a peninsula where, from Vico Equense to Sant'Agata, there are many lovely places, characterized by beautiful gardens, by terraces on the sea, by the perfume of the flowers. Sorrento and the peninsula offer a very wide range of hotel accomodation which can meet every request, having a very high quality standard. There is the efficiency of the Sorrento Palace Hotel with its huge Conference Hall, the charme of the Excelsior Vittoria Hotel, where the very famous tenor, Enrico Caruso, lived the last period of his life, the Cocumella hotel, housed in an ancient monastery, with a little chapel and a beautiful garden; the Parco dei Principi Hotel where there is a house which belonged to the Borbone, and finally there are some little guesthouses with gardens full of flowers. Restaurants and cafes give the tourist the chance to taste the local cousine. A well known restaurant, which is mentioned by the "Michelin restaurant guide" and which has been awarded three stars, is Don Alfonso in Sant'Agata. In every cafe you can taste delicious cakes, ice-creams and, if you like, a glass of the now famous "Limoncello". And having a pizza, a cheap and very good meal, is always the best choice. There are many interesting happenings in Sorrento all through the year. During the summer a series of concerts are held in the beautiful "Chiostro di San Francesco". During the Holy Week, before Easter, there are many religoius processions, at Christamas there is the "live Christmas crib" at S.Lucia's parish church in Sorrento and another in Piano, the game of tombola in Via San Cesareo in Sorrento. In addition, there is the concert organized by the Rotary Club. In February there is the "Camelia Exhibition" organized every two years by the Garden Club. Sorrento is famous not only for tourism but also for its seafaring tradition (in Piano there is a Secondary School called "Istituto Nautico Nino Bixio") and for its inlaid woodwork, for lacework and pottery. And last but not least, for its lemon liqueur, the very famous " Limoncello". The "Sedil Dominova", a place (which dates back to the XIV century) where the noblemen used to meet and make decision as to the administration of the town, the church of S.Maria delle Grazie, the Basilica of S.Antonino, the patron saint of the town, the Cathedral, the Chiostro di San Francesco (which dates back to the XIV century) are really worth seeing.

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