CAMPANIA: Campania is in many ways Italy's most memorable & beautiful region. It forms a fertile crescent around the bays of Naples & Sorrento and stretches inland into a landscape of limestone rocks dotted with patches of fertile soil. Campania has a smoldering volcano, sulfurous springs, & lakes that ancient myths refer to as the gateway to Hades, & Europe's densest collection of ancient ruins. Its seaside highway is the most beautiful, & probably the most treacherous, in the world, combining danger at every hairpin turn with some of Italy's most reckless drivers. Despite this, Campania is a captivating region sought out by native Italians & visitors alike for its combination of earth, sea, & sky.

It was off the shores of Campania that Ulysses ordered his crew to tie him to the mast of his ship, ears unstopped, so that he alone would hear the songs of the sirens without throwing himself overboard to sample their pleasures. The ancient Romans dubbed the land "Campania Felix" (pleasant countryside) & constructed hundreds of villas there. In some ways, the beauty of Campania contributed to the decay of the Roman Empire, as emperors, their senators, & their courtiers spent more time pursuing its pleasures & abandoning the cares of Rome's administrative problems. Even today, seafront land here is so desirable that hoteliers have poured their life savings into buildings that are sometimes bizarrely cantilevered above rock-studded cliffs. Despite an abundance of such hotels, they tend to be profitably overbooked in summer.

Although residents of Campania sometimes stridently defend the cuisine, it's not the most renowned in Italy. The region's produce, however, is superb, its wine is heady, and its pizzas are memorable. Today Campania typifies the conditions that northern Italians label "the problem of the south." Although the inequities are the most pronounced in Naples, the entire region, outside the resorts along the coast, has a lower standard of living and education and higher crime rates, plus less-developed standards of healthcare, than the more affluent north.

When the English say "see Naples and die," they mean the city and the bay, with majestic Vesuvius in the background. When the Germans use the expression, they mean the Amalfi Drive. Indeed, several motorists die each year on the dangerous coastal road, which is too narrow to accommodate the stream of summer traffic, especially the large tour buses that almost sideswipe one another as they try to pass. (We did it in minivans.)

Sorrento & Amalfi have the widest range of facilities. Positano has more snob appeal & is popular with artists (we visited there & those photos are coming up in a separate photo journal). Ravello is still the choice of the discriminating few who desire relative seclusion. The gorgeous island of Capri (accessible by ferry from Sorrento or Naples) was known to emperors before international travelers discovered it (we visited there too, so that’s another journal). But the popularity of the resort-studded Amalfi Coast is a more recent phenomenon. It was discovered by German officers during World War II, and then later by American and English servicemen (Positano was a British rest camp in the last months of the war). When the war was over, many of these servicemen returned, often bringing their families. In time, the fishing villages became major tourism centers, with hotels and restaurants in all price ranges.

SORRENTO:

Sorrento, a small city in Italy’s Campania region (pop about 17K), is a famous holiday resort that stands on a tuff terrace high above the sea, overlooking the Bay of Naples, on one of the most spectacular points of the Campania coast. (Tuff cliffs are geological formations composed of compressed volcanic ash.) Because of its enchanting position & mild climate, sheltered by the surrounding hills, Sorrento has been a favorite resort since Romans times, & an elite tourist resort since the 18th century. The stunning beauty of the place is enhanced with tales of mythical mermaids whose soft singing tempted Ulysses and his crew in Homer’s Odyssey.

Located 31 miles south of Naples, today’s Sorrento is one of the most popular destinations of the entire Campania region, a preferred destination for Italian visitors & foreign tourists, especially if they want to take excursions to nearby Capri, Pompeii, Amalfi, or Positano. The absence of a true sea promenade makes it a unique ‘resort’. In fact, the port & the beaches of Marina Grande* & Marina Piccola, situated in picturesque bays backed by impressive tuff* cliffs, are reached via steps & narrow alleys offering panoramic views of the coast, the surrounding hills covered in olive-groves & citrus trees, & the blue crystal sea. [*One place we missed that you may want to visit is Marina Grande, with its 4th century Greek gate & its fishing village that fuses local & Moorish architecture, its picturesque houses built on the tuff cliffs, the 17th century St. Anne church, & the famous Sorrento fishing boats.]

History: Sorrento began as a Phoenician colony, then a Greek port frequented by Greeks involved in commercial activity with Naples & the other southern cities. The city’s name was set by the Greeks who named it “Syrenusion” or “Syreon”, which means Siren’s Land. Sorrento then became a Roman colony & the privileged residence of Roman nobles & upper class citizens, hence the numerous villas here. Sorrento was also raided by the Goths, the Longobards & the Byzantines. It became a dukedom in the 9th century, was conquered by the Normans in 1133, & eventually became part of the Italian Republic in 1799.

The historical center of Sorrento, of Greco-Oscan origin, is found within 16th century walls. (The Oscan were the historic inhabitants of Southern Italy.) The remains of the Greek walls can still be admired in the "Sopra le Mura" (over the Walls) area. There are no other preserved ruins in the town itself, but there are several sites all around it. You can find them in this long list of attractions near Sorrento: http://www.tripadvisor.ie/AllLocations-g187782-c2-Attractions-Sorrento_Campania.html Sorrento boasts a number of important religious sights including the St. Anthony's Basilica, the Church of St. Maria del Carmine, the Church of San Francesco d'Assisi (famed for its magnificent cloisters), the Sorrento Cathedral, & the Monastery of St. Maria delle Grazie.

Sorrento has always attracted poets & writers, musicians, painters, film directors, & photographers. Italy’s famous poet Torquato Tasso was born here & the city named its main square after him & erected a statue there in his honor.

More info & some great photos: http://www.italy-sorrento.com/