Sorrento in a nutshell by David Block Visitors have been flocking to Sorrento since the rule of Imperial Rome when it was a noted vacation resort for the wealthy. Here's our own mini-guide. Where to shop
A regiment of shops ranges along Corso Italia and Via S.Cesareo, including haute couture boutiques and emporia that stock vacation must-haves such as cameos, tapestries, leather goods, and linens. As in all resorts, watch out for the usual tatty suspects: I saw one rack touting "Italian Silk Scarves" that turned out to be acetate strips made in India. Right off the main square, Piazza Tasso, sits the 142-year-old A.Gargiulo & Jannuzi (www.gargiulo-jannuzzi.it) store, with three floors of inlaid wood, embroideries, lace, pottery, breakfast sets, table clothes, jewelry, musical boxes, dolls, and ceramics. You can even watch craftworkers creating some of them behind the scenes.
There's no shortage of shops selling olive oil, Parmesan cheese, cured ham, and Limonoro, the local lemon liquor, but more interesting and less expensive examples of the same are to be had away from the town's tourist tracks where the locals do their daily shopping. Follow them to the Tuesday market for a colorful and characterful alternative.
Where to eat
Every inch of the walls inside Il Ristorante Caruso (Via Casarlano 8, tel: +39 (0)81 807-2959; website: www.ristorantemuseocaruso.com) bears testament to the owner's passion for the great singer. This unique restaurant is decorated throughout with Enrico Caruso memorabilia. And to accompany the historic pictures is a background recording of some of his most famous performances. Offering classic Italian fare and set menus from 70 euro ($95), the restaurant's specialty is pezzogna acqua pazza, a local bream-type fish for 25 euro ($34). The menu is lavishly garnished with pictures of Il gran tenore, of course. The Iaccarino family has been in the hotel business since 1890. The fourth generation: Alfonso and Livia, opened Don Alfonso (www.donalfonso.com) to offer the authentic flavors of their native countryside, Campania. Fifteen years ago they went one step further and bought a farm on which to grow organic produce for the restaurant. Now they've come full circle and have attached five luxurious hotel suites for guests to enjoy before and after they've consumed an incomparable meal, stylishly presented. La Sorgente (tel:+39 (0)81 807 2618) is a working farm just outside town on the Via Antigliana. Here you can see how Mozzarella cheese and olive oil are made, then taste them on bread, accompanied by huge, sweet slices of tomato and hearty wines. Ambrosial. Where to swim
Sea swimming isn't why people come to Sorrento, but if you want a dip, try to stay in one of the seafront hotels that compensate for the gritty shoreline by providing pools of neo-Olympian dimensions. Otherwise, many of these hotels will let non-guests use the pool for a small fee. The centrally located Europa Palace, for example, (Via Correale 34/36, 80067 Sorrento (NA); tel. +39 (0)81-807-3432; website: www.europapalace.com) provides a beach towel, and even parasol and deck chair if available, for 20 euro per person per day. |
