Sorrento is a beautiful town perched on a cliff high above the sea with views of Vesuvius and the islands in the Bay of Naples . Use this website to help you plan a visit to this elegant southern Italian resort and find your way to the best beaches and some lovely villages and towns along the Sorrentine peninsula that are perhaps less well known to tourists.

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Piazza Sant’Antonino

Palm trees shelter Sorrento saint


Sorrento’s patron saint, Sant’Antonino, has three statues honouring him in the historic centre of the resort.
In Piazza Tasso, the hub of Sorrento, in the middle of the main shopping street, Corso Italia, there is a statue of Sant’Antonino in a prominent position. The square is named after the poet Torquato Tasso, who was born in Sorrento, but his statue is tucked away in a little garden to one side.
Sant'Antonino looks out over his square
A short walk from Piazza Tasso along Via Luigi de Maio, leads to the pretty Piazza Sant’Antonino, which has a statue of Sant’Antonino Abate surrounded by palm trees with Sorrento’s Town Hall behind it.
Just off the square, the Via Santa Maria delle Grazie leads to the church of the same name. Running parallel with Via San Cesareo and the Corso, this street has many interesting shops, bars and restaurants.
The piazza is also home to Basilica Sant’Antonino, parts of which date back to the 11th century. In the sacristry is a beautiful example of a presepe (crib) with 17th century figures made by Neapolitan sculptors.
Inside the Basilica, another statue of the saint is surrounded by the many offerings from sailors who have been saved from shipwrecks over the centuries and believe it was thanks to the intervention of Sant’Antonino.
Basilica Sant'Antonino is across the road from the statue
Sant’Antonino Abate died on 14 February, 626 AD.
He is credited with saving the life of a child swallowed by a whale and protecting Sorrento against plague and invasion.
Each year on the anniversary of his death, a silver statue of Sant’Antonino is carried in a procession through the streets of Sorrento and there are festive lights, fireworks, and musical events in his name.

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