The aromatic lemons of Sorrento

 Visit a genuine 'agruminato' in centre of resort

Lemon products are everywhere to be seen in Sorrento, from perfumes, soaps and candles to sweets, biscuits and the resort’s famous lemon liqueur, Limoncello.

Sorrento is famous throughout the world for the quality of the lemons produced in the town and along its peninsula, which are large, oval in shape and have a distinctive perfume. They are known to have been cultivated in the area since Roman times.

Lemons growing in Sorrento

If you want to escape the hustle and bustle of Sorrento for a while, you can visit a genuine agruminato, lemon grove, near the centre of the resort and enjoy some quiet time.

I giardini di Cataldo in Via Correale is a citrus garden typical of the Sorrento peninsula. Once part of a much bigger agricultural estate, the 11000 square metre lemon grove was rescued by the municipality of Sorrento at the beginning of the 21st century. The land was saved from development and it remains a working citrus garden, while being open to the public to visit.

Staff from I giardini di Cataldo look after the land, pick the fruits from the citrus tees and produce liqueurs, marmalades and sweets from them.

You can stroll under the pergolas of chestnut wood poles, enjoy the smell of the lemons and see how they are cultivated.

Limoncello on sale in a Sorrento shop

Limoncello, which is made from an infusion of lemon peel and alcohol, is now produced in other parts of Italy as well, but connoisseurs consider the best limoncello to be made from lemons grown in Sorrento and out along the peninsula. Capri’s lemon groves are well regarded too.

Limoncello should be served very cold and is usually enjoyed after a good meal. Salute!

I Giardini di Cataldo are at Via Correale, 27 in Sorrento. For more information, visit www.igiardinidicataldo.it.

Casa Correale Sorrento

Grand house has stunning tiled courtyard

One of the finest collections of old majolica tiles in Sorrento can be seen in Casa Correale, an 18th century mansion in Piazza Tasso that is now being used as a shop.

The tiled wall of the inner courtyard

The friendly staff working in the sales outlet for Fattoria Terranova are happy for visitors to go inside to view the stunning wall decorated with majolica tiles in the courtyard of the house.

Although the Correale family are believed to have owned a house on this site in the 15th century, the current mansion, on the corner of Piazza Tasso and Via Pietà dates from the middle of the 18th century.

The elegant doorway is constructed of local stone and you can go through a passageway into a courtyard to see an old majolica tiled mural depicting architectural and agricultural scenes, believed to be the work of craftsmen from Chiaia in Naples.

The date of 1768 above the entrance door refers to the time the original house was transformed into the elegant residence we see today.

The entrance from Piazza Tasso

The shop sells olives, oils, herbs and liqueurs produced at Fattoria Terranova in Via Pontone in Sant’Agata su Due Golfi, a town outside Sorrento along the peninsula.

The land was given to the Correale family for them to farm by Neapolitan Queen Joanna of Anjou in the 15th century. They employed local people to do the work and a descendant of one of those families, Claudio Ruoppo, now runs the business with the support of his wife and children. For more information visit www.fattoriaterranova.it 

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Spend the day in ‘royal’ Naples

If you go to Naples for the day while staying in Sorrento, spend some time in the area around Piazza del Plebiscito, where there are many buildings with royal connections that are well worth seeing.

You can arrive by boat and quickly walk up from the harbour to this area, which is the smartest part of the city.

Piazza del Plebiscito is not far from the port

The impressive Palazzo Reale at the eastern end of Piazza del Plebiscito was one of the residences of the Kings of Naples at the time the city was capital of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

The palace, which dates back to 1600, is now home to a 30-room museum and the largest library in southern Italy, which are both open to the public.

It is nice to browse in the shops of the elegant Galleria Umberto I nearby, which was built in the 1880s and named after one of the Savoy Kings of Italy.

You could pause for refreshments at Gran Caffè Gambrinus, founded in 1860 in Piazza Trieste e Trento. It was later remodelled in stile liberty (art nouveau) and became a meeting place for artists and intellectuals in Naples.

Close to the royal palace is one of the oldest opera houses in the world, built for a Bourbon King of Naples.

Teatro di San Carlo was officially opened on 4 November in 1737, way ahead of La Scala in Milan and La Fenice in Venice.

Palazzo Reale viewed from the Caffe Gambrinus

Built in Via San Carlo close to Piazza Plebiscito, Teatro di San Carlo quickly became one of the most important opera houses in Europe and renowned for its excellent productions.

The theatre was designed by Giovanni Antonio Medrano for Charles I, and took just eight months to build.

The official inauguration was on the King’s saint’s day, the festival of San Carlo, on the evening of 4 November. There was a performance of L’Achille in Sciro by Pietro Metastasio with music by Domenico Sarro, who also conducted the orchestra for the music for two ballets.

This was 41 years before La Scala and 55 years before La Fenice opened. San Carlo is now believed to be one of the oldest, if not the oldest, remaining opera houses in the world.

Both Rossini and Donizetti served as artistic directors at San Carlo and the world premieres of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor and Rossini’s Mosè were performed there.

In the magnificent auditorium, the focal point is the royal box surmounted by the crown of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

Look for hotels in Naples with venere.com and Hotels.com

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Take home a decorative souvenir of Sorrento

If you would like a beautiful memento of your holiday in Sorrento, why not treat yourself to an article made from inlaid wood.

Intarsia, the craft of inlaying a decorative, design in wood, is an ancient Sorrentine tradition. You will see wonderful old examples of this type of marquetry work illustrating religious subjects inside Sorrento’s Duomo in Corso Italia.

If you wander along Via San Cesareo, the ancient street that runs parallel with the Corso, you will see shops selling pictures, boxes and small tables decorated with inlaid wood that have been hand-made by artisans in Sorrento.

A shop specialising in objects made from inlaid wood.

Turn down one of the side streets that go off Via San Cesareo at right angles and you will see the artisans at work creating these items in full view through the open doors of their workshops.

In nearby Via San Nicola you can visit il Museobottega della Tarsialignea and see precious early examples of the craft and pieces of furniture and pictures from the 18th and 19th centuries, when these items were sought after by the rich and famous people who visited Sorrento on the Grand Tour.

The museum is housed in an 18th century palace, where courses and events for people wishing to learn the craft take place. The palace also has an exhibition of paintings, prints and photographs by artists from Sorrento and abroad depicting the coastline and scenery around the resort over the centuries.

The museum is open Monday to Saturday from 9.30 to 13.00 and 16.00 to 20.00 between April and October. It closes an hour earlier during the winter.

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Enjoy Italy's new wine while in Sorrento

Light, fruity Vino Novello

During November you will see Vino Novello, Italy's new wine, on sale in the shops and being served in bars and restaurants in Sorrento.
The light, fruity, new red wine is enjoyable to drink and a bargain buy to take home with you.
Vino Novello is similar in taste, body and colour to the French Beaujolais Nouveau, which is exported to other countries after its release.
Like Beaujolais Nouveau, Italy's new wine should be drunk quickly after the bottle is opened. Unopened bottles should be keep for only a few months.
Italy's Vino Novello 2012 was launched on 6 November, ten days ahead of Beaujolais Nouveau and has gone on sale in many supermarkets, wine shops and bars.
A major area for production is the Veneto, with the merlot grape being the one most used by wine makers.
Make the most of the opportunity to taste an Italian Vino Novello while in Sorrento. Salute! 

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Visit vibrant Via San Cesareo

Colourful stalls line
Via San Cesareo 

One of the most fascinating streets in Sorrento is Via San Cesareo, which is right in the centre just off Piazza Tasso.
Running parallel with the much wider Corso Italia, the street follows one of the lines of the ancient Greek and Roman town plan. It is narrow because it was designed to be shaded by the buildings along both sides to keep it as cool as possible during the height of the summer.

Crammed with shops, bars and restaurants, the ancient cobbled street leads to Via Tasso, providing an experience for all your senses with its exciting colours, aromas and sounds along the way.

As soon as you enter it from Piazza Tasso, you are met with bright colours, snatches of mandolin music, excited voices and frantic activity.

Luxury leather goods and jewellery shops display their stock along with the stalls of fresh fruit and vegetables close to the outside eating areas of bars and restaurants.

You will be dazzled by the strings of bright red chillis, colourful hand painted ceramics and fresh green vegetables and herbs on sale.

From one doorway you might experience the smell of new leather handbags, from another a whiff of Sorrento’s lemon perfumes and products and, from a restaurant, the occasional enticing aroma of tomato and garlic.

You’ll be able to taste ice cold limoncello in the liqueur shops, watch craftsmen making decorations in inlaid wood and be invited into the air conditioned bars and restaurants by waiters standing in the doorways calling out the names of the day’s special dishes.

You’ll hear snatches of Torna a Surriento as people open the musical boxes outside the inlaid wood shops, competing against the background hum of shoppers discussing their purchases, with the occasional melodic tone of an Italian shopkeeper soaring above, like a snatch of opera.

Card games and frescoes
in Sedile Dominova

Before you reach Via Tasso, look out for Sedile Dominova on the left hand side. The elegant 15th century open loggia on the corner of Via Giuliani was originally built as a meeting place for the nobility and is beautifully decorated with frescoes.

Watch the local men of today enjoying a quiet game of cards under the ornate cupola, seemingly oblivious to what is going on around them.   

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