From my new blog ‘Sorrento With Bells On‘
Just uploaded my first legacy video to my new YouTube channel ‘Sorrento With Bells On’. This is the one called ‘Guide to Sorrento’ which on my personal YouTube Channel currently has 9,324 views. Of course, on the new channel it is at no views, but it will be good to have all my Sorrento vids in a single place to help people looking for only Sorrento related content.
This video is largely the product of my last visit to Sorrento in 2019, though it does also have some earlier footage. Here is the documentary, as now located on the new YouTube channel:
It begins out at sea looking in at Sorrento and Marina Grande from this unique angle. I begin by outlining its origins as the Roman settlement of Surrentum and how it was named after the legendary Sirens of Greek mythology. The Sirens supposedly lived on the Li Galli Islands just of the coast of Positano on the other side of the Sorrentine Peninsula. If you go on the ferry from Sorrento to Possitano and Amalfi you pass these islands and don’t even need to get tied the the mast of a ship like Odysseus to accomplish the task.
The film is then divided into three parts and these based on three areas of Sorrento are addressed in turn: Tasso Square, Corso Italia, and St Antonino Square.
Part one talks about Sorrento’s main Piazza, Tasso Square, and discusses the local patron saint – St Antonino, Sorrento’s famous artistic talent – Torquato Tasso before exploring the ancient street of Via Santa Maria Della Pieta that leads to the cathedral. It then covers the Church of Antuario Della Maddona Del Carmine – the supposed site of an early Christian martyrdom, and the Valley of the Mills which were a centre of flour production since the 13th century.
Part two looks at places of interest that are accessed from Sorrento’s main street – Corso Italia. These include the Church of Annunciation which is thought to stand on the site of an ancient temple to the goddess Cybele, the 4th century Greek Gate, the old fishing village of Marina Grande, the excellent Chaplin’s Irish Bar, Ristoranti Parrucciano Favorite where cannelloni was invented, the city walls of Sorrento, the Sorrento cathedral and bell tower, and the town or ‘Drains’.
Part three looks at places near to St Antonino Square. These include the resting place of the Saint himself – the Basilica of Saint Antonino, Foreigner’s Club that was set up by allied soildiers during World War Two which is a good place to eat and enjoy spectacular views across the Bay of Naples, the monastic Cloister of San Francesco which is a popular venue for weddings, the garden area and viewing platform of Villa Communale Park, the beach and lidos of St Francesco, and the main port of Marina Piccola.
cjknowles1972 