This is a short video showing a walk from Tasso Square to the renovated and reopened Hotel Lorelei Londres. The area encompases fantastic views of Vesuvius and the Bay of Naples. There are even seats so you can sit and enjoy the views from a more restful position, presumably thanks to the thoughtfulness of those running the Municipality of Sorrento.
For more of the Lorelei Londres, see my previous two posts, that I wrote some time ago and reblogged from my personal blog. The first post showed the hotel pre-renovation and the second showed it during the renovation. The current post brings its development up to date as a reopened hotel. It is great to see this hotel up and running.
As we in the United Kingdom prepare for the Americanised ‘holiday’ of Halloween, Italians will be getting ready for their own more sombre, but in many ways happy, festival tradition.
Italian cemeteries like the one pictured above in Cefalu, Sicily, are rather strange looking to British eyes. Rather than headstones, they tend to have structures that make them appear more like villages of the dead than what we are used to. Their appearance of course relates to Italian culture and this short article relates to a cultural tradition that takes places at this time of the year in relation to these locations.
On 2nd November many Italians mark il Giorno dei Mortiwhich translates into English as ‘the Day of the Dead’. It is on this day that they visit cemeteries, often travelling long distances back to their home towns, to pay their respects to ancestors and loved ones who have passed away. They also traditionally leave chrysanthemums, an autumn flower, by the graves and light candles for the dead.
I first came upon the tradition while reading Tim Parks’ book ‘Italian Neighbours: An Englishman in Verona’ in which he talks about his experience of living in Italy from an English perspective. In addition to talking about the day of the dead, he also discusses how the graves are only temporary resting places. Ultimately the bones are exhumed and put into an ossuary that occupies far less space in order to make room for subsequent burials. Of course, from a British point of view all of this may seem rather bizarre or even excessively ghoulish. Of course, our own customs are equally as bizarre to Italian eyes.
The day often involves a coming together of family culminating in a family meal in which places are also set for the dear departed. There are other food traditions on the day, often involving sweets and biscuits but which vary from region to region. This can often manifest itself a bit like the trick or treating tradition of Halloween. Also, for the kids, the day can be a bit like Christmas – involving presents, but rather than magically coming from Santa Claus they magically come from the souls of the dead.
Sorrento, of course, will be no exception to this Italian tradition and the cemeteries of the Campania region will in the days to come, undoubtedly, become a hive of activity. Campania, like other areas of Italy, has its own specific traditions and foods relating to the Day of the Dead. In Sorrento and Campania there is a nougat called ‘Torrone dei Morti’ (Nougat of the Dead). The recipe can be found at:
This following is a short film is about one of Sorrento’s Churches, the Sanctuary of the Madonna del Carmine.
The Church is a yellow building at the eastern end of Tasso Square on the Corso Italia. It is quite close to the statute of St Antonino, Sorrento’s Patron Saint.
The Church is believed to mark the general area where a group of Sorrentine Christians were martyred during the Roman period under the anti-Christian laws of the Emperor Diocletian. It was originally the site of a pagan temple, but this was replaced by a Christian Church in the third century AD. The current church was built in the Baroque style in 1572 and dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
There is some beautiful artwork in the church and this includes a spectacular ceiling painting depicting the Virgin Mary by Onofrio Avellino.
Recently I embarked on a project to make a better job of curating the films that I have created and uploaded to YouTube. The only way of doing this was to create specific new channels that relate to the two themes that relate to my content. My videos, on the whole were in two main categories, my home town of Wakefield and the place where I often go on holiday – Sorrento. In addition to my personal channel I now have two new ones, ‘Wakefield Vistas‘ and ‘Sorrento With Bells On‘. I have also created a new blog to go with the Sorrento YouTube channel and given it the same name. I will be reposing some of the blog posts here on my personal blog too.
My new Sorrento themed blog
I have a great love of Italy and have had many holidays there over the years. I particularly like Sorrento and when I go there it feels like a second home. I am keen to write about it as a poor substitute for actually being there.
The main focus of this blog will therefore be the Italian holiday resort of Sorrento and the Campania region in which it is located. I want it to supplement my YouTube channel ‘Sorrento With Bells On’ which has the same objectives.
It will cover places to visit, things to see and do and the history and culture of the area. Hopefully it will provide insight to tourists and travellers from my perspective as someone who has visited Sorrento many times. I also hope that in doing so I will also learn more and that this will enhance my own enjoyment of Sorrento when I visit myself.
There is a great deal to see and do in the Campania region. You can mimic the grand tourists of old and visit Pompeii and Herculaneum. You relive the Galaxy Bar advert and go on the famous Amalfi drive taking magnificent coastal views and visiting the towns of Positano, Amalfi and Ravello. You can also visit Naples and ascend Mount Vesuvius. You can set sail to cover the short distance to the beautiful island of Capri or the slightly more distant island of Ischia. Hopefully people who read my new blog and watch the videos will learn about all this and more as the blog and YouTube channel move forward.
cjknowles1972 