What joy for travelers the Sorrentine Peninsula! With Amy, Bob W., and Henry visiting for Thanksgiving, we made an overnight trip to an agriturismo in Piano di Sorrento (the high plain above Sorrento with a view of Positano on the Amalfi Coast). The Sorrentine Peninsula is the mountainous foot of land curving around the Bay of Naples and almost touching the eastern tip of Capri. Its cliffs soar above the sea on both sides—the bays of Naples and Salerno. The natural wonder of this rugged, deeply ravined territory has mesmerized travelers for thousands of years. Its sheer heights above infinite blue seas bring sky and sea together in a vast, ethereal space that encompasses and imbibes the visitor, connecting all intangible and inexpressible things in the universe. Bob’s picture of me en route to Mt. Faito somewhat captures this sensation of vast celestial unity. Where does the sea end and the sky begin? The human feels suspended in the air, the sky, blended with eternity.
We chose our particular agriturismo because of its proximity to the train that would take Amy’s family to Pompeii and back, while Bob and I hiked Mt. Faito (1100m), a commanding, squared-off rock face and mountain peak that visitors see from Naples and Capri. It’s a bit like Vesuvius, one of the constant physical features of the Naples area.
Our ascent began at the coastal town of Seiano, where the road winds up and through an outcropping of cone-shaped mountains (Monti Lattari). Every twist and turn of that narrow road offered a fresh, breathtaking view of the sea, terrain, and sky. Stonewalls reinforced every curve, and buses navigated this tortuous route to reach all the villages high above the coasts. Several times we had to wait for a bus to inch around a bend or pass another vehicle coming in the opposite direction. More than once we had to back up to help a bus make its turn. Yet, up there in the primeval hills driving was quite polite, as if everyone understood the difficult mechanics of sharing the road and so worked together as a team to make passing easy and safe.
Along this road, lookouts abound and we took advantage of many of them. It’s not enough to drive by admiring the panoramas—each vantage point demands longer attention. We found that nearer to the heights of Mt. Faito, one perpective would show Vesuvius, another Naples’ curving shore, and yet another the shrouded, irresistible shape of Capri, preceded by two tongues of mountainous land. Some peaks, such Santa Maria del Castello, show both sides of the Peninsula at once and offer days of scenic hiking in the famed fresh air scented with oranges and lemons. For visitors, and likely for residents as well, awe and wonder permeate the very nature of this peninsula; a certain magic and celestial stardust hover over it. People have fallen under its spell for thousands of years, some never to return home. The human heart thrills at the sight of each physical feature in the overall natural splendor of the Naples area; the dizzying heights, the sheer drops from cliff tops, play a significant role in the human response to the landscape. My own favorite view is of Capri with its small Faraglioni rocks at the eastern tip—siren land. With the tongues of land preceding it, it rises sovereign and majestic as the last, detached strip of land on the peninsula.
Amy and Bob W
That night, a fierce storm attacked the coast, lashing water and wind against our three doors facing the sea. How lucky Amy and her family had visited Pompeii the day before! Despite of the rain, which became intermittent after 9 a.m., we took the Amalfi coastal route home. As long as there isn’t fog, this route is just as sensational in wet weather as in sunshine. The rock formations rising above the sea, with its play of lights from the sky, transfix the viewer with one of the world’s natural phenomena. Positano, a popular resort, clings to the cliffs, and Amalfi offers an art-rich church. If a clear day, Ravello is well worth a visit for its soaring heights, views, exquisite gardens, and shops. We stopped in Vietri instead and poked around the ceramic shops. From Vietri we took the autostrada home, just under three hours.
Gail Spilsbury, Mangiare Bene
A few resources for fellow travelers:
La Ginestra, agriturismo at the soaring heights of the peninsula with views of both bays and abundant hikes. Excellent food. Santa Maria del Castello, (39/081) 802.32.11
Piccolo Paradiso, agriturismo in the Piano di Sorrento, with views of the Amalfi coast, and easy public transportation to Pompeii and Sorrento. Excellent food. (39/081) 803.38.69
Books set in the magical realm: Capri, Alberto Savinio; Siren Land, Norman Douglas; The Skin, Curzio Malaparte; The Volcano Lover, Susan Sontag; The Island, Gustav Herling; The Story of S. Michele, Axel Munthe; Italian Journey, Goethe.
A wonderful movie by Lina Wertmueller capturing Neapolitan court life during Ferdinand’s reign: Ferdinand and Carolina.