2009.04: Sorrento, Campania, Italy

Location: Sorrento, Campania, Italy

Date: 2009.04

Photographer: Jesen

Camera: Nikon

Retouch: Adobe Photoshop

Copyright: www.haomingxiong.com

A small resort with a big reputation, Sorrento is a town of lemons, high-pedigree hotels and plunging cliffs that cut through the heart of the historical core. The town’s longstanding popularity stems from its location at the western gateway to the Amalfi. It’s also on the train line to Pompeii and has regular fast-ferry connections to Naples and Capri.

Tourism has a long history here. It was a compulsory stop on the 19th-century ‘Grand Tour’ and interest in the town was first sparked by the poet Byron, who inspired a long line of holidaying literary geniuses – including Goethe, Dickens and Tolstoy – to sample the Sorrentine air. The romance persists. Wander through Piazza Tasso on any given Sunday and you’ll be exposed to one of Italy’s finer passeggiatas (strolls), snaking past palatial hotels, magnificent marquetry shops and simple Campanian restaurants serving gnocchi alla sorrentina finished off with a shot of ice-cold limoncello.

JESEN Photo