In Sorrento, Italy, one can see centuries pass simply by walking down a street; turn a corner, and you’re in the 11th Century; turn another, you’re in the 14th, 15th, and 18th Century. Every lane and corner offers examples from the past, side by side, providing a glimpse into crafts practiced centuries ago; the town is particularly famous for marquetry and wood inlays. After you check into one of the hotels Sorrento offers its visitors, stop at the Museo Bottega della Tarsia Lignea on Via San Nicola 28, and take a look at examples of maraquetry furniture from the 19th Century; take another look, and you’ll find yourself suddenly in the 18th Century: artful frescoes adorn the Palazzo Pomaranci Santomasi, which contains the museum, and dates back to the 1700s.
Nearby, you’ll find the Piazzetta Padre Reginaldo Giuloiani where you’ll find yourself in the 15th Century. The palazzo Sedile Dominova dates from the 1400s; nearby, is the Basilica di Sant’Antonino, on the Piazza Sant’Antonino, where we dip all the way back to the 11th Century; the church was built in this time period over an even older oratory. The inside of the church still keeps some of the decorations from the 1400s.
Closer to the promenade by the sea, you’ll happen upon the 18th Century and the church of San Francesco; this church is itself tucked inside a 14th century building, a cloister that’s famous now for its series of concerts.
Sorrento, this small town in Southern Italy, with its 16,500 citizens, is a popular destination, close both to Pompeii and Naples, overlooking the Bay of Naples, and lying at the base of Mt. Vesuvius. It is an excellent escape from the 21st Century, hundreds of years represented by architecture and art, centuries wrapped inside centuries, spiraling all the way back to the Middle Ages.