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Home Page > Travelogues > Italy > Sorrento

My visit to Sorrento was as part of a two-part boat ride with a tour group to the Island of Capri, followed by a visit here, followed by a train ride back to Naples.  Thus, my visit was brief, but long enough to gain an appreciation of the city (though not long enough to take a lot of photos J).

The city seemed to be precariously perched on the cliffs' edge, but the cliffs are solid rock that don't landslide too often.  Elevators take people from the marina-side buildings below to the city up top.

Some of the houses were simply spectacular, with the stone archways in the cliff adding to the ambience...

The lion's share of our time in Sorrento was spent at an in-laid wood factory near the town center.  There, we had the chance to watch skilled artisans carving out perfect shapes from paper-thin sheets of dyed wood.  When layered atop each one and lacquered, one gets beautiful pieces of artwork such as the below sample -- which I purchased in Sorrento and now hangs on my dining room wall.

Inlaid wood in a very popular (and common) form of interior decor, and is sold throughout Europe, available in wall plaques such as mine, to whole items of furniture.  The base ranges in color from wood-tones to bright blues, pinks, greens, and other colors.  Artwork ranges from floral patterns like mine to scenery (personal opinion -- I prefer the floral works).  While traveling to Europe, and Italy in particular, inlaid woodwork is worth looking for.

Trip taken 3 September 2000 -- Page last updated 08 April 2006 -- (C) 2001 Tom Galvin