5 things to see in Piano di Sorrento
In the heart of the Sorrento peninsula, about 20 kilometers from our boutique hotel, lies the small town of Piano di Sorrento, which is certainly worth a visit, even if just for a few hours. The municipality, enclosed between the two coasts, the southern Amalfi coast and the northern Sorrento coast, lies on a plateau that magically overlooks the sea. The area is rich in monuments, churches and works of art.
What to see in Piano di Sorrento? Here are 5 things not to miss!
The Basilica of San Michele Arcangelo
The Basilica of San Michele Arcangelo, located in the historic center, is one of the most beautiful on the Sorrento peninsula. The church, which already existed in the 9th century, was practically rebuilt in 1405 and renovated several times over time. Elevated to a papal basilica by Pope Benedict XV in 1914, it is a concentration of works of art and artistic treasures. It has a magnificent Baroque style façade with a sixteenth-century portal on which stands a fresco representing Saint Michael chasing away Satan. Inside we note the splendid false dome built in 1729 by Francesco Saraceni and the valuable balustrade in inlaid polychrome marble and tracery, an eighteenth-century work by Giambattista Antonini.
The Church of the Holy Trinity
At the end of the Cavone climb is the Basilica Church of the Holy Trinity. It was built in the first half of the 16th century thanks to the contribution of many faithful and in particular the Califano family. The beautiful façade is completely covered in travertine and is dominated by a mosaic image of the Holy Trinity. Inside you can admire various works of art of a certain value, among which the following stand out: the canvas depicting the SS. Trinity by the artist Giuseppe Mancinelli dating back to 1871; and the sixteenth-century wooden panel with predella representing the Madonna of the Rosary, attributed to Giovan Bernardo Azzolini, in the chapel dedicated to the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary.
The Church of the Assumption
Another religious building not to be missed is the Church of the Assumption, located in the square of the Mortora district. It was built in the second half of the 16th century to replace another church, destroyed by the Saracens, which was called Santa Maria di Galatea as it was built on the remains of a pagan temple of the goddess. The interior houses numerous works from the 17th and 18th centuries such as the balustrade sculpted in 1767 by Baldassarre da Lucca and the coffered ceiling created in 1672 by Felice Marrone, with splendid decorations and three paintings from the same period by the painter Andrea Malinconico.
Villa Fondi De Sangro
Villa Fondi De Sangro, commonly called Villa Fondi, is immersed in an enchanting nineteenth-century style garden with numerous plants and trees, mainly olive and palm trees. Particularly fascinating is its terrace overlooking the sea, built on a suggestive tufaceous ridge. The villa was built in neoclassical style in the 19th century by the Prince of Fondi Don Giovanni Andrea De Sangro but restored several times over time. It currently houses the Territorial Archaeological Museum of the Sorrento Peninsula, named after the famous French archaeologist and scholar Georges Vallet, which houses finds from the 2nd millennium BC. to the Roman age.
The seaside village of Cassano
The picturesque seaside village of Cassano is nestled beneath the viewpoint of Villa Fondi, where the ancient maritime tradition can still be felt. Here stood the shipyards which until the first half of the 19th century competed with those of Savona and Sestri Ponente. The village, reachable from the characteristic ramps of the Ripa di Cassano, welcomes: a beach of volcanic sand, once larger, now reduced by marine erosion; and the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, partly dug into the tuff of the ridge, where the wooden statue of the Madonna from 1885, highly venerated especially on the feast of 2 July, is kept.
