TOLOMEO 2021 - HISTORICAL AND URBAN CIRCUIT - ITINERARY 11

 ITINERARY 11 - THE WALLS AND GATES OF SORRENTO

A new itinerary of about 2,800 metres, with an extra 500 metres should you also wish to go down to Marina Grande. The  cultural value of this urban route goes without saying, but it also has logistical merits. Its name already anticipates the fact that, as far as possible, it follows the boundaries of the city of Sorrento, still in evidence thanks to parts of the ancient walls that are still standing and  to the seemingly unsurmountable cliffs and ravines. 

Following this itinerary, you will  also inevitably come to each of the five locations of the  gates of Sorrento, which date back to various eras. Three of them are still standing and you will pass through them if you walk the entire circuit. Unfortunately there is no trace of the other two.

When Giovanni Visetti planned this itinerary it was with the intention of placing the starting points of the extra-urban itineraries in correspondence to the gates, because as in any part of the world, the roads beyond the walls originated from them.

One route starts from Porta di Parsano, 4 (ideally) from Porta di Massa (in actual fact from Piazza Veniero, due to its proximity and spaciousness, ) and the others from Piazza Tasso, where the castle and Porta del Piano stood with its bridge over the valley (see vintage image below, downloaded from the website www.ilmegliodisorrento.com).

Here is the list of streets and points of interest to be found if you  follow the route clockwise from Piazza Tasso.

11 Piazza Tasso, Vico S. Aniello, Via Pietà (Cathedral bell tower and entrance to the cathedral a few metres away), Via Padre Reginaldo Giuliani (Sedil Dominova), Via San Cesareo, Via Tasso, Via Sersale (Church of the Servi di Maria, Porta and Bastione di Parsano), Piazza Antiche Mura, Via degli Aranci (view of the walls), Largo Parsano Vecchio, Corso Italia, Piazza Veniero, Via Sopra le Mura, Via Marina Grande (Porta di Marina Grande), Piazza della Vittoria (belvedere of Prospietto), Via Vittorio Veneto (Villa Comunale, church and cloisters of San Francesco), Via San Francesco, Via Di Maio (AAST and belvedere), Porta di Marina Piccola, Piazza Sant’Antonino (Basilica di Sant’Antonino), Via Sant’Antonino, Piazza Tasso.

11a Via Marina Grande, as far as the church of Sant’Anna, passing through the Porta di Marina Grande 

Giovanni Visetti has created this itinerary based on the city limits, the most well-known points of interest and the need to connect the starting points of the Tolomeo 2021 itineraries to a marked route. The choice of the historical, cultural, touristic and architectural  elements will be up to the experts in the various sectors via the Sorrento Local Authorities and Penisola Verde who are coordinating the project.

The above blog is a liberal translation of Giovanni's blog:

https://discettazionierranti.blogspot.com/2021/04/tolomeo-2021-5-circuito-storico.html