SORRENTO WALKS - A GREAT NEW WEBSITE FOR TREKKING ENTHUSIASTS!

A brand new website www.sorrentowalks.com is now online. The initiative, promoted by the local Sorrento Administration in collaboration with Penisola Verde  and mentored by Giovanni Visetti, our expert local cartographer, is a positive step towards the promotion of trekking in the Sorrento Peninsula.

Produced in Italian, English and German, the site proposes a selection of itineraries, all starting in Sorrento that will take you to neighbouring localities mainly away from the main roads, following lanes, paths and trails historically used by the local population before today's roads were even built. Included are also three urban itineraries: itinerary 11 Walls & Gates of Sorrento, itinerary 22 Villages of the Sorrento Valley and itinerary 19 Sorrento - Sant'Agnello. Itinerary 22 is one of my favourites, so close to the centre, but a far cry from the usual tourist sites seen by the majority of visitors to Sorrento.

All of the walks are feasible for a reasonably fit person and in any case, thanks to the information provided for each one (elevation, distance and description), you can choose the ones most suited to you, maybe resorting to public transport for the return if you prefer.

Each itinerary, as well as a brief description of its actual route, also highlights points of interest along the way, which in turn are linked to short historical summaries.

The website describes the history of the Tolomeo Project, explains the waymarking and organisation of its network of itineraries, has a News section where you will be able to find useful information regarding programmed guided walks, maps etc., and a Contact tab. You can download the itineraries completely free and GPS coordinates are provided too.

We are now hoping that the local Authorities of Massa Lubrense, who are quick to use trekking as a selling point, will follow suit.  Maybe for next summer? Who knows.

HIKING IN MASSA LUBRENSE

Over the past few weeks there has been a lot of negative publicity about the state of the trails in Massa Lubrense and quite rightly so.   

Via Torvillo

We all know that at this time of year  vegetation grows thick and fast and nobody who hikes is afraid of a bit of grass and the odd bramble or two. However it is essential that the path beneath the vegetation is safe and not concealing traps: holes, chasms, landslips, loose stones and rocks, that could easily cause someone to trip, twist an ankle or worse. Just the other day a couple of British tourists made a formal complaint to the Mayor of Massa Lubrense about the state of one of the trails (Via Torvillo), calling it UNSAFE, which is precisely one of several that Giovanni Visetti (local hiking expert and cartographer) had flagged to the Council  as in need of urgent maintenance.  There are others too that are just accidents waiting to happen (see map below).

On Sunday I took myself off on one of my favourite walks: the Giro di Santa Croce (or Vuallariello) that starts from the village of Termini, taking you up through woods to a trail running parallel to the better known path leading to Punta Campanella. This itinerary has become very popular not only for local walking groups but also for foreign hiking tours and figures in many of the more recent hiking guides. When the path was first cleared several years ago, there was a sign  to point you in the right direction. That has gone, as has the ceramic tile that for a brief period of time marked its start.  Now, if you manage to work out where it should be, you are faced by a big Private Property sign to your right and the entrance to a private house on your left and no path, since it has become totally overgrown. The ridiculous thing is that it is just the first 20 metres or so that are in this sorry state. After that it  is clear and easy to navigate. It would take very little to restore the signage and clear the way.

Our local Administration has always professed a desire to promote trekking as one of the attractions of this area. On 11th April 22 they approved 2 "new" projects (one had been proposed by Giovanni Visetti back in 2020) to improve and update the network of trails in Massa Lubrense but since it is evident to all that they are incapable of maintaining the paths that we already have, there is a lot of scepticism as to if, how and when these projects will be completed. 

We have read and listened to many words from them over the past months and years but quite honestly there has been little or no concrete evidence of them delivering the goods. In the meantime, both Sorrento and Vico Equense have completed projects in record time with new itineraries and  way-marking and not only.  Unfortunately Massa Lubrense is lagging far behind, stuck in a state of inertia, quick to present glorious new projects with a fanfare of trumpets, but then always ready with some excuse  to justify the delays (just like the epic unfinished resurfacing of the roads, or the Massa Lubrense By-pass to nowhere, which are other tales to tell, but symptomatic of the general malaise of our local government).

Map showing in yellow points needing urgent intervention all flagged by Giovanni to the Local Authorities on multiple occasions.
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