Aperitive boat

Tour along the coast of the Sorrentino Peninsula, between tufaceous terraces overlooking the sea and inlets carved out by time between history, myth, culture, archaeology and traditions; here the millennial presence of human being has left traces of great anthropological, historical and archaeological value.
The tour starts from Marina Piccola of Sorrento. First stop, Marina Grande to admire the “Baths of Queen Giovanna” which preserve the remains of an ancient Roman villa, “Villa Pollio Felice”. The housing part today is partly buried under a vast vineyard and from the various rooms only fragile shreds of masonry can be seen.
From this vast terrace that dominated the scenery of the Gulf of Naples with a long corridor (ambulatio), it was possible to access the rooms below. The area of ​​the marina which today retains few traces of the ancient structures, was built in such a way as to be able to reach the mainland easily.
And here we are off the Marina di Puolo, which owes its name to the Roman Pollio Felice, eminent exponent of a noble family from Pozzuoli and owner of a villa whose ruins are still visible nearby, in the locality of Calcarella.
And then Capo Massa, a part of Massa Lubrense city, on whose promontory Villa Angelina stands out. Among the dense vegetation stands out “Torre del Capo Massa”, a few tens of meters above the water level, a ruin of a quadrangular tower, the first of a long series of watchtowers built by the University of Massa Lubrense, to mostly in the 16th century.
Enclosed in a natural inlet on the coast, we find the ancient fishing village of Marina della Lobra dominated by Lobra Sanctuary, to which it owes its name. The small port of Lobra is protected to the west by a cliff that rests on the rocky wall of Capo Corbo dominated by Torre Toledo which is part of the system of Saracen watchtowers arranged along the coast in the Aragonese period.
Before reaching Punta Lagno, the coast forms an inlet, ‘a Cala’ e l’Acqua or ‘a Piscina, and has a hedge that is not too high, but steep. On the sheer wall on the right you can see instead a small leap of water, once drinkable, which gives its name to the bay, gushing out from a retained stone. The rock is covered with moss and the icy water of the Cascatella also exudes from the wall. It seems that this water was conveyed there many centuries ago by means of an aqueduct with the aim of supplying the boats that went to Punta della Campanella and Capri Island.
Our navigation continues to Punta Campanella, a land of history and legends: according to the Odyssey, here Ulysses met the enchanting Sirens. The Greeks erected a temple to the goddess Athena, later converted by the Romans to the cult of the goddess Minerva. In 1300, a tower was built here which was intended to sight and raise the alarm in case of Saracen raids arriving from the sea.
A bell was placed on the top of the tower which rang in case of alarm, propagating the signal to the other towers positioned along the coast. On the plateau of Punta Campanella you can see a cleft in the rock from where an impervious staircase leads up to a cliff connected to caves and ravines above sea level.
Here docked the ships loaded with libations to offer to the goddess Minerva.
Shortly after we arrive in the Bay of Ieranto which is divided into Baia Grande and Baia Piccola, separated by Punta Capitello. Some legends tell that the enchantment of this place is due to the sirens who lived in its crystal clear waters and it is easy to imagine them playing among these rocks.
We proceed our navigation towards Nerano from the name of Emperor Nero. Already in Roman times, in fact, Nerano was a vacation spot for patrician families, and still today it is a destination for international tourism.
Marina del Cantone is the bay of Nerano, a wide beach with free areas, bathing establishments and restaurants. The southern exposure and the mountains that shelter it from the wind mean that here it is possible to enjoy, until late afternoon, the beautiful sunny days from late March to late October.
This bay is renowned not only for the sea but also for the culinary tradition here, side by side with the most characteristic restaurants in Italy.
Among these “Il Cantuccio” restaurant which with its characteristic small boat will serve directly on board the famous “Cuoppo Napoletano” (paper cone) inside which tempura delicacies will be served, including shrimp, squid and vegetables, all washed down from sparkling wine of our lands.
After this gastronomic moment, the tour resumes towards the port of Sorrento.
Arrival in Sorrento Marina Piccola and disembarkation.