The southernmost tip
of the Sorrento Peninsula
This hike follows a circuit that begins and ends in Termini (a district of Massa Lubrense), from which you take an ancient Roman road. Along the route, with the constant presence of the island of Capri in the background, you walk through olive groves and then Mediterranean scrub, reaching after about an hour the extreme tip of the Sorrento Peninsula, where you can see the remains of the Punta Campanella tower (14th century).
The Athenian Promontory, as the Greeks called it, has hosted over the centuries temples and trading posts, defensive structures and patrician villas. Today almost nothing of these works remains. Near the tower there is an ancient stairway leading down to the Sirens Cave, along the descent to the sea on which is carved, on the rock face, a rupestrian inscription in the Oscan language dating to the 2nd century BC.
The inscription, discovered in 1985 by Prof. Mario Russo, mentions the names of the three meddices minervii (magistrates of Minerva) who contracted the construction work of the landing stage and the eastern stairway leading to the ancient sanctuary.
After a stop at Punta Campanella, the ascent towards Monte San Costanzo (485 m) begins, and as you gain altitude the view becomes increasingly spectacular — first with the Bay of Jeranto (a marine reserve protected since 1997) and then with the Amalfi Coast and the Gulf of Salerno on one side and Vesuvius and the Gulf of Naples on the other, until reaching San Costanzo (360-degree panorama).
The Chapel of San Costanzo (16th century) is unfortunately almost always closed to the public, except for the feast day on 14 May. Finally, in just under 30 minutes, you descend back to Termini to complete the full circuit. This route passes through legendary places, very scenic viewpoints and is one of the few that runs very close to the sea.
See it before you live it
The route
