The dark-faced Virgin
Held in particular local veneration, carried in procession each July.
Mentnafunangann — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Berthold Werner — CC BY-SA 3.0 · MentNFG — CC0 · MentNFG — CC0
A church on Piazza Tasso, the main square of Sorrento, in the very centre of the town's movement. The present building is eighteenth century though the site is far older, and the interior is baroque with gilded altarpieces, a decorated ceiling and marble columns. What gives it local presence is the image it holds: a picture of the Virgin with a dark face, held in particular veneration by the people of Sorrento, with an annual celebration in July when it is carried in procession. Its position is what makes a visitor pass it inevitably: Piazza Tasso is where all of Sorrento's streets meet, holding the cafés, the buses and the entrances to the old town. You will stand in this square several times on any visit to Sorrento. Entry is free and the visit is a few minutes, and it is a working place of worship: modest dress and silence, closing for services and normally for the midday period, as churches in southern Italy do.
Held in particular local veneration, carried in procession each July.
Gilded altarpieces, a decorated ceiling and marble columns in a small space.
You will pass it inevitably — the square is Sorrento's heart and hub.
Piazza Tasso, central Sorrento
Walking the old town and Via San Cesareo with its shops, the view over the Bay of Naples and Vesuvius from the Villa Comunale gardens, and the cloister of San Francesco. Sorrento is small and walked in half a day, and its greater value is as an excellent base for Pompeii, Capri and the Amalfi coast.
Clothing covering shoulders and knees — enforced firmly in many churches, which refuse entry without it. Silence inside, and no photography during services or where it is forbidden. Many churches close between one and four in the afternoon, so plan your visits around that.
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