Sorrento

Linked to the myth of the mermaids,  who according to the legend bewitched seamen in this stretch of the sea,  placed at a distance of 50 kilometres from Naples and perched on a tufa stone bastion of the peninsular,  among a luxuriant vegetation,  Sorrento is the most famous resort of the peninsular and considered to be one of the most beautiful coasts of the world.  Probably it was inhabited already in the Neolithic era, but the city is said to be founded by the Greeks; it underwent temporarily the supremacy of the Etruscans and for a longer time that of the Oscans.
The history of Sorrento melts and interlaces with the history of the other cities of Campania, it took part in the league against the Muslims; it fought against the Lombards of Benevento; it saw fights in the local noble families.
Sorrento has known the kingdom of the Normans, The Anjou and the Durazzo dynasties.
The city showed in 1501 great valour and remarkable determination against the French and Spanish domination and then at the beginning of the Aragonese period and when it was sacked by the Turkish.
Today the city is a lively touristy resort endowed with excellent structures of reception,  bathing and connection; visited in every period of the year,  Sorrento is also known for the ancient art of inlaid wood works and for its typical "Limoncello", liquor made in the numerous lemon plantations in the whole area.
From the ancient Greek and Oscan city only some graves, remains of the walls and of a gate are conserved; votive objects confirm the existence of a temple of Athena on the Punta Campanella.  From the roman period,  instead, we can admire today several villas such as: The Villa di Agrippa Postumo with fish-pools,  nymphaeums and artificial piers; the villa of the Capo di Sorrento (better known as the baths of Queen Johanna-Bagni della Regina Giovanna ); the villa of Punta di Massa; the Villa of  Punta Campanella.

The inlaid woodwork in Sorrento

Speaking of the inlaid wood work in Sorrento means speaking of the city and peninsula's history  because it developed in a parallel way together with the tourist movement,  representing later on one of the main pillars of the Sorrentine economy.
It has been able to pass on a message of art, taste,  brilliance and industriousness of our population.  It must not be forgotten that the consequences of the terrible Turkish invasion of 1558 were evident in the region and that the typical agricultural and fishing activities were no longer sufficient to support the economy of the Sorrentine Peninsula.
The spirit of enterprise and initiative of the Sorrentine people was soon able to find its way into the handicraft of wood and silk.
Later on the arrival of Francesco Grandi in Sorrento and the foundation of the School of Arts with Arturo Guidi was such a stimulus to the Sorrentine inlaid woodwork.  New handicraftsmen were taught and new laboratories created,  giving way to the great tradition which still exists today.
The Sorrentine wood handicraft,  which next to the commerce and the hotel industry makes up one of the essential sectors of the local economy, had its origin and began to develop around the middle of the 19th century.
It owes its fortune not only to the original solutions and some meaningful results obtained,  but also to the fact of being created late and representing the surviving form of an ancient and famous tradition,  which also in Campania had its moments of great importance with the school of Fra Giovanni da Verona, creator of the inlaid woodworks in the Monastery of San Martino and in S.Maria di Monteoliveto in Naples.
From 1830 the ebony workers Antonino Damora e Luigi Gargiulo used a combination of simple decorative elements.
According to the tradition,  they had the merit of introducing and spreading in Sorrento the art of inlaid woodwork with the fortune to work in a well-known tourist resort,  being able to make the results of their activity notorious and appreciated.
Already in 1845, in fact, their fame was consolidated and their work was demanded even in Naples.
The activity of Damora remained mainly linked to the manufacturing of furniture,  the activity of Gargiulo instead became more and more extended and articulated, trying to satisfy the demand linked to the increasing tourist movement.
In this way began that particular initiative directed towards the creation of "delightful objects for the writing desk" and of "small boxes of precious woods from the peninsula with mosaic inlaying and figures"; that means some products which became characteristic of this handicraft.