“In tempestate securitas”, a safe place in the storm: the American writer Francis Marion Crawford had these words carved on the ramparts of his villa in Sant’Agnello, perched above the sea. More than a century later, that house still welcomes people looking for a quiet place on the Bay of Naples, a stone’s throw from Sorrento.
Why visit Sant’Agnello
The writers’ peninsula
In the nineteenth century the Sorrento Peninsula was a stop on the Grand Tour, and Sant’Agnello one of the places most loved by foreign travellers. Crawford, the author of hugely successful novels, bought a farmhouse surrounded by a garden here in 1885. He lived and wrote here until his death in 1909, and little by little turned it into a home resembling an old castle. Today the main street of the town bears his name.
The sea below the tuff
The Peninsula is a tuff plateau that drops sheer into the sea. The beaches are small, reached by steps and lifts cut into the rock; the water gets deep a few metres from the shore, with Vesuvius opposite and Naples on the horizon.
Citrus groves and calm
Sant’Agnello is a ten-minute walk from Piazza Tasso, yet it keeps the pace of a village: tuff walls, lemon and orange trees that perfume every street in spring.
The surroundings
Sorrento
You can walk to the centre of Sorrento: the Valley of the Mills, the Cloister of San Francesco with its interlaced arches, the Basilica of Sant’Antonino, the city’s patron saint, and the old fishing village of Marina Grande.
Capri
From the port of Sorrento hydrofoils reach Capri in about twenty minutes. With the first morning crossings you can go up to Anacapri and Monte Solaro before the crowds.
Massa Lubrense and Punta Campanella
Towards the tip of the Peninsula the landscape becomes wilder: the Punta Campanella Marine Protected Area, the Bay of Ieranto and the paths among olive groves and terraces overlooking Capri.
Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast
The Circumvesuviana takes you to Pompeii in about half an hour. Over the pass, the road descends towards Positano and the Coast; in summer the ferry is more convenient.
| From Sant’Agnello to… | Approximate time |
|---|---|
| Sorrento centre | 10–15 minutes on foot |
| Capri | 20–25 minutes by hydrofoil from Sorrento |
| Pompeii | 30 minutes by train |
| Positano | 40 minutes by car |
| Naples | 35–60 minutes by hydrofoil or train |
When to go
April and May are the months of orange blossom and long days; September and October still have a warm sea and fewer crowds. In winter the Peninsula goes back to its residents and it is the ideal time for a retreat or a conference, with a clear bay and Vesuvius often covered in snow.
Where to stay
Villa Crawford is the writer’s original historic home, today a house of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians. It is perched above the sea, with views of the Bay of Naples and Vesuvius, and is open all year round. It has a 1,500 square metre park, a chapel, a large bright meeting room with panoramic views and other smaller rooms for meetings and groups. The buttresses Crawford built to protect the coast are still there, under the windows.
