Piazza Tasso

Piazza Tasso is the main square of Sorrento in Campania, Italy, and the point from which almost every walk through the old town begins. It is named for the poet Torquato Tasso, born in Sorrento in 1544, whose statue stands at the centre of the square. The piazza sits on a bridge-like span across the Vallone dei Mulini gorge, so visitors standing at its edge can look down into the overgrown ravine below. Around the square are the white church of the Carmine with its bell tower, several grand cafes with outdoor tables, and the openings of the lanes that lead into the historic centre, including Via San Cesareo and Corso Italia. Traffic, local buses, scooters and pedestrians all converge here, which gives the square a busy, theatrical character from morning until late at night. What visitors actually do here is simple: sit at a cafe table with a coffee or an evening spritz, watch the life of the town, photograph the statue and the church, and use the square as a meeting point. A typical stop lasts 30 to 45 minutes, although many people linger longer in the evening. The best photo angles are from the corner near the Carmine church looking across the statue, and from the parapet on the gorge side. The square is at its quietest early in the morning, before shops open, when delivery vans and street cleaners are the main activity. It is liveliest from about 8PM, when locals take their passeggiata and the cafes fill. Midday in summer is crowded with day-trippers arriving from the nearby Circumvesuviana station, about a three-minute walk away, and from tour groups. Cafe prices on the square are higher than in side streets, so many visitors take a drink here for the setting and eat elsewhere. The square is free to enter and open around the clock.