Welcome to the site Napoliforme

At Capo di Sorrento, a panoramic point on the Sorrento cliffs, imposing ruins indicate the presence of the villa, which stretched over an area estimated at about 30,000 square metres. Like other villas on the coast, the structure is composed of the domus, on the high part of the hill, conceived as a rustic villa with an agricultural function and the maritime villa, where fish, crustaceans and molluscs were probably kept. The two nuclei are connected by a complex of passages, tunnels and galleries underneath and, on the surface, by artificial stairs and terraces, in a harmonious fusion of nature and architecture. The importance of the domus is evidenced by the remains of the large retaining walls and three groups of cisterns in the slope. The villa by the sea is on the extreme tip of the promontory and appears almost as an island, separated from the land by a small sea basin. The richness of the decorations - paintings, marble, sculptures described by Stazio - the succession of terraces and belvederes, so that each room has its own particular view of all the points on the gulf, are not only intended to make the domus beautiful and precious, functional to luxury (luxuria) and idleness (otium) but also to emphasise the high social standing of the owner of the house. The ostentation of art and beauty corresponds to the social prestige of the owner. From the ruins of the maritime villa, we reach the small lagoon connected to the sea by a natural arch: these are the Bagni della Regina Giovanna (Queen Joan's Baths), where access by sea was possible. The name given to the stretch of sea is linked to Queen Giovanna II of Anjou-Durazzo, described by legend as an uninhibited lover of pleasures, who spent voluptuous days here with her many lovers (young and beautiful, of course).