Places to visit · Sorrento
Via delle Grazie in Sorrento: doorways and windows
A quiet lane in the old town with the 15th-century doorway of Palazzo Ferola and a medieval twin window: treasures to discover on foot.
1 min read
Between the Basilica of Saint Antoninus and Via San Nicola winds Via delle Grazie, a lane in the old town away from the shopping crowds. Walk along it carefully and you will discover two small gems of Sorrento architecture: the doorway of Palazzo Ferola and a medieval twin window. It is one of those streets that reward anyone who slows down and looks up.
The doorway of Palazzo Ferola
At number 16 stands Palazzo Ferola. Its Durazzo-style doorway dates from the first half of the 15th century: a relief decoration runs along the archivolt, the arch framing the entrance, and a coat of arms sits at the top. Doorways in this style, widespread in the Kingdom of Naples in the late 14th and 15th centuries, can also be found elsewhere in the centre, for example at Palazzo Correale on Via Pietà: they are well worth comparing.
The medieval twin window
Further along the same street is a medieval bifora, a window divided into two lights by a slender column. On its inner arch, facing a garden, it bears a decorative motif of a double row of dentils, a tiny detail that shows the care of the builders of old.
How to fit it into a walk
Via delle Grazie is a stop on the old town's faith itinerary. From the Basilica of Saint Antoninus you pass under the overpass onto which the nuns' choir looks, in front of the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, and turn into Via delle Grazie; then, via Via Accademia, you reach Via San Nicola, home to Cornelia Tasso's house. A short route, entirely on foot, that takes only a few minutes' walking: the pleasure lies in stopping to look at the details.
