Things To Do in SantAgnello

The Amalfi Coast runs along the southern edge of the Sorrentine Peninsula. The best way to see this famous strip of rocky cliffs and colourful fishing villages is by bus. It’s a bit of a white-knuckle ride along the cliff road, but you’ll be rewarded with the old world Italian charm of the Big 3 – Positano, Amalfi and Ravello. A day ticket will let you hop on and off as you go.

This beachside restaurant serves up expertly prepared and beautifully presented fish. The number one dish here is fish ravioli with a broccoli sauce. It’s not just the food that attracts people, though. From the terrace you get panoramic views across the sea, and on a clear day you can see Mount Vesuvius in the distance.

A completely sandy beach on the Sorrentine Peninsula is rare, but there’s one at Meta, a 5-minute train away. It’s divided into 2 – Marina di Alimuri, the more secluded part, and the beach of Meta, where you’ve got lidos and children’s waterslides. There are free areas where you can just throw down a towel on the volcanic sands, but there are also sunbeds and umbrellas for hire, plus a bar and restaurant on the Meta side.

The pace of life is slow in Saint Agnello, but next-door Sorrento has lots of pubs and clubs. For a different kind of night out, though, visit Herculaneum on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday night in the summer. Forty actors and musicians put on an impressive show which transports you back 2,000 years to the night Vesuvius covered it in boiling mud. It costs about 25 euros and starts around 8pm.

You’ve got 3 clusters of restaurants here. For starters, there’s Corso Italia with its cheery, rustic pizzerias. Then there’s Via Crawford, the road to the beach, where family-run places specialise in generous portions of homemade gnocchi. And last but not least are the upmarket seafood restaurants alongside the beach – where the grilled monkfish and Fiano di Avelino white wine come with views across to Vesuvius.

This modern-day harvest festival sees thousands come to taste dishes made from locally grown food – from tomatoes, peppers and grapes, to jars of preserves and liqueurs. Wander around the stalls and you’ll be greeted by the smell of homemade bread, roasted sausages and corn on the cob.

This little bar, watched over by Saint Agnello Church, is an encyclopaedia of Campania wine. The Falanghina white or Valpolicella red are highlights, but the white Lacrima Christi – literally tears of Christ – is the region’s most popular wine. Every Wednesday the bar hosts live rock music, and after-midnight closing means the place is always popular with the young locals.