Sorrento Trivia Quiz

Answer: Campania

The capital (capoluogo) of Campania is Naples. Sorrento is located within the province (roughly the Italian equivalent of an American county) of Naples. Of Italy's twenty regions, Campania is the most dense (in terms of population, that is), the second most populous, yet only the twelfth largest in area.

Answer: Piazza Tasso

Piazza Tasso is the answer we want here. Its original name was "Largo del Castello." An important Baroque church is located on the square.

Answer: Hotel Tramontana

"Come Back to Sorrento" is the title of English versions sung by singers such as Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra. The original name is "Torna a Surriento."

Answer: Surriento

Surriento is the name in the native Neapolitan dialect. However, the name in Italian is Sorrento, seeing as Italian is based on the Florentine dialect of Tuscany. It was the Italian name, of course, that was borrowed into English.

Answer: Corso Italia

Corso Italia is a main road in Sorrento. Another main road is Via Capo. Via Appia Antica is a famous Roman road.

Answer: Bay of Naples/Gulf of Naples

This is partly a trick question. The Bay or Gulf of Naples is a small part of the Tyrrhenian Sea, which, in turn, is a part of the Mediterranean Sea. Sorrento is, however, directly on the Bay or Gulf of Naples.

Answer: Enrico Caruso

Enrico Caruso was born February 27, 1873, and died August 2, 1921. Excelsior Vittoria Hotel in Sorrento has a plaque on its wall paying tribute to the "great tenor," as the plaque refers to him. Here is the text of this plaque, for all those who can read and understand Italian: "Il grande tenore Enrico Caruso, dalle terrazze di questo albergo, unendo nell'amore e nella bellezza Napoli e Sorrento, trascorse giorni felici offrendo le ultime testimonianze del suo bel canto." Translation: "The great tenor Enrico Caruso, from the terraces of this hotel, uniting in love and beauty Naples and Sorrento, spent happy days offering the last testimonies of his beautiful song."

Answer: Limoncello

Limoncello is made from Sorrento's famed lemons. Just about every shop you see in the streets of Sorrento will be chock full of limoncello.

Answer: Orange blossoms

The song mentions "sciure arance," or orange flowers, but does not specify the exact type of flower. The exact text of the stanza containing the line in question is: "Guarda guá' chisti ciardine, siente sié' sti sciure arance, nu prufumo accussí fino, dint''o core se ne va..."

Answer: False

The song is written about Naples. Two old music professors leave Naples and go up to heaven where they entertain St. Peter and all the other saints with Neapolitan songs. After a while, they become homesick, and, to St. Peter's surprise, decide to leave heaven and return to Naples, saying, "Our Paradise is there!" Here's the Sorrento connection: In the next to last line of the song, the towns of Pusilleco, Sorrento, and Marechiaro are mentioned as other beautiful Neapolitan suburbs to which the professors would like to return.