I was on a hydrofoil crossing the bay from Napoli to Sorrento the same week Hurricane Katrina hit and discussing the disaster with a couple from Pensacola, FL, whom I met on the boat. We concurred that it seemed almost insensitive for us to be traveling to the idyllic Sorrentine Peninsula for a pleasure excursion when so many of our fellow Americans just had their homes, communities and jobs wiped away. Mother Nature can certainly manifest herself in simultaneous contrasts.

My companion was Giampiero Oriente, my cousin's husband in Campobasso, the capital of the Molise region. It did not require much persuasion to convince him to take a couple days off mid-week and escort me because he had not been to the peninsula for years and was eager to revisit the area and reinforce that famous Italian hospitality. Giampiero also took me to Capri and Pompeii after Sorrento.

Sorrento has been a favorite destination since antiquity when Roman patricians built holiday villas in this inviting southern Italian setting. The people, history, mild climate, architecture, cultural events, breathtaking landscapes and magnificent views of the sea as well as colorful and fragrant plantations continue to draw international visitors in every season.

Visible signs of settlement from several ancient civilizations are still evident in the religious and civil architecture of the town. Greeks, Etruscans, Romans, Spaniards, Normans and others left their marks on the town, especially in the walls and towers they built to protect the area from invaders throughout the ages as well as villas and a Greek temple.

Sorrento has about 16,000 residents and overlooks the bay of Napoli as the central spot on the peninsula. Many viewpoints in Sorrento allow sight of Napoli, Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius. The Amalfi Drive, connecting Sorrento and Amalfi on the opposite side of the peninsula, is the narrow road that threads around the perimeter of the peninsula. Sorrento is also an ideal starting point for those planning to see Capri, Positano and Ischia.

The Sorrentine peninsula can be reached from Napoli via the A3 highway "Salerno - Reggio Calabria." The road gives drivers concurrent views of the mountains, Mount Vesuvius and the shore at most every turn, but navigating this serpentine can be at once challenging and exhilarating. The coast is a succession of green promontories and picturesque inlets. For those inclined to let others do the driving, several trains, buses, ferries and hydrofoils run daily from Napoli and Roma to Sorrento. Roma is 160 miles away, Napoli 30 miles. Consult sorrentotourism.com for schedules and information.

The coastline purrs with sailing enthusiasts, sunbathers and windsurfers, and at sunset the sky is flooded with pastel colors. Boat rental is available for those seeking to navigate the crystal clear sea along the jagged coast. Many comment that the water resembles that famous window-cleaning product. The crustaceans, fish, coral and sea vegetation provide a complementary background in all hues that no Hollywood art director could design. Make sure your camera batteries are fully charged before you arrive!

Sorrentine cuisine includes simple and tasty dishes created with the basic ingredients of Mediterranean cooking. Favorites include Neapolitan pizza, cannelloni, lobster ravioli, stuffed peppers, gnocchi alla sorrentina, made with tomatoes, basil and fiordilatte cheese, and Caprese salad, composed of tomatoes, mozzarella, olive oil and spices. Your sweet tooth will be satisfied with orange and walnut cakes, almond cakes and gelati, and the meal can be capped off with nocillo (nut liqueur) or limoncello. Sorrento is famous for production of limoncello, a liqueur made from lemon rinds, alcohol, water and sugar and generally served chilled. The lemons are surprisingly bumpy and the size and shape of grapefruit! I could not believe Giampiero when he pointed to them in the outdoor market and mentioned their end product. Agriculture in the vicinity includes grapes, nuts, olives and fruit, especially lemons and oranges.

Via San Cesareo is the center of Sorrento shopping. It is possible to find handicrafts such as carved wood, ceramics, jewelry, scented wax, embroidered fabrics, jams and liqueurs. There are also shops brimming with clothing, leather, food, household items, books, music --- most anything you find in American malls but of different quality and looks and without the traffic, movies and fast food. A weekly open-air market is held on Tuesdays. Artists dot the town with their paintings, sculptures, crafts, photographs and music, and the city continues to host annual international music and film festivals.

The Museo Mineralogico Campano is particularly interesting for children. The museum houses one of the most important collections of mineralogy for number, rarity and variety of more than 3,500 rocks and gems from around the world. Visitors will be fascinated by Vesuvian rocks, lapis lazuli and meteorites, among which is a specimen from Texas dating back 2,600 years BC. One showcase is dedicated to fluorescent minerals in every color in the rainbow.

The Correale di Terranova museum will captivate adults. The museum is a villa that was handed down through generations of a local noble family and dates back to the fifteenth century. The Correale family left instructions that their home and art collections should become a public museum. Since 1924, the villa has hosted art treasures from several periods, from archaeological findings to nineteenth-century Sorrentine marquetry, antique furniture, the works of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Flemish artists and landscapes by other artists. Italian and foreign majolica and porcelain, clocks from various countries and period photographic equipment are also part of the collection.

The nearby town of Gragnano, known as the City of Macaroni, offers visitors a chance to see pasta produced through traditional means and learn its history at the Museum of Pasta. La Festa dei Maccheroni is held every September to celebrate pasta in all forms, especially macaroni, fusilli and rigatoni.

The isle of Ischia, world famous for its thermal waters and mud produced by seismic phenomena linked to its volcanic origins, is just across the bay from Sorrento and has attracted people to this natural health resort since ancient times. The lush isle of Capri is less than five miles from the peninsula.

On all counts, the captivating Sorrentine peninsula is teeming with all you would expect in a Mediterranean paradise or have seen in movies and books --- and much more. Musicians Wagner, Rossini, Caruso, Pavarotti, Liszt and Mendelssohn; cinematic personalities De Sica, Hepburn, Lemmon, Taylor and Douglas; literary figures Byron, Dickens, Keats, Ibsen, D'Annunzio and Melville as well as numerous painters, sculptors and politicians came to Sorrento in search of sun, inspiration and escape. Let the charmingly down-to-earth Sorrentini show you the same la dolce vita!

Buona gita a Sorrento!