Sorrento Cathedral is located in the heart of Sorrento, Piazza Tasso, and is a must-see place in Sorrento.
The cathedral was built in the 11th century and then built up again in 15th century. The Cathedral is dedicated to the Saints Filippo and Giacomo.
Around the 15th century, Archbishop Falangola promoted the reconstruction of the church dedicated to Saints Filippo e Giacomo (Philip and James), transforming it into a cathedral. After the Turkish invasion of 1558, the church was rebuilt and embellished in 1573 with the creation of the polychrome marble archbishop’s throne in the presbytery. In later years, Francesco Francareccio painted the ceiling on canvas with floral motifs on three canvases between 1706 and 1718. The choir in the apse is a precious 19th-century work of Sorrento marquetry.
Among the preserved works, in the three naves separated by fourteen pillars, is Silvestro Buono’s Palette depicting “The Virgin between St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist”, located beneath the 1573 marble pulpit. In the first chapel on the right, where the baptismal font is located, on the wall is a classical relief depicting the Sacrifice of the Blood of Christ, dating from 1522.
On the sides are twelve 14th-century tiles featuring the apostles by the Bertini brothers. In the seventh chapel on the right is an elegant 18th-century organ by Nicola Mancino with rich gold carvings. At the end of the nave, in the Sacramento chapel, there’s a 15th-century wooden crucifix on a polychrome marble altar with late 17th-century naturalistic motifs and magnificent lateral putti by Domenico Antonio Vaccaro.
In 1924, the main facade was rebuilt, with the pronaos reusing two Roman columns and the side portal dating from 1478, which bears the coat of arms of Sixtus V, Archbishop De Angelis and King of Aragon in the architrave.