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Wednesday, 27 June. Today would be devoted entirely to exploring Sorrento. After breakfast at the hotel, we parked the car just off Piazza Tasso (1866), the central square. In the process, we noticed a deep gorge below a bridge on Via Fuorimura where we parked. Far below were the ruins of an old stone mill. We learned that this was the Vallone dei Mulini (Valley of Mills), site of various mills over many centuries. The mill was located at ground level in the original town. It was blocked off when Piazza Tasso was constructed. It was amazing how high the area had grown from its original level. We followed Corso Italia from Piazza Tasso to the Cathedral, then thoroughly explored the narrow streets north all the way Piazza Vittorio and We visited the San Francesco Monastery and its charming cloister. the high cliffs overlooking the sea. Most of the large, expensive hotels were located along these cliffs. We also walked the steep road down the Marina Grande. Finally, having had enough of sightseeing, we switched to shopping mode. We knew Sorrento was famous for its inlaid wood (intarsia) and wanted to buy some not only for ourselves but as gifts. We had passed many intarsia shops on our walk and now picked out a large shop with a wide selection. The proprietor was very friendly. We were his only customers, and he offered to show us how he produced his wares. He had clamped about a dozen sheets of wood veneer very tightly together. Each sheet was of a different kind of wood and therefore of a different color. On the top of the stack was a piece of paper with an intricate pattern traced on it in pencil. He took a fine saw and cut along the pattern, cutting all 12 of the sheets at once. When he finished cutting, every sheet of veneer had been cut into the same identical pieces. After he separated the sheets, he could reassemble those pieces in different combinations of colors. It was fascinating! When we began selecting items to buy, there were no shopping carts, so we carried the purchases to the front counter. We would ask for a discount on those items, and get it, before setting off to find more. The biggest and most expensive item we selected was a wheeled tea cart with two intarsia shelves. We bargained long and hard before deciding to buy it. When we finally had everything we wanted, the proprietor tallied up all the individual prices we had negotiated. At that point Darrell asked him to round the total down a couple thousand Lire because we had bought so much. Reluctantly, he agreed, but he made it clear that was it. No more discounts! (Our notes indicate that the total price for all our intarsia purchases was $30. Sounds great, right? But our income at the time was only about $400 a month.)We also had dinner at one of the quaint restaurants on a narrow street. Back at our hotel, we packed for our morning departure. | ||