Marina di Crapolla
Massa Lubrense
Hidden gemFree beaches
The story
Seven hundred steps down from Torca lead to a tiny landing place, where the chapel of San Pietro rests on Benedictine ruins and fishermen carve boat shelters out of Roman columns.
The story
Marina di Crapolla is a tiny inlet at the end of the Sorrento peninsula, in the municipality of Massa Lubrense, where once stood a harbour and a Benedictine abbey: even today the chapel of San Pietro remains, built on the remains of an ancient temple. It is a corner of coast that has remained wild, far from the roads.
What to see
A small cove of pebbles and rock, with the remains of the chapel of San Pietro facing the sea and the memory of the ancient marina: one of the most evocative and secluded places of the peninsula, without modern buildings.
Hours and prices
Free entry.
Tips
The figure that counts: it is reached only on foot from Torca, by a very long stairway of several hundred steps that goes down to the sea — and the climb back, uphill and under the sun, is the hard part. Reckon on time, water, suitable shoes and good legs; below there are no services. Alternatively you arrive by sea.
Frequently asked questions
How do you reach Marina di Crapolla?
Only on foot from Torca, by a very long stairway of several hundred steps to the sea (the climb back is demanding), or by sea.
What is at Marina di Crapolla?
A small wild cove with the remains of the chapel of San Pietro, built on the remains of an ancient temple, and the memory of the ancient Benedictine marina.
Are there services at Marina di Crapolla?
No: it is a secluded and wild place, without buildings or services; bring water and everything you need.
More gems in Massa Lubrense
NaturePunta Campanella
Massa Lubrense
The furthest tip of the Sorrento peninsula, a wind-beaten marine reserve between the two gulfs, with its watchtower and Capri an arm of sea away.
◆ Free beachesFiordo
Massa Lubrense
A cleft in the rock where the sea slips in, narrow and green, almost always shaded beneath high walls: you don't come here for the sun, but for the silence.
- Sacred art
Belvedere del Deserto — Sant'Agata sui Due Golfi
Massa Lubrense
From the old Carmelite convent the gaze takes in both gulfs at a single turn, Naples and Salerno, high above Sant'Agata.
- Nature
Tempio di Atena
Massa Lubrense
Near the tower survive the traces of the sanctuary of Athena that legend says was founded by Ulysses, where the Greeks worshipped the goddess sheer above the sea.
- ◆ Free beaches
Cala di Mitigliano e grotta
Massa Lubrense
A path through olive trees drops down to the rocks, Capri looks an arm's length away, and the cave opens in the water like a hall of shadow and salt.
- Hiking
Anello di Punta Campanella
Massa Lubrense (NA)
At the tip of the Sorrento peninsula the trail reaches Punta Campanella, where a watchtower gazes at Capri opposite, across a narrow, blue arm of sea.
More gems: Free beaches
Free beachesBaia di Ieranto
Nerano
The bay protected by the FAI that looks across at the Faraglioni of Capri, reachable only on foot among olive trees and scrub, with the clear water of an old quarry.
- ◆ Free beaches
Lido delle Monache / spiaggia libera di Posillipo e Riva Fiorita
Posillipo
Tiny coves among the rocks, once the bathing place of the nuns of a convent above the sea: almost secret free beaches, reachable mostly from the water.
- ◆ Free beaches
Baia di Trentaremi
Posillipo
A bay closed in by high cliffs of yellow tufo (volcanic tuff), with caves cut by the Romans: no road reaches it, only the sea and the kayaks slip in among the rocks.
- ◆ Free beaches
Capo Miseno e porticciolo di Acquamorta
Bacoli/Monte di Procida
The headland that closes the gulf and, at its foot, the little harbour of Acquamorta with the boats hauled ashore and the water shallow and clear.
- Free beaches
Bagni della Regina Giovanna
Capo di Sorrento
The ruins of Pollio Felice's Roman villa look down on a natural pool, joined to the sea by a rock arch where the water changes colour with every hour.
- Free beaches
Marina del Cantone
Nerano
The widest pebble beach on the peninsula, where at sunset the restaurants serve the spaghetti alla Nerano born right here, between fried courgettes and provolone del monaco cheese.