22 - Basilica of Sant’Antonino

Information

The Basilica of Sant’Antonino, together with Sorrento Cathedral, is the main place of worship of the town.

It was built in the 11th century on the same place as a previous, small oratory dedicated to Sant’Antonino.

The basilica has three naves, divided by twelve columns of different kinds of marble coming from buildings in Sorrento during the Greek-Roman era.   

Inside the church are paintings and altars of inestimable value.

The most visited part of the Basilica is however the Crypt, commonly called “del Soccorpo”. There you can admire six canvases painted by the Sorrentine artist Carlo Amalfi depicting the patron saints of Sorrento: four bishops San Renato, San Valerio, Sant'Attanasio and San Bacolo and a further two saints, San Gennaro of Naples and San Nicola of Bari.

At the centre of the crypt is the altar, on which the statue of the Saint is placed. Behind it is a silver-plated perennial oil lamp that visitors touch, reciting a prayer in memory of one the Saint’s famous miracles, for which he is much loved by the Sorrentines. As testimony to his most famous miracle, you can see the rib of a cetacean on the facade, a reminder of when the Saint saved a child who had been swallowed by a whale. Of considerable importance and value are the votives left for the Saint by the faithful for the graces received.