The Villa Strongoli is a former rural palace located on Vittoria Veneto #1, on the

Bay of Naples A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a narr ...

shoreline of

Sorrento Sorrento (, ; nap, Surriento ; la, Surrentum) is a town overlooking the Bay of Naples in Southern Italy. A popular tourist destination, Sorrento is located on the Sorrentine Peninsula at the south-eastern terminus of the Circumvesuviana rail ...

, in Campania, Italy. Since 1812 the villa buildings have been used as a hotel, the Imperial Hotel Tramontano.

History

The villa was established by the Pignatelli family in the 17th century. According to local legend the property includes the house in which

Torquato Tasso Torquato Tasso ( , also , ; 11 March 154425 April 1595) was an Italian poet of the 16th century, known for his 1591 poem ''Gerusalemme liberata'' (Jerusalem Delivered), in which he depicts a highly imaginative version of the combats between ...

was born. The Pignatelli family was replaced by the aristocratic family of the Principe of

Strongoli Strongoli is a ''comune'' and town with a population of over 6000 people in the province of Crotone, in Calabria, southernmost Italy. History In Antiquity, Strongoli was the site of Petelia, said to have been founded by Philoctetes. It is the bi ...

in the 18th century. By the 19th century, like most of the seaside villas in the area, the Villa Strongoli had become a hotel. Because the ownership was advertised as English, the hotel held great appeal for British and American travellers by the end of the century. A review from 1896-1897 describes one of the managers as a ''Mr Doyle'' from Ireland, nephew of the wife of the owner. By the late 1880s, there would have been competition for Anglo-Saxon travelers from other Sorrentine seaside hotels Bristol, d'Angleterre (Villa Nardi), and Vittoria. The hotel website history asserts that numerous 19th-century authors, in addition to royalty, have been guests at the hotel.Official website
It is also claimed that in 1902 the popular song of Torna a Surriento was written at the request of the town's mayor and hotel owner and for Prime Minister of Italy, who was staying at this hotel.

References

{{reflist Villas in Campania Sorrento