Sorrento’s first cathedral was located outside the city walls near to where the present cemetery is, then during the 10th century it was transferred to the church of the Santi Felice e Baccolo whilst they finished building the present cathedral.
This was built on the remains of a pagan temple and completed in 1113. A 12th century document reports that Cardinal Riccardo de Albano consecrated the present building on 16th March 1113, dedicating it to the Virgin Maria in Heaven and to the apostles Phillip and the younger James.
Following the terrible invasion of the Turks in 1558, the cathedral was destroyed and completely rebuilt by Mons. Giulio Pavesi. In 1700 it was finally transformed into its present Baroque style by the Archbishops Didaco Petra and Filippo Anastasio.
The interior of the church is in the shape of a Latin cross, with three naves, separated by fourteen pillars and a flat ceiling, decorated with Baroque style canvases depicting Sorrentine martyrs and scenes from the Gospel.
Another symbol of the city of Sorrento, in addition to the 1500 episcopal palace, is without doubt the bell tower straddling the ancient Decumanus Minimus. It dates back to Byzantine era with Roman marble remains of various kinds at its base, including part of a Lombard epigraph. The top two stories of the bell tower with its majolica clock were added in 1700.
