Monte San Costanzo is a compass. That little white church on the top of the mountain is in fact the most familiar company for travelers on the Sorrento Peninsula, by land or by sea.
Ph. Enrico Nocera | Trentaremi
With its 496 meters, the top of San Costanzo is the highest of this piece of coastline and watches over all the gems of the Marine Park of Punta Campanella: from the blue shades of the Ieranto Bay, in which San Costanzo is reflected, to the superb and reserved beauty of Li Galli islands, whom San Costanzo watches from a distance, faced as they are towards the Gulf of Salerno.
Its rocky appearance is reminiscent of the head of an elderly white-haired man, for this reason the locals used to call him Monte Canutario. Once upon a time the names weren't chosen by chance: San Costanzo is in fact like an old wise uncle to whom you go to ask for advice, a place to seek refuge, to find some inner peace and fill up yourself with beauty. Or to understand what the weather will be like, for example: if you see the hat on Capri, that is a cloud, it means that tomorrow it will rain, say the farmers of the area.
Ph. Enrico Nocera | Trentaremi
In 1560 some local families built on the top of this mountain the little white church that today unmistakably characterizes the landscape of the Peninsula and that from the XV century onwards gave it its name. They dedicated it to San Costanzo, a 7th-century bishop and patron of the island of Capri, evangelizer of many regions of southern Italy.
Today San Costanzo protects the blue island by looking at it in the eyes and caressing it with one hand: from here the Faraglioni seem so close in the sea, apparently reachable with a few strokes.
Every May 14th, the faithfuls depart from the Church of Termini, downstream of the mountain, and reach the top carrying the statue of San Costanzo on their shoulders, then bringing it back down in July. And this liturgical feast is now one of the few occasions during which the church is open to visitors.
The climb up from the square of Termini is challenging: steps of limestone and paths that wind between the spontaneous Mediterranean scrub and the scent of wild fennel, from which a tasty liqueur typical of the area is obtained, while at the back we greet the Vesuvius, the small towns on the coast, even Ischia, when the weather is clear.
Ph. Enrico Nocera | Trentaremi
Some ancient time historians linked the history of San Costanzo to the myth of the Sirens. Bruno d'Agostino, as reported in the beautiful book by Felice Senatore and Gaspare Adinolfi "L’incanto delle Sirene” (The enchantment of the Sirens), referring to Strabo even wondered whether the temple of the Sirens was placed right on the top of San Costanzo, whose name could be Mons Sirenianus.
There is no evidence to confirm theory, however it has something suggestive: Monte San Costanzo enjoys a privileged and so unique position, that it is almost spontaneous to associate it with the myth of the Sirens, which has permeated the traditions of this land with charm.
Once at the top of San Costanzo hikers will be able to decide whether to return to Termini or continue climbing the mountain to Punta Campanella on the ancient Via Minerva, another place of rare beauty and mythological memories.