Bagni Regina Giovanna — Attraction in Sorrento

(draw a pic, more in my insta: @prawada)

Straight to the point: French Queen Giovanna is only connected to this place by the fact that she used to bathe in this natural pool with numerous lovers.

But this spot was first favored by the Roman Empire. On the coast you can still find the remains of an impressive Roman villa (1st century AD). This was a popular resort for wealthy Campanians (elite warriors from the Campanian legion) and Roman aristocracy. Various rooms of the villa offered views of Mount Vesuvius 🤩

There was also a portico with marble columns descending to the sea (which is why I attached a photo of the restoration at the end).

The villa was connected to the natural pool by various passages, staircases, and terraces. Even the path leading to this place is designed with comfort in mind: you’re always in the shade, and on your right, there are olive groves.

I'm amazed that this ancient place with ruins dating back 2,000 years isn’t fenced off with protective nets or special barriers. There are no prohibitions or warnings about danger, entrance is free, and the beach is open to all.

I’m glad that people are using the place as intended: they jump from the ancient Roman ruins into the water, chill to Lana Del Rey and Arctic Monkeys, and dry their towels on the remnants of the vaulted rooms of the ancient villa.

It feels like the moment was crafted with a perfect vibe: the colors, music, surroundings, and time of year all came together. As I was drawing (first picture), singing along to "I just wanna be yours" with everyone, I had goosebumps all over my skin.

My...

A pretty cool spot for a dip, but a few warnings: The walk from Sorrento Main Street includes ~1.5km where you’re walking directly on the road as cars are speeding past. The drivers are pretty aware so we had no issues, but you do need to be careful. The majority of the walk itself is fine, including right down to the view point. Quite easy to get to and only a few sections of rough/rocky terrain. If you want to do a bit of exploring or get down to the water, it’s another story. Getting down to the water isn’t easy, there’s some dodgy stairs with wooden/wonky railings, then you are traversing the rocks. I’m glad it wasn’t busy when we went! - The other problem is once you’re down the bottom there’s nowhere to stand… we climbed to a nearby rock to throw our stuff and take our clothes off. It would’ve been better to do this at the top as there was more space, but we managed. It’s a tight area, so go early to avoid the crowds. We got there around 1030 on a Monday and there was around 8 people trying to get in the water, then 3x that when we were trying to leave. There was plenty of other people around checking out the view and the ruins at the top. The water is also unfortunately not as clean and beautiful as it looks, there was a bit of a smell and some rubbish floating. Still a pretty cool experience and plenty of ruins to look at if you’re able and confident enough to climb...

A beautiful laguna with clear blue water that has several areas to contain the massive crowd attending it.

We came by car and paid 10 euros for half a day (5 hours in total) at the closest parking lot.

We settled down right on the small beach (although it's important to mention it required going inside the water with all of our equipment and food we brought with us, and the water came about to the hight of our waist).

Take into account that there isn't much shade there, so if you wouldn't like to sit in the sun you can either spend time inside the water or bring a sunshade with you. Also, there are a lot of big rocks inside the water, so if you're hanging in the less deeper parts, be super careful (I got cut in my feet in several places).

There's also an option to rent kayaks and go out of the laguna to explore some other beaches in the area.

Another option is to skip the laguna and just stay at the top part, mainly if you're into sunbathing and less into going inside the water.

Lastly, take into consideration it's quite far from the parking/road so it's about 10-15 minutes walk going down in a steep path (and more importantly, back up), so prepare yourself for a cardio activity :) But it's definitely worth it in my opinion, so don't skip this one when you're...