The territory of Massa Lubrense occupies all the final part of the Sorrento Paninsula, with a settlement divided into about thirty hamlets. The early testimonies about Massa belong to the 10th century, when it was property of the Sorrento Duchy. It succeeded to gain its freedom from Sorrento only in 1470. Its name is derived from the Langobard word "mansa", which defined a territorial unit, with the adjective "lubrense" related to the Church of Madonna della Lobra, so named because it was built upon a preexisting pagan temple (delubrum, in latin).

From the centre of Massa Lubrense starts the road leading to Marina della Lobra, a seafaring suburb with the houses built in front of the seashore and of the harbour. At the entrance of the village there is the Church of Santa Maria della Lobra (Our Lady of the Lobra), built in 1528 to replace the former paleochristian church. Inside the church there is a beautiful pavement in majolica of the 18th century and a lacunar ceiling. Near the church there is a franciscan convent: inside its cloister are kept some archaeological remains of the Greek and Roman age.

From Massa Lubrense you can continue along the coast and arrive at the headland of Punta Campanella or to choose the road that goes to the higher hamlets, where you can enjoy an incomparable panorama over both the gulfs of Naples and Salerno, as testified also by the name of the most importante village in the territory of Massa Lubrense: Sant'Agata sui Due Golfi (St. Agatha on Two Gulfs). It was a traditional summer resort for Neapolitan middle-class of the 19th century, for the fresh and healthy air that was enjoyable here thanks to the position exposed to all the winds.

The Sorrento Peninsula ends on south with the headland of Punta Campanella, on which there are the remains of Torre Minerva (Minerva Tower) built in the 14th c. by Robert of Anjou and used up to the 17th century to sight the ships of the Saracen pirates and alert for the danger by the sound of a small bell ("campanella" in Italian, from which the name). But in the antiquity this place was sacred, initially dedicated to the Syrens and after to Athena (Minerva for the Roman mythology).  [ More...]