Valley of the Mills (Vallee dei Mulini) SW by Jaco Verheul

About "Valley of the Mills (Vallee dei Mulini) SW"

by Jaco Verheul

About the artwork

In the heart of Sorrento, behind the central Piazza Tasso, lies an almost hidden treasure: an ancient and overgrown ruin in a green ravine. Along Sorrento's coastline lie countless valleys carved into the landscape by water thousands of years ago. One of the most impressive of these ravines is in the middle of the city: Il Vallone dei Mulini, or the deep mill valley. Located right next to Piazza Tasso and a major tourist attraction, the Vallone dei Mulini forms the natural boundary of Sorrento's historic centre. Two small streams, the Casarlano-Cesarano and the S. Antonino, have carved out narrow gorges through the valley over hundreds of years. At the very bottom you can still see the remains of an old grain mill, from which the valley gets its name.

This sturdy stone building from the 10th century was a mill where grain was ground for almost a thousand years, until it was abandoned in the 19th century. The valley then became increasingly humid, which was unfavourable for flour production. Ferns love this foggy microclimate, however, and today the roof of the ruins is completely overgrown with plants and branches, as if nature wanted to swallow the building. Attached to the grain mill was a sawmill, where local furniture makers got their wood. If you look closely, you can also see the remains of a public washhouse, which had access to the seeping waters of the quiet streams. With a