The festival
Chiostro Monumentale di San Francesco and Circolo dei Forestieri - 
Sorrento (NA) The festival The idea of a Jazz Festival came up in 1997, in a conversation between Tullio De Piscopo, Antonino Esposito (conductor of the recently established ATS) and Costanzo Iaccarino (at the time Municipality councillor to tourism and now President of Federalberghi).

In 2000, after three years of work, the first edition of the festival took place, although the event’s general recognition was to come with the setting up of the Jazz Circuit of the Province of Naples. Since the very beginning, Sorrento Jazz… e dintorni, has proposed itself as an opportunity for contaminations between jazz and other music genres. The festival’s art director was Antonino Esposito for seven years; starting from 2007 the honorary president Tullio De Piscopo took over as art director. A special feature of this festival is its focus on musical education for the young: the related project “I giovanissimi verso la musica” is now a well-known reality both in Italy and on the international scene (In May 2008 the Orchestra Giovanile was born out of the Training Course).

The location
In the old centre of Sorrento, close to the Villa Comunale and just above the sea, is the San Francesco complex, which includes the XIV-century baroque church, the Convent founded in the VII century and the monumental Cloister of San Francesco.

The Cloister is a perfect blend of different architectural styles: on the two sides of the arcades are crossed tuff arches, an expression of XIV-century style, whereas on the two other sides are imposing round arches placed on octagonal pillars. Very popular with visitors, the Cloister has a perfect acoustics and hosts two international music Festivals: Estate Musicale Sorrentina and SORRENTO JAZZ. As for the Circolo Forestieri, all that needs to be said is that under the new management, with the Parlato brothers having renovated it completely, and with the partnership with the Festival, it seems to be going back to the time when it was the ideal location for events of all kinds. The breathtaking view is the same that served as a background for the concerts of the unforgettable Renato Carosone and his band.