Torre del Saracino

La Torre del Saracino is Gennaro Esposito's restaurant at the Bellevue Syrene hotel in Sorrento, where it moved from the beach at Seiano in Vico Equense. It held two Michelin stars at its old home.

Esposito was born in Vico Equense and grew up on his family's farm, and as a boy he worked in his uncle's pastry shop. He took his first steps as a cook in Sorrento, then spent more than three decades at Seiano, where the restaurant stood under an old Saracen watchtower on a pebble beach facing the Gulf of Naples; the second star came in 2008. In September 2026 he moved it to the Bellevue Syrene, saying that change does not mean turning his back on the past. The old site now houses his new restaurant, Caporivo.

The Bellevue Syrene is a five-star Relais & Châteaux hotel, run by five generations of hoteliers. The new room seats about two dozen in winter and more in summer, when the open-air terrace is in use. Executive chef Giuseppe di Martino and pastry chef Michele Cannavacciuolo work with Esposito, and Giovanni Piezzo looks after the cellar. Women make up nearly half of the team across the kitchen, the pastry section and the dining room.

The producers stay the same, since the new site lies within 7 km (4 mi) of the old one, and the cooking starts again from its strongest points, with products, memory and landscape at the centre. Diners choose a tasting menu of five, seven or ten courses or order à la carte, with vegetarian and vegan options. Dishes from the Seiano years include a citrus risotto with prawns, 'nduja and a fennel sauce, and an acqua pazza made with prickly pear. The view has changed from beach to town, but the same suppliers and the same hands keep the taste of this stretch of coast.