[Page 236.] La Madonna di Pozzano. I take this legend from Storia dell'Immagine di S. Maria di Pozzano, written by Padre Serafino de Ruggieri. It was published at Valle di Pompeii in 1893.
[Page 237.] The facts about the Iconoclasts will be found in any Church history; e.g. Milman, Hist. of Latin Christianity, bk. iv. chap. 7.
[Page 238.] My chief authority for the stories of madonnas in this chapter and the next is Signor Gaetano Amalfi, whose invaluable work, Tradizioni ed Usi nella Penisola Sorrentina, forms volume viii. of the "Curiosità Popolari Tradizioniali," published by Signor Pitrè at Palermo. Those who are acquainted with the bookshops in Naples will not be surprised to hear that I searched them vainly for a copy of this work, great as its interest should be for all visitors to the city. The book is largely written in the local dialects, and would be of little use to those who cannot read them.
[Page 241.] The old road from Castellammare towards Sorrento. Breislak, who wrote so recently as in 1800, says, "Le chemin est le plus mauvais possible, et ne peut se faire avec sureté qu'à pied."
[Page 245.] Quaresima. I refer once more to Signor Amalfi, op. cit.
[Page 255.] These various scraps of folklore are from the same work, as are also the legends in this chapter.
[Page 260.] For the tufa of Sorrento, see Breislak, Voyages physiques.
[Page 270.] On the archæology of Sorrento the best work known to me is that of Beloch, Campanien.
[Page 273.] Not much has been written well on Capri. Storia dell'Isola di Capri, by Mons. A. Canale, is sold throughout the town, but has little value. Die Insel Capri, by Ferdinand Gregorovius, is a book of great beauty and merit; the reputation of Gregorovius stands in no need of praise. Kopisch' narrative, Die Entdeckung der blauen Grotte, is volume 2,907 of Reclam's "Universal Bibliothek."
[Page 301.] It is much to be desired that some German or Italian scholar—I fear none other would have the necessary patience—might undertake to elucidate the history of that collection of communes which passed by the name of Amalfi. Two histories exist—a modern one by Camera, an ancient one by Pansa. Both comprise interesting facts, but neither attempts to solve the puzzles which beset the traveller on every side. Nor will it be of any use for other writers to attempt solutions without long study; yet for one who might be willing to bestow the labour, there will certainly be reserved a rich reward of fame. Probably there is scarce any spot where thorough investigation might teach us so much of the tangled yet splendid history of Italy in the Middle Ages.