Sorrento was settled in the late 1800s, when Northern investors and settlers moved into Lake County chasing citrus. The name came from the Italian coastal town, borrowed for the same reason so many Florida places got romantic names: to sell the dream.
Citrus built the area and the great freezes nearly unbuilt it. The devastating freezes of the 1890s wiped out groves across Central Florida and reset the economy for a generation.
What survived was a rural, agricultural community strung along the roads that became SR 46 and CR 437 — close to the Wekiva basin, framed by sand hills and pine.
Today, 32776 sits at the edge of Orlando's growth. New rooftops go up along 46 while five minutes away you can still find dirt roads, horse fences, and forest.
Neighborhood bakeries, roadside stands, and weekend markets are part of what keeps that older character intact. Buying local isn't nostalgia here; it's how a place stays itself.