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| The bay of Napoli from Castle Elmo. |
Napoli (Naples) is about 125 miles North of Scalea and
around two and a half hours by train and less than thirty euros return. We can
do it as a daytrip but more often than not stay over in one of its many
economical Bed and Breakfasts. The railway from Scalea to Napoli follows the
Italian west coast as it skirts around the mountains of Basilicata and hills
and farmland of Campania and is one of the most scenic journeys in Italy.
Many times during my writings I will return to Napoli as I
do so in life. It is a city you either love or hate, there is no in-between but
I believe if you hate Napoli you don’t know her, for here when travelling down from
the North is where the real Italia begins, its hustle and bustle, its
grittiness and even its shabbiness cries out, “Italia, Italia” from every
street corner.
Napoli is a great gateway to certain ‘must see’, well known places
such as Pompeii, Herculaneum and the Royal Palace and gardens of Caserta
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| The Royal palace of Caserta. |
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| The amphitheatre of Capua. |
and
others less known such as Stabia, Pozzuoli, Capua, these and others I will write
about at a later date.
It is also our gateway to the ‘further away’ parts of
Italy such as Milan, Turin, Venice, Sardinia and the North West coast of Sicily,
as internal flights in Italy are very economical and we can fly to all these places
for around sixty euros each return, that’s cheaper and quicker than by train or
ferry.
But today’s writings are the first taster of Napoli the
city.
Please don’t believe everything you read about Napoli it’s a
city that always seems to get bad press, but all cities throughout the world
can be dangerous if you’re not vigilant. When it comes to the pickpocket you
are no safer in Rome, Florence, Venice, etc. I once read an article on Naples
by a New York Times writer calling the city a tourist waste ground. After
laughing so hard and spilling my morning espresso, a mortal sin here in Italy,
I began to wish he was right, then maybe I wouldn’t have to queue to see the
likes of ‘the veiled Christ,’ and Napoli underground, or fight the crowds on Via
San Gregorio Armeno and the Circumvesuviana. My answer to those who fear Napoli
is that in Napoli a thief will try and take your wallet without you realising
and if they fail they walk away. In England there’s a greater chance of you
being robbed at knife-point and America by gun, I’ve been targeted more than
once in Napoli but by pushing (and one time thumping) the would be thief while
shouting obscenities in perfect Anglo-Saxon I have put them to flight as they never
want confrontation.
Wherever we travel we always pop into the local church if it’s
open as all churches in Italy have their own kind of beauty and more than
likely their own ancient artefact that they take great pride in displaying. Napoli
has some of the finest decorated churches I have seen on my travels throughout
Italy, I cannot write about them all, so I suggest that you take a look for
yourselves when here as you don’t have to be religious to admire the wonderful
décor of these ancient places of worship. However it is said that Napoli has
more churches per square mile than any other city in Italy, in fact 448 in
total so you would be hard pressed to visit them all.
The streets of the old town and Spanish quarters are a must
to meander and explore and at times get lost in, Naples centro storico a UNESCO
world heritage site is the largest in Europe. Here you’ll find the true Napoli
and feel part of the city as you wonder past over-stocked shops and the famous
Neapolitan street food vendors, you cannot go to Napoli and not try the pizza
as they are by far the best in the world.
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| People, scooters and stalls, a typical Napoli street market. |
As Napoli is renowned for its Presepes it’s no surprise
there is a street (Via San Gregorio Armeno) dedicated to the Presepe (Christmas
nativity scene) and its craftsmen. But a word of warning, do not attempt this
narrow street during December unless you want to experience how a sardine feels
when being squeezed into its can.
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| Via San Gregorio Armeno. The Presepe street. |
Castle Elmo in its elevated position to the North of the
city and above the Spanish quarter commands the finest view over Naples and the
bay but sadly that is all it offers for the small admission fee. The great
trudge up the many, many steps from the Spanish quarter can be a challenge or a
reward depending on your outlook in life, but for me it’s the funicular railway
up and sometimes the steps down.
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| The metro foyer at the museum staion. |
If like us you are museum fans you’ll be spoilt for choice
in Napoli which has 52, we haven’t done them all (yet) but can highly recommend
as a starter the Archaeological museum. Here you’ll see the finds of Pompeii
and Herculaneum and other ancient places of this area. The displays and museum
area are vast so expect to spend the best part of the day there. We do as much
of the city by foot but for the less energetic the museum has its own stop on
the metro and stepping into the station is like you’ve already stepped into the
museum as there are displays in the foyer giving a glimpse of what you are about
to experience.
The Capodimonte museum and its grounds.
The word Capodimonte to me conjures up thoughts of the
bisque pottery, ornate, fanciful and sometimes humorous figurines that were
popular in the 60’s and 70’s and took pride of place in many jewellers windows
in England when I was a boy. But in those days the word Capodimonte only
related to pottery of a certain style or that which was made in any part of the
city of Naples. True Capodimonte porcelain dates from a much earlier era
starting in the seventeen hundreds and although you will see pottery in the
museum most of its rooms are dedicated to art, from the classical and religious
to the modern making it possibly the best art gallery in Italy.
The museum one of the largest in Italy is located in the
Capodimonte Bourbon Palace which still sits in its own parklands, a beautiful
area of woods and walkways that all but for the odd low flying passenger plane
landing at the near-by Naples International airport, makes you feel like you’re
a million miles away from the hustle and bustle of Napoli, the biggest surprise
being that the parklands are a ‘no smoking’ area making it probably the biggest
no smoking area in Europe!
NAPLES. To be continued…………………..
If we can be of any help to encourage you to visit this
wonderful city please feel free to email us at casa-cielo@hotmail.it or visit us at https://www.facebook.com/casa.cielo
EXTERNAL LINKS.
EXTERNAL LINKS.
