On Naples

Before I came to Naples, I didn't really have any expectations. I mean, I had an idea of what to find in Rome, Milan, Florence, but Naples, what’s in Naples? Well, lots of things!

Firstly I was suprised to find how big it is! In fact between 3 and 3.7 million people live in the urban area.! You can walk around in the centre, but be prepared to walk quite a bit! On that note, I will say outright that visiting Naples and its region definitely is great exercise. After the first day my legs were in real pain. Appropriate shoes are essential! (I'll remember that next time!)

Pompei is only a 40 minute train journey away. Be prepared for a crowded train, because it stops in many places, going up to Sorrento. Pompei huge! Make sure you get a map from the audioguides (just take the map if you don't want to take a guide). Under 25s will pay a discounted price! (young people's discount is more common than student discount). Pompei is great - you can spend 2 hours as much as you can spend 6 hours! There's plenty to see. I thought you'd 'only' see ruins. But you see old mozaics, leftovers of fountains, paintings and even the plaster cast of the people of Pompeii who were surprised by the volcano eruption. It made the terrible disaster a lot more real!

After Pompeii, I spend the rest of the afternoon in Sorrento, the terminal of the suburban train called Circumvesuviana.It's about 35 minutes from Pompeii (so, around 80 minutes from Naples). It's a beautiful little town, with impressive cliffs and lots of stairs (although there is a lift to come up from the port). You will also find a beach a little further. 

For evening entertainment, you definitely should try the pizza, which is considerably better and considerably cheaper than anywhere else ( in the UK and many other places in the world! - I have no formal evidence to back this up - but I'm just going to go with it!). Da Michele  is where we went. It's very good. I'd just like to prepare you for a few things: there will be a queue. We were given a number (just like at the post office) and were waiting to be called - it helps to know your number in Italian! Also, there were only three choices of pizza: margherita (simple or double mozzarella) and marinara. This made the service very quick! There are other places you can try such as Di Matteo and Sorbillo!

On my second day, we wanted to go to the top of the Vesuvius. However, we changed our plan due to the weather. The way we were planning to go up was train to Pompei, then bus to the top - around 700m I was told. Then you pay entrance to the national park and you can walk up to the crater. On the day we wanted to go it was raining cats and dogs and apparently the national park was closed because it was too windy. On the note of rain, yes it rains! And when it does, it lasts a long time. Make sure to take an umbrella if it's said to rain on the day. You will need it! 

Instead we spent the day in Naples. One of the interesting things we visited was the Church of S. Maria delle Anime del Purgatorio ad Arco). It was very impressive. The church was built on 2 levels, with the lower level representing the purgatory. At the bottom, you found many skulls and bones, decorated with pictures, crosses, prayers, flowers and jewellery! Very eerie! Read more about the cult here!

Chiesa Santa Maria delle Anime del Purgatorio ad Arco

Just next to the Church is the entrance to Napoli Sotterranea . You get to discover what started as a Greek mine for tuffo stone, to then become a Roman aqueduct, then after a cholera epidemic was not in use anymore then became a dump for about 100 years. Then in the Second World War it was turned into a refuge from bombings. It was too costly and complicated to get rid of the rubbish so it was simply covered with sand and soil. We therefore stood on 5 meters of rubbish!  Some of the caves were big, but others were smaller than us, as we had to duck and walk sideways. The Two meter tall Dutch man in our group had a blast! We even got to see a reservoir, which was used with amphoras being put down through wells (either private for rich households or public on squares). The wells were closed up when the aqueduct was changed into a refuge, apart from one, which was in a church. They expected nobody would bomb a church (How wrong they were!). At the end of the visit we entered what formerly was a typical Neapolitan house. However under the bed was a trap door that led to what used to be the family’s wine cellar, but now was the passage behind the stage of a huge amphitheatre that could hold around 6000 people! It cannot be fully uncovered as the city has been built on top of it. Uncovering the amphitheatre could in fact risk modern houses to collapse.

We also had the chance to visit the beautiful island of Capri, also known as the very expensive island of Capri! After an hour ferry ride, we got to the ‘marina grande’, the main harbor, from where we took a cable car (funiculario) up the hill. From there we walked along the little streets, leaving Dolce and Gabana behind us and getting slightly lost! We made it to the Faraglioni, in English ‘stacks’ that sit in the water of the coast of Capri. The coast walk took us down and then up what felt like 10.000 steps, and then down and then up again! We walked in silence, both exhausted and at the same time mesmerized by the beauty we were witnessing! As it got dark, we embarked on the our ferry journey back. Our last surprise of the day was a huge moon emerging behind the mountains.

Faraglioni

The moon

My last few hours in Naples could only we described as exhilarating! My Napolitan friend Miguel (or Michelangelo) took me for a ride on his motorbike across the city. With pedestrians, scooters and other bikes coming from all sorts of directions, amidst lots of cars in the, at times, narrow streets! It was definitely a lasting last experience!

There’s so much more I want to see of Naples! I can’t wait to go back!

I have miles to go before I sleep.