This is a Wild and Crazy Place!

Buongiorno!

Today’s post begins with a test. Where is this?

Got it yet?

…no?

Here’s another hint

Still don’t have it?

Here’s the last hint:

🎶In _______ where love is king,

When boy meets girl, here’s what they say:

When the moon hits your eye,

Like a big-a pizza pie,

That’s amore! 🎶

Yep! You got it - Napoli, home of almost a million people, best pizza in the world and Monte Vesuvio!

Let’s start with a little background. Here are some fun facts, courtesy of the folks at Travel Curious:

Napoli was founded 2500 years ago. Napoli comes from the Greek word "Neopolis" which means “new city”. Its citizens are known as “Neapolitans”
It is the 3rd largest city in Italy at 910,000. Greater Naples, the wider metropolitan area, has a population of 4.4 million. It is the most densely populated city in all of Italy
Famous for having invented pizza (c. 1830) and the Margherita pizza in 1889
Napoli has the most Michelin Star restaurants in Italy

So, in sum, it’s REALLY old, crazy busy, with all kind of things to see, eat and do. We should also say that Neapolitans are huge football (soccer) fans that have idolized Diego Maradona, arguably one of the best players ever. There remain today, countless images of him painted on walls, printed on t-shirts and as figurines. He’s everywhere - as you’ll see. (His jersey number was “10”)

Napoli street scenes, featuring one of many tributes to Maradona (above) and a limonata street vendor (left)

Piazza Dante Alighieri

Our good friends at Savour Italy (more about them in the next post), organized a walking tour for us. Here we are with Tomasso, a cheeky, yet highly knowledgeable guide that is very proud of his city.

The tour began here, in the Piazza Bellini. These foundations are the remains of fortifications built by the Greeks to protect the ancient city of Neopoli, founded in the 4th century BC.

Tomasso talked about learning Napoli's history through its architecture, which he likened to "lasagna". Layer upon layer of history is revealed by simply looking at the various materials and architectural stylings built right into the wonderful buildings and churches.

Here is a great example of the "lasagna":

This is the Santa Maria Maggiore bell tower (photo posted on Visitnaples.eu) built in the 11th century. It's not the best pic, but you can make out a wide range of elements in the construction. There are different kinds of brick, marble columns (one at the bottom right & the second at the top near the bell). These have been repurposed from the remains of the original church built on the site of a Greek temple (built in 6th century BC) dedicated to the huntress Goddess Diana

Below, is the base of the bell tower. Here you can see the thin red bricks that were standard in Roman times, while the white rectangular piece that has the carvings in it is believed to come from the former Greek temple mentioned above. It would have appeared as the beam running atop the columns of the temple. In this case it was simply used as a building block and, regrettably, has been installed upside down!

Below, is a VERY old neighbourhood dating back to Greek and Roman times. You can see evidence in the stones and the archway in the wall on the left side. Yet look at how, over time, this neighbourhood built up and over all that went before. And of course, another tribute to Maradona!

This fellow is the legendary 17th century character, Pucinella, in Neapolitan puppetry. He represents the common man. Although he has many problems, he always manages to come out of them with a smile. Today, it is said that he will bring you good luck if you rub his nose!

As we passed a pasta shop, Tomasso showed us this package. He said "if you're going to have dry pasta, this is the type to get"- pale yellow (not brown) and striated. He also said, "Italians don't eat that other s@*&%t!" Ok, note to self: yellow and striated, yellow and striated! hahahahahaha

Our tour ended at Basilica di San Domenico Maggiore. Construction began in 1283 and was completed in 1324. The Obelisk was erected in the 17th century to thank Saint Dominic for saving Napoli from the 1656 plague.

Medieval street scene in old Napoli. It features the bell tower of the Chiesa di San Pietro a Majella, 2nd Century AD

And now to somewhat more modern times...

This is Piazza del Plebiscito (19th century) - named after the 1860 plebiscite that brought Napoli into a unified kingdom of Italy. It was built from volcanic rock from Vesuvius in. Now it's used as a site for cultural events.

The former Royal Palace is located on the other side of Piazza del Plebiscito. It is now used for conferences and exhibitions.

This is the back side of the former Royal Palace, and a view of Napoli Port with a cruise ship.

This view looks across Piazza del Plebiscito and up to the Napoli acropolis. Here you can see Castel Sant'Elmo, built between 1336 and 1343. Currently, the castle is home to the Novecento Museum

So if you want to escape the "crazy busy" feeling of Napoli Centro, you can always retreat to the top of the Napoli acropolis. It is certainly more peaceful!

Quiet street atop the Napoli Acropolis

To end our story of the "wild and crazy" city of Napoli, we have a few pictures from "The Gran Caffe Gambrinus" which looks very much like a Vienna coffee house. It is sooooooo elegant! Check out the uniforms of the staff members, the paintings, chandeliers etc, etc. Not surprising, it also has spectacular dolci!