Naples seems to be a city people either love, or love to hate. I get it. It’s exhausting. Literally. I needed a nap by my 3rd day! Naples assaults your senses unlike any other city in Europe; in fact the best way I can describe it is to imagine a 3rd World Capital City dropped on top of Rome. Naples isn’t Italian so much as an outpost of Italy.
Physically, Naples is repulsive in parts: you can’t help but notice the trash and graffiti. It’s the first city in Italy where I’ve been actually approached by beggars. While I haven’t felt unsafe (and think that part of the Naples legend is overplayed a bit) you also wouldn’t see me out past 10PM here.
Naples is one of the few cities where I NEEDED the double decker bus tour to orient myself…I kept getting lost! It’s also a city where I was really grateful to be staying at an American standard hotel (the Renaissance, a Marriott Cat. 5) as a respite from the chaos.
However, Naples also has a Metro system that’s a work of art. Its cathedral contains art from the 4th to the 17th centuries.
Unlike Rome, Naples is the city where I haven’t had a meal over 10 Euro, and they’ve all been great. Naples is where the coffee stand on the corner serves an eye-popping espresso along with playful banter for 80 cents.
Naples is the city where an employee at the national archeology museum, noting my interest, sneaked me into a closed gallery for a tour of items specifically found in Naples. (Being an Italian man, he also asked me to lunch afterward…which I declined.) His English was about as good as my Italian, but his pride showed through in any language. He told me, “Napoli is Greco, Napoli is Macedone, Napoli is Romani, Napoli is Napoli”.
My thoughts exactly. Napoli is Napoli. I’m sorry to go.
Sounds like a place to explore! Thanks Dia for the review.
Hmmm, in musical terms….It reminds me of Stravinsky rather than Bach.
Going on my “places to visit” list! 🙂
P.S.
Sorry for the complete ignorant cliche stereotypical question….BUT…..
how’s the pizza??? As someone that loves (ususally) all things with cheese and dough, I wonder just how much different the real thing is from our Americanized version of it!
Not a dumb question at all! It’s a super thin crust, but NOT crunchy. Cooked on wood. Lighter on sauce, standard cheese (if not a margherita) is pecorino, which surprised me. And cheap! Huge pizza for 1, 4 to 6 Euro depending on toppings.
p.s.s. I really should have thought about my response a bit more, but every time I hit the enter button, something else popped up in my head…
RE: national archeology museum- is there a link online?
How was the Etruscan display? I find myself intrigued with this genre of people, culture, artificats, etc. The more I learn of the Etruscans, the more I want to know!
This is why people earn points/miles. To have a Napolian experience such as this! 🙂
We didn’t love Naples. Didn’t hate it, either. Just not very memorable for us. Other than one meal and a small makeshift amusement park we found for our daughter near our hotel, our memories of that region are all of Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast.
Pizzaman,
Thanks for stopping by. Coming from the Adriatic, I thought the Amalfi was nice, but too polished. I found the Adriatic coast (especially Trani) to be just as pretty but a lot more workaday.
I also liked Pompeii, but liked seeing the treasures up close a whole lot more.
Loved reading your take! I barely saw Naples passing through from Sorrento to Rome, but it’s on my list to return. Your post just makes me want to go more (and do it with a few comforts of home, like you mentioned). See you there!
Thanks! I think we share a mindset about places and that you would enjoy it.
We went with our kids and absolutely loved Naples. Stayed at an AirBnB. People were super friendly, pizza and espressos were amazing, metro was easy to navigate, and there was SO much to see. Definitely a place to return to for us.
Glad to hear you were in the love camp. (and I thought you would be!).
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