Naples is the largest City in Southern Italy, capital of the Campania region. This is a city of contrasts. It has been described as a lawless, pagan, city. Traffic rarely stops for pedestrians; for a long period rubbish lay uncollected on the streets; the Camorra (related to the Mafia) run parts of the city; at lunchtime shops close rather randomly around midday and open sometime between 3 and 5 pm; wild (but harmless) dogs roam the streets (or more precisely sleep soundly in shady places during the day).
Yet despite this depiction, Naples is a jewel in the crown of Southern Europe and well worth visiting. It is capital of a region that probably contains more ancient cultural relics than anywhere in the world. The coastline and islands are some of the most elite in the world. It has world class museums. The gulf of Naples has been described as the most beautiful bay in the world. Neapolitans have had great inventiveness, the first pizza is claimed by this city. They also had the first aquarium and Egyptology museum in the world, and the first railway in Italy.
Origins of Naples
Naples was a Greek speaking colony right up to 800 AD. Its Italian name Napoli, comes from the Greek Neapolis. It was incorporated into the Roman Empire but did not lose its Greek character. After the fall of Rome it evolved from an independent Duchy to a country under Norman, Angevin, Aragonese and Bourbon monarchs with a little brush with Napoleon on the way. It was the largest city in the Italian peninsula for much of the 18th and 19th century, the capital of the Kingdom of Naples (which included most of Southern Italy plus for a while Sicily).
Southern Italy had a very different character to the North, and remained largely united for many centuries, so did not develop the city state culture of for example Florence. Garibaldi united Naples with the rest of the Italian peninsula in 1861. According to whom you listen to this was either a reunification or a disastrous civil war or conquest. Had there not been this unification, today we might regard Naples as a major Southern capital, comparable to, or even more important than, Madrid, Athens or Lisbon. However when the Italian capital moved eventually to Rome, Naples’ importance reduced with time.
Getting to Naples and Getting Around
There are many ways of getting to Naples, one being to fly direct to the airport. However an alternative is to go to one of the airports in Rome. From there, go to Roma Termini rail station : there are several trains an hour to Naples and you can book these using ticket machines in the foyer. If you have time, stop in the station, there are numerous restaurants with excellent food and a large underground shopping centre – in Italy many stations are an important public focal point.
In Naples the public transport system is superb. There is an integrated system, consisting of metros, funiculari (mountain railways) and buses. Buy a single token and this allows you on and off any form of pubic transport in the system for 90 minutes, currently costing €1.10. When looking for accommodation a good tip is to find a place near a metro station. The port of Naples also has many boats (around one every ten minutes in peak time) that will take you to nearby islands or down the coast.
For accommodation, search the Internet. If you are looking for modestly priced or family accommodation and staying for several days, a good option is a pension or bed and breakfast. Many of these are family owned and may consist of 4 or 5 rooms in a large flat (or apartment), usually ensuite, with cooking facilities.
What to Do and Where to Go in Naples
The via Toledo is a major artery with numerous shops, cafes and bars. It can be easily reached by metro or funiculare. Take the metro stop Piazza Garibaldi and walk down this street. At the bottom there are many important sites, including the ancient castle, the opera house which is the oldest in Italy, attached to the palace of the King of Naples, and a late 19th century shopping centre. At the bottom you will reach the port. Off the side of the via Toledo you may want to visit the historic centre, which contains many monuments, churches and museums. It is also one of the few cities in Europe where the historic dwellings have been left largely in tact with narrow cobbled streets, Vespa scooters all over the place, and washing hung in lines between houses on opposite sides.
The most famous international quality museum is the National Archeological museum containing a wealth of Greaco-Roman artefacts including many mosaics from Pompeii, statues of Emperors and gods and the Farnese Bull. Within the region of Naples are many old Greek temples. A particularly interesting aspect of the city is “underground Naples”, as the old Greek city has sunk, but there are several tours where one can see old Roads, and burial grounds, and shops. An interesting feature is the opera house where Nero sang : he regarded Romans as somewhat barbaric, but Neapolitans, because of their Greek culture more civilised – this was discovered when an old man died and a trap door led to an underground cavern which he had used as a air-raid shelter and wine cellar.
The surrounding region is possibly the most famous elite tourist area of Southern Europe. Naples is extremely well situated for visiting numerous neighbouring attractions. The islands of Capri and Ischia are only a short boat ride away. The volcano Vesuvius can be reached by a regular railway journal from Napoli Centrale station as can Pompeii and Herculaneum. The Amalfi coast is one of the most famous coastlines in the world and worth visiting. There are several small towns that can be accessed by boat from the port.
Richard Brereton - Richard has a PhD, MA and BA from Cambridge, is a chartered chemist, Fellow of the Royal Societies of Chemistry, Medicine and Statistics ...
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