Naples – are we still in Italy? (Italy Part V)

From the rural tranquillity of Umbria, after a 400km drive south, we found ourselves thrust into the noise, chaos and dirt that is Naples.

Our view - a bit of a change from Assisi

Naples was a real culture shock for us. I knew it was ‘edgy’ and had a ‘rough element’, but that did not prepare us for a city which is easily the dirtiest we have seen in Europe and which feels more like a city in somewhere like Africa/Asia or the Middle East – rather than Italy. You are however constantly reminded where you are by pizza – this is after all the home of Italy’s most famous dish.

Saturday morning football

Driving in Naples is said to be something you do not want to do – and upon arriving we learned this to be true (fortunately from the backseat of a taxi, after dropping our rental off 3,700km after picking it up). Traffic lights (when working) offer guidance, but are not to be adhered to, lanes ignored (locals typically create an extra one, or just drive on the wrong side of the road), tooting is a way of life (much like Turkey) and scooters weave in and out of traffic like maniacs (sometimes with up to four people on them). Unfortunately, sporting a pink helmet and gripping the back of our B’n’B owner about half an hour after arriving I would be experiencing the ‘thrill’ of travel by scooter in Naples – crossing a 4 lane road on a red light being the highlight of the trip for me……

Parking is another story – I have never seen so many cars parked literally bumper to bumper in parallel parks – you seemingly simply gently nudge your way in and out – not sure you would maintain a no claims bonus in Naples for long.

So Naples was a place we had a love/hate relationship with. It is certainly worth a visit – highlights for us were:

• La Pignasecca – Naples’ oldest street market. Although not the most famous market in Naples, we really enjoyed exploring this market. The seafood here is probably the best we have seen in any market. The range was vast – all kinds of shellfish, crustaceans and fish on offer. It was incredibly fresh – small live clams squirting you as you walked by and bags of live eels slithering in shallow tanks.
• Chisea e Scavi di San Lorenzo Maggiore – under which are excavations under the city which have revealed the original Roman city which was situated here.
• Cappella Sansevero – a small site which is home to some beautiful and intricate marble sculptures – the most famous of which is the ‘Veiled Christ’ – worth the hefty entry fee.
• Pio Monte Della Misericordia – home of Caravaggio’s masterpiece – the Seven Acts of Mercy – but also housing a vast collection of art and antiques collected by the Pio Monte – which from what I could ascertain is a charity established by nobles which has survived for centuries, during which time it has amassed great wealth and treasures – and which devotes itself to the 7 Acts of Mercy – a number of causes such as feeding the poor, but which have evolved with time (ransoming the slave, no longer having much purpose these days, and having therefore been replaced by rescuing the prostitute).
• Museo di Capodimonte – a huge national collection of art, combined with a visit to the royal apartments (which include a room with porcelain walls/decorations – if the dictionary was illustrated, you would find this under tacky – fortunately it is one of only 2 in the world… both by the same ‘artist’).
• Sadly we skipped the Museo Archaeological Nazionale – home to many of the mosaics taken from Pompeii – but unfortunately these rooms and some of the other key rooms were closed for renovations during our visit. I would say something to see next time – but not sure there will be a next time for us.

While there are undeniably some great things to see and do here, the city is simply filthy – rubbish littered the streets, locals dropped litter rather than reaching for a bin, the smells were sometimes so bad they warranted a dry wretch, wandering round you never felt 100% safe (although I am sure most of the time we were) and the general chaos and noise of the traffic was a bit overwhelming. The locals on the other hand were passionate Italians – hot tempered, a bit loud and flamboyant and generally very hospitable. On balance, we were pleased to have visited, but very pleased to find ourselves leaving (except for the fact this necessitated a brief foray of driving in Naples)….

View out over Naples and the Bay

Herculaneum and the Pompeii

We visited these two sites from Naples and Sorrento respectively. Both are Roman cities buried by the massive explosion of Mt Vesuvius in 79AD – Herculaneum by a 16m sea of volcanic mud and Vesuvius by burning pumice and ash. In both cases the suddenness of the event resulted in significant casualties – and the fact that each city was buried has meant many things which would otherwise have been lost with age were perfectly preserved – mosaics, buildings, corpses, food – and so archaeologists have been able to learn much about day to day life in these once fashionable seaside villages.

Inside at Herculaneum

Pompeii is much larger and each day hoards of tourists flock here. Many of its finest mosaics and sculptures have been removed and are displayed in Naples, which is great in terms of preservation, but a shame as they look incredible in their original locations. That said – it is still a fascinating place and we easily passed about 6 hours here. Herculaneum in a smaller and less visited site. Similar in many ways to Pompeii, what it lacks in size, it makes up for by the fact its mosaics are still largely in place and you can visit it without having the navigate the huge tour groups which tend to dominate the more popular parts of Pompeii. Both offer a fascinating insight into life in these times – Pompeii even featuring a small brothel with frescos of various sexual positions, thought either to ‘inspire’ customers or be a form of menu from which they could select…..

Hmmm. Let's leave it at that huh? Next stop Amalfi Coast..... but have attached some pics from Herculaneum and Pompeii below.

Mosaic - Herculaneum

Vineyard inside Pompeii

Probably the first ever "Beware of the Dog" sign in the entrance to a home in Pompeii

Ancient pedestrian crossing and light coming into public baths

Preggie lady at Pompeii

Inspiration in the brothel?

On the Pilgrims’ Trail in Assisi (Italy Pt IV)

From Tuscany we had a fairly short drive to Assisi – a small hilltop village in the heart of Umbria. Umbria is not an area we knew much about, but it was to prove to be a real find for us. Umbria was almost ‘Tuscan like’ in its feel, although the vineyards fewer in number, replaced by olive groves and fields of crops. There was still a fair number of tourists here – but a different sort of tourist – and the place was a little more laid back and ‘off the beaten track’. In Assisi, as we were about the learn, the main category of tourist is the ‘pilgrim’……

St Francis – the Friars and Poor Clares

Assisi is the spiritual home of Umbria, on account of it being home to St Francis who established the Fransican order here before his death in the 1200s. A little ignorant of this, we found ourselves embarking on a tour of the Basilica Di San Francesco, led by a Franciscan Friar (who happened to be from Maryland US). The Basilica is an immense structure with a lower (older) church and the upper church built on top of it. Below these two structures is the crypt of St Francis, where the Saint’s body was laid to rest. As we were led around it we learned about St Francis, the history of the man and the order he established and of the building and its frescos. The tour was very well done and we both found it quite moving emotionally and spiritually. It is great to see a movement of people who continue to work for the beliefs espoused by St Francis with a focus on peace, acceptance and the care of others.

Our accommodation here was a self-contained stone hut at the base of Assisi and overlooking the plains below – dotted with fields, olives and churches. Each morning groups of pilgrims, usually accompanied by a Poor Clare and/or Friar would walk by on the road in or out of Assisi.

We also embarked on our own little pilgrimage to Santuario di San Damiano – the place where St Francis is said to have heard the voice of God instructing him to rebuild his ‘Church’, taken by St Francis at first literally and later metaphorically. We were once again handicapped by the lack of signage and without a Friar or Poor Clare in tow the ’15 min’ walk took us a good hour and a half or so. Having said that, it was a beautiful day and walking amongst the olives in the countryside was magic. The Santuario itself is very small and simple – but it occupies a very peaceful site on a hill and it is easy to see how St Francis developed such a connection with nature in the time he spent in the Assisi area.

Daytripping in Umbria

Our time in Umbria was pretty relaxed, however we did explore the area a bit including:

• Perugia – the main city in this area and a bustling student town (many of whom are foreign students studying abroad). Once we had our bearings, we enjoyed looking around this ancient fortified town. We saw its depths (in a well 36m deep dating to 3rd century BC, but also used during WWII to supply water to the city) and it heights (climbing one of the towers on the city’s defensive walls). Of course there were churches – this time we visited one of Italy’s oldest, dating to the 5th and 6th centuries, although before that a pagan place of worship had stood here. Perugia is also famous for its chocolate – so Michelle did not pass up the opportunity to invest in this side of Perugia….

• Montefalco – in Verona we had been introduced to the wines of Umbria – so we took a short trip to Montefalco and visited a wine estate there. As it happened, another kiwi couple were tasting while we were there – pinot growers from Malborough, enjoying their quiet season in Italy! The wines here were great, with Sangiovese featuring heavily, but without the price tag attracted by many of the wines of Tuscany. One to keep an eye out for….

• Spello – just down the road from us, a cute little town. Although we had a frustrating visit here (I won’t go into the detail), it was unquestionably a very pretty town with some nice restaurants and shops – it could certainly hold its own with some of the Tuscan villages we saw, albeit on a much smaller scale.

We’ll be back?

Umbria was a great region and Assisi a very nice spot to explore it from. I could certainly see me in villa here some time in the future for a week or so……