It may not have the wow-factor of Rome, cachet of Milan or romance of Florence but Naples still catches your breath with its dynamism, energy and fascinating history, reports JANE SLADE.
This is where the fairy tale meets the avant garde. Naples is the birthplace of the pizza, but when you get to the nerve centre you discover a lot more than a ‘four seasons’ and glass of red.
Naples is a hurly-burly of intense, tightly-woven streets that suddenly burst open into spacious piazzas focussed around ornate palaces crowned with cupolas and domes.
This is a city that constantly reminds you of its Golden Age in the 17th and 18th centuries when it was ruled by the Bourbons. Even today its struggle to maintain its regal status continues with washing fluttering like freedom flags from the windows of the tall, imposing apartment buildings; and geraniums, spilling blood-red flowers over the wrought-iron balconies. If the air is blowing in the right direction you can even catch the faint fragrance of washing powder over the aroma of melted cheese and tomatoes emanating from the restaurants.
You will see the Napoli local sunbathing on the rocks
Busy, bold, colourful, cobbled, Naples is a chaotic wonderland. Dominated by the iconic mystical volcano Vesuvius, one of the world’s most dangerous volcanoes – it last erupted in 1944 – Naples is home to the impassioned Neapolitan; a lover of music, poetry and the good life, and certainly not intimidated by an angry neighbour like Vesuvius, whose environs were declared a national park 14 years ago.
In fact the Napoli local is more likely to wax lyrical about Naples’s rosy, mauve sunsets than its volcano-evacuation plan. You will see him sunbathing on the rocks near the harbour, or fishing with his equally laid back cat tucked up in a knapsack, than strutting the streets wrapped in fur or Versace like his Milanese cousins.
Where to eat and drink:
If there isn’t a trattoria, osteria or pizzeria on every street corner – you are not in Naples. This is the home of the pizza for heaven’s sake and where the making of it is a religion. Even former US President Bill Clinton ate pizza here, declaring the Pizzeria Cacialli in the Via dei Tribulani one of his all-time favourite places when he visited in July 1994 – hence its name change to Il Pizzaiolo del Presidente. At Pizzeria Sorbillo, a favourite local haunt also in Via dei Tribulani, you can expect cheesy live music with your cheesy pizza.
Chocolate shops, exotic cafes and fine Italian pastries are part of the culinary landscape. After shopping in the Chaia district, with its trendy fashion boutiques, there is no better place to collapse with your bags than at the grand, marbled, Caffe Gambrinus, where Oscar Wilde and Enrico Caruso used to wile away the hours.
Chill over a reviving cappuccino or evening cocktail and plate of home-baked pastries. Fish lovers should seek out Pescheria Mattiucci in Vicoletto Belledonne (www.pescheriamattiucci.com), which by day is a traditional fish shop and by night turns into a quirky gastronomic experience, where you dine on pesce crudo and fine wines while standing at large tables.
The rooftop Il Comandante restaurant in the uber-modern five-star Romeo Hotel (www.romeohotel.it) opposite the port is the most talked-about local hotspot for romantic dining. Here the finest Neapolitan cuisine created by Salvatore Bianco is served alfresco overlooking the fascinating industrial landscape of the port, and beyond to Vesuvius and out over the Gulf of Naples.
We were lucky enough to see the sun set over the volcano over a glass of champagne (see top picture); and dining scenery doesn’t get more magical than that.
The menu offers a mouth-watering variety of dishes including a starter of roll of milk leaf, buffalo mozzarella with tomato soup and basil pesto and main course of beef-stuffed ravioli with beetroot compote and baby spinach; washed down with a variety of fabulous wines including a delicious local Falanghina white from €30 a bottle. The hotel itself is a fabulous work of art with each room an individual modern tableau of luxury and elegance.
Getting the culture:
Art and culture is all around you. There are plenty of palaces, castles (such as the medieval Castello Nuovo pictured) and museums to visit, but time-poor travellers should not ignore the street-level artisans’ workshops where you can watch experts in action honing the traditional skills of carving and painting religious icons (www.lascarabattola.it) and mandolins (www.calace.it). You can also explore the ateliers of fine painters and sculptors like Lello Esposito in Piazza San Domenico Maggiore (www.lelloesposito.it), and dip into the city’s hidden underworld where a fascinating system of caverns, catacombs, alleyways and shelters open up via a door in an old garage in Via Domenico Morelli.
If you can’t manage a trip to the ruined city of Pompeii – an hour’s drive from the centre of Naples – devote a few hours to exploring the National Archeological museum in the Piazza Museo, where exhibits recovered from the buried ashes of the city after the eruption of Vesuvius in 79AD are displayed. There is gladiatorial paraphernalia, mosaics, jewellery, paintings, complete statues, theatrical masks, and even examples of Roman graffiti – it seems it was as much a problem then as it is in Naples today. Finds are constantly being unearthed such as a marble fresco recovered as recently as February this year.
Don’t Miss:
The Hop-on, Hop-off, City Sightseeing Bus tour. There are four routes included in your 24-hour ticket, (€22 per adult); three that take you around the historic city and one that transports you along the fabulous Amalfi Coast to a kingdom of regal, palm-fringed seafront promenades, shady parks, fishing villages and cliff-tops with views out to the island of Capri – there are boat trips there if you have time from the port – (www.napoli.city-sightseeing.it )
Getting around:
There are buses, trams and even an underground metro but the over-ground system can be confusing with having to buy tickets in advance at designated shops to avoid being fined. Taxis can be hailed from anywhere but are expensive unless you fix a charge in advance – we were charge €40 from the airport to our hotel and €19 on the way back! Frequent buses run from the airport to Central Station. Once in the city get a pair of comfy shoes, a detailed map, and walk. Nothing is terribly far and you will see so much more.
Where to stay:
Hotel Palazzo Caracciolo, elegant and historic in the Via Carbonara priced from £88 per night; also has eight ‘reduced mobility’ rooms (www.mgallery.com )
Three-star Hotel Piazza Bellini, modern rooms which from sixth floor offer views of Vesuvius, from £105 per night www.piazzabellini.hotelinnapoli.com/
Three-star Decumani Hotel de Charme (decumanihotel-naples.com) historic from £99 a night
