Hello, dear friends. I want to share my Naples adventure with you. Let me start by telling you how we rented a car in Rome with my friends. We rented a small Toyota Yaris Hybrid, which had only 700 kilometers on it. 🚗 We were quite impressed. We read and signed the terms and conditions for the reservation. We completed the rental process and put down a deposit with our credit card. Then a €250 charge was made, which was some sort of insurance. The staff told us that if we didn’t take insurance, we could be liable for up to €3,000 in case of damage. After this we took possession of the car. However this seemed a bit much to us, so we explained the situation to customer service. After talking with another representative, the representative arranged for the refund of the excess charge that had been wrongfully made on our credit card.
As soon as we arrived in Naples the first thing we did was settle into our hotel and get some rest. We stayed at a place called Nunu Hotel, where we paid a total of €238 for two nights. After resting we started exploring Naples.
Our first stop was one of the most famous pizzerias.
This pizzeria, named L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele even appeared in the movie Eat Pray Love. It's one of my favorite films. Have you seen it? There was a long queue. But we decided to wait because we had heard that the pizzas here were quite famous. We ordered a classic Margherita pizza and it tasted amazing. We paid €5 for each one. 🍕
Then we stopped by the modern art museum on our way. It's commonly known as Museo Madre. The museum is housed in the Palazzo Donnaregina and was adapted by a Portuguese architect. We received a warm and friendly welcome at the museum. The helpful staff not only provided directions but also assisted us when we needed help navigating the striped floor tiles on the ground floor, which concealed steps. A kind gentleman even extended his hand to help me down the steps. The permanent collections feature works by Rebecca Horn, Anish Kapoor and Richard Long. There are many impressive artworks on display. I recommend it.
Another impressive place we visited was the Duomo Di San Gennaro. This is also known as the Naples Cathedral, the main church of Naples. The cathedral has other names, such as the Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary and the Cathedral of Saint Januarius. Saint Januarius is the patron saint of Naples. The building's foundations are based on two ancient Christian basilicas. So when they excavated, they found many artifacts from the Greek and Roman periods.
There are many interesting things inside the cathedral. For example: the Royal Chapel of the Treasure of Saint Januarius features beautiful frescoes and other works of art. We also saw some remnants of old Roman and Greek buildings. This is a very impressive place filled with history.
We arrived at Via San Gregorio Armeno. This is a very special street in Naples.It's filled with shops selling handmade nativity scenes, known as presepi. This is where the figures depicting the birth of baby Jesus are made. This street dates back to ancient times and used to connect some of the main roads of Naples. It might even go back to Greek and Roman times.
In the past people used to make small clay figurines here and offer them to temples. Today this street is famous for handmade figurines throughout the year. It's especially popular during the Christmas season. From November to January, many people come here to buy these small figures.
We caught a view of Mount Vesuvius from a distance. The scenery was quite impressive. We were able to visit it the following day.
Next we decided to visit a castle Castel dell'Ovo. But we needed to book in advance online, which we didn’t know. As a result we had to buy tickets to enter the castle. The ticket,costing €5, not only covered entry to the castle but also to the Massimo Troisi exhibition.
We also visited Naples main square. The structure here is the Basilica of San Francesco di Paola. However, the square was completely closed off by the police, probably due to a summit being held there. Across from the square is the Royal Palace and we saw people in suits milling about. Everything was cordoned off. So unfortunately, we wouldn't be able to see it in full. Luckily we were still able to explore other parts of the square.
Since the square was closed, we decided to go to Galleria Umberto I. This gallery is designed similarly to Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan. It has a very high domed structure and is considered one of the city's most luxurious shopping centers.
Our next stop was the Castel Nuovo, but before heading there, we found out that we needed to book in advance. We were offered a guided tour, but the group was full. We would have to wait another hour for a new tour, which seemed too long. So we gave up on entering the castle and decided to continue exploring the city.
We visited the famous street Via Toledo in Naples. It stretches from the port towards the old town and on our left, the Spanish Quarter begins. This area is known to be a stronghold of the organized crime group Camorra. There are hardly any tourists here. So if you want to see the real Naples, this is probably a good place to start.
However it's advisable to be cautious, as the atmosphere here is different from other tourist spots. Fortunately just a few hundred meters later, we moved into a safer area and visited the Chiostro di Santa Chiara.
We had a fascinating and intense tour of Naples. The following day we went to Mount Vesuvius, which I'll discuss in another post. See you next time.