Experiencing Vitae

Naples, what to see in three days

Naples is an extraordinary city. Call for stereotypes and prejudices, visit Naples with the only caution you use when visiting any other major city in the world, how not to show off valuables, for the rest enjoy and admire a lively, sunny city, rich in artistic and historical treasures architectural and landscape .

The Neapolitans then, in general, are friendly and positive people whose character has been forged by the presence of Vesuvius , a constant danger, which has taught them to face adversity with a smile, hoping in the complicity of fate that seek to propitiate themselves with ... a red croissant in your pocket.

Naples, view of the gulf

Naples, panoramic view on the gulf

The history of Naples is millennia, we must go back over the centuries, up to the eighth century BC, to find traces of the ancient Naples founded by the Greeks that made it one of the hegemonic cities of Magna Graecia . After the Greeks came the Romans , then the Byzantines from the East then the Normans-Swabians from central-northern Europe, followed by the Angevins from France and the Aragonese from Spain, up to the Spanish Bourbon with the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies . From the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies to the Kingdom of Italy of Savoy,we arrive at the Second World War, when valiant Neapolitan partisans were the first to drive the Nazis out of the city. Each conqueror who passed through Naples decided to stop, recognizing its natural beauties, and there he built and decorated the city with its own symbols and its artistic and architectural taste, overlapping or incorporating the existing one. Each of the architectural and historical attractions of Naples that we can now visit present traces of these multiple presences of the past.

Naples, via San Gregorio Armeno

As I said in the introduction, Naples has many artistic, historical, architectural and landscape treasures, here I want to point out the unmissable visits, what is not to be missed in your historical-cultural, but also gastronomic, visit to the beautiful city of Naples.

Naples, music through the streets of the historic center

The historic center of Naples is a UNESCO World Heritage Site . The heart of the ancient city center is made up of the decumani , the three ancient roads created in the 5th century BC. C. during the Greek era, parallel to each other and to the coast, cut perpendicular from other smaller roads. The narrow and high spaces between the buildings open into squares, in an alternation that determines a sort of real "breath" of the city; the squares are, for the most part, characterized by obelisks or spiers and by church sagrati obtained by subtraction of urban fabric. In the historic downtown area, do not miss to visit:

• the Cathedral and the Treasure of San Gennaro ,
• the Cloister of the Monastery of Santa Chiara ,
• the Church and Cloister of San Gregorio Armeno ,
• the Church of San Domenico Maggiore ,
• the Chapel of San Severo,
• Naples underground .

Naples, the Duomo

Naples, the crypt of the Duomo

The Cathedral of Naples finds its origins in the fourteenth century and is in fact the overlapping of several architectural styles ranging from pure Gothic of the fourteenth century to the neo-Gothic nineteenth century; the interior has a Latin cross plan, with a beautiful apse , although also reworked in the eighteenth century compared to the original gothic, and a delightful crypt, the Cappella di Succorpo , with a coffered marble ceiling from the neoclassical era ; with access from inside the Cathedral there is the Chapel of San Gennaro , built on the will of the Neapolitans for a vote to their martyr and patron San Gennaro , is an example of architecture of the BaroqueNeapolitan. The Cathedral of Naples hosts three times a year the ritual of the dissolution of the blood of San Gennaro. The entrance to the Museum of the Treasure of San Gennaro is next to that of the Duomo and exhibits a rich collection of objects of great value resulting from the donations of the faithful to San Gennaro, including jewels of an amazing wealth and beauty and a miter (bishop's headdress) of 1713 in which more than 2000 precious stones are set, including diamonds, rubies and emeralds; before entering, ask what is exposed because the museum is small and the precious are many, so they are exposed in rotation.

Naples, Pio Monte della Misericordia, painting by Caravaggio

Near the Cathedral, on the ancient decumanus of Via dei Tribunali, you can admire the beautiful painting by Caravaggio the Works of Mercy , at the Pio Monte della Misericordia .

Naples, Cloister of Santa Chiara Monastery

Naples, Cloister of Santa Chiara Monastery

The Cloister of the Monastery of Santa Chiara is wonderful with its majolica cladding and columns , with its rustic decorations and marinating in majolica and its sacred frescoes in the arcades, in a combination and flanking of sacred and profane that you will find on most visits which you will do and which is characteristic of Neapolitanity . The cloister is crossed by four avenues in the cross on a raised level compared to that of the arcades and has as many as 64 octagonal majolica pillars connected by majolica benches, all with beautiful and colorful decorations of daily life of the time; the arcade is very beautiful in its forms and for the frescoes; inside the structure you can also admire a traditional eighteenth century crib . Paid admission.

Naples, Church of San Gregorio Armeno, interior

Naples, Cloister of San Gregorio Armeno Monastery

The Church of San Gregorio Armeno is located on the homonymous street and is a jewel of Neapolitan Baroque architecture; its coffered ceiling is of extraordinary workmanship. The bell tower of the Church, which extends over Via San Gregorio Armeno, almost connecting its two sides, is an extraordinary example of architectural incorporation. With access from a long staircase beyond the archway / bell tower of the street there is the Cloister of the Monastery of San Gregorio Armeno , very beautiful and evocative and overlooked by the nun's terrace houses; The Monastery, with the help of some lay people, hosts and takes care of almost a hundred children in difficulty .

Naples, Church of San Domenico Maggiore

Naples, Church of San Domenico Maggiore, interior

The Church of San Domenico Maggiore is located in the homonymous square, also adapted and wedged between palaces, incorporated into the ancient historical fabric of the city; it was commissioned by the French Angioinians, then it pleased the Dominicans who made it their mother house, to become then the church of the Spanish aragonese nobility. The interior of the church is vast and very beautiful with two dominant colors, white and gold, and a coffered ceiling of fine workmanship.

Naples, Sansevero Chapel, Veiled Christ

The Sansevero Chapel is located in via Francesco de Sanctis, near the Church of San Domenico Maggiore and is private. The visit deserves for the presence of the Veiled Christ , a marble sculpture by Giuseppe Sanmartino of great artistic value and a perfection that leaves open-mouthed; the Veiled Christ was built in 1753 and is considered one of the greatest sculptural masterpieces in the world. This church, now deconsecrated, is adjacent to the family palace of the Sansevero princes, once connected to it to allow family members to privately access the place of worship. Paid admission.

Naples, Naples underground

Naples underground is a journey through time and the heart of the old town center lasting about 2 hours, a must-see trip with a guide. For the ancient Greeks the subsoil was a tuff quarrythat was extracted for the construction of the ancient houses, then in Roman times it became a cistern to store water, or rather a series of cisterns, an ancient aqueduct from which the inhabitants of the neighborhood, with a lot of caretaker and maintenance worker who, hooded because of the humidity, went down and saliva like a ghost, from which the legend of the " monacielli "". The visit includes a path also in a narrow, but high and airy, underground street with lots of candles in hand; there is also a vegetable garden in the bowels of the earth, better to say an educational-scientific experiment of artificial photosynthesis. The tour route reaches up to a depth of 40 meters. Go up to the surface you will be accompanied to visit the incorporated remains (in a house) of the Roman theater; the story of the casual discovery of this historical rarity in the house of an old woman will make you smile.

Naples, Piazza Plebiscito

Leaving the heart of the old town, head towards the sea, along via Toledo , the Neapolitan shopping street, to get to the famous and large Piazza del Plebiscito and surroundings, where you can find:

• the Royal Palace,
• the San Carlo Theater ,
• the Castel Nuovo or Maschio Angioino ,
• the Castel dell'Ovo .

Naples, Palazzo Reale, stairway

Naples, the king's room

The Royal Palace is one of the four royal residences used by the Bourbon house during the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies; the other three are the royal palace of Capodimonte, to the north of the city, the royal palace of Caserta and the palace of Portici. The Royal Palace of Naples was also the residence of Savoy . Worth visiting inside for the splendor, the richness and the rarity of the furnishings, curtains, large decorated vases, paintings. The majestic staircase that leads to the main floor, where there are the rooms that can be visited, is the perfect overture .

Naples, Castel Nuovo or Maschio Angioino

Continuing towards the sea, you will find the imposing Castel Nuovo or Maschio Angioino , a historic medieval fortress, then a Renaissance castle, of great scenic impact.

Naples, Castel dell'Ovo

Continuing along the seafront towards Mergellina, you will meet Castel dell'Ovo , on a strip of land stretched out over the sea; it is the oldest castle in the city of Naples; the current aspect is the result of the reconstruction of the various conquerors, so the basic Norman aspect shows Angevin and Aragonese traces.

At this point you can not miss a nice and pleasant walk along the seafront, up to Mergellina , where you will deserve a stop to taste the delicious stapes of Cyrus .

Naples, Attanasio's sfogliatelle

Since we are on a gastronomic theme, there are many typical Neapolitan specialties , here I point out:

• true Neapolitan pizza : thin pasta, swollen at the edges and topped with buffalo mozzarella, cherry tomatoes in sauce and fresh, basil, oregano;
• the sfogliatelle : ravioli of puff pastry filled with ricotta and candied fruit; the best are those of Attanasio, in Vico Ferrovia, near the station;
• i babà : spongy desserts and soaked in rum;
• the staples : ribbon-shaped cakes, like fried donuts;
• Neapolitan taralli : almonds, pepper and lard are their ingredients.

View on the Gulf of Naples

I advise you to use the City Sightseeing bus to make a nice ride along the seafront, up to Posillipo , from where the views of the Gulf will excite you for its beauty. With City Sightseeing you can also easily get to the Royal Palace of Capodimonte.

Naples, B & B Al Castel Capuano

For the overnight stay , we have found accommodation at the Bed & Breakfast A Castel Capuano , in via Pietro Colletta, 116, of which we have been very satisfied. The B. & B. is run by two young brothers, is centrally located and convenient for those arriving from the station, the environment is familiar and there is a good value for money; this B. & B. is in an adapted apartment, but renovated and furnished with great care; the bathroom is unfortunately outside the room, but is reserved for the room; the fridge and the kitchen of the house are available and the breakfast is Mediterranean.

I will return to Naples because some interesting visits have remained, like at the Reggia di Capodimonte and at Vomero with its Castel Sant'Elmo .