This is going to be a short trip, but a great experience! I came to Naples for a long weekend! I am excited to discover the city and its rich history, but most of all I am dying to see the ruins of Pompeii.
The flight to Naples was uneventful, save for the fact that there was a group of twenty rowdy teenagers on board; already before taking off I was thinking yeah, these Italians are not like the others!
We landed early in a sunny Thursday afternoon, and to my delight the Alibus airport bus was waiting right there on the street as soon as I walked out. You can pay the €5 fare by card right there on the bus, no need to buy a ticket. As you know by now, I am a planner, so I had already done my due diligence and figured out the payment methods and the right bus stop for my hotel in advance. The bus took us on a route that only had a passing resemblance to the one Google Maps said it was supposed to take, but thankfully I did get to my stop after some detours. From there it was only a short walk to my hotel, a big tower where my room is on the 25th floor with gorgeous views of the sea.
You know how in tall buildings they often have those super fast elevators? This is not one of those! In fact it is so rickety that I felt like Sandra Bullock during the atmospheric reentry scene in Gravity.
I expected to arrive much later than I did and to only have time to walk around a bit before dinner, but it was shortly after four in the afternoon, so I cracked open my guide and surveyed all the different spots I want to see and their closing hours. My top priorities in the city proper are the Archaeology Museum and the Palazzo Reale, but those close early, so I’ll leave them for Saturday. I settled for the Cappella di Sansevero and the Duomo, which open until later.
I took a nice walk from my hotel to get to the old part of Naples, although in truth everything I’ve seen so far looks old, all the roads and sidewalks full of potholes and cracks, all the walls covered in graffiti -like there are never any reforms or improvement works. That said, the streets (including the driving) did not at first seem as wild as people claim. I guess it’s early to tell!
It did not take me long to get to the Cappella di Sansevero, where I bought a ticket for a 17:30 entry. I had time to kill, so I walked down Via dei Tribunali, which seems to be the main touristy thoroughfare of this side of town, all pizzerias and gift shops for the crowds, of which there were some: nothing unbearable but more than you’d expect on a Thursday in February. And lots of French people!
At the end of the road I found the Duomo, the Naples cathedral, not terribly impressive from the outside (nestled as it is between two other buildings) but incredible once inside. Instead of a vaulted stone ceiling, the top of the cathedral is a flat series of frescoes, more befitting of a palace than a church. The building dates back to the 13th century (!) although the current decoration must be Baroque or later, based on the style, right?
(If you didn’t know, this is the cathedral where they perform the miracle of the liquefaction of the blood of San Gennaro: they have a vial with the solidified blood of the saint, and three times a year they take it out, and it “miraculously” turns into liquid. If it doesn’t, it’s supposed to be a bad omen for the city.)
The main nave is spectacular in and of itself, but I was also impressed by San Gennaro’s chapel, a small section to one side with a gorgeous multi-leveled, frescoed dome over extremely elaborate sets of brass sculptures and framed paintings. This is clearly no place for discretion!
I retraced my steps down Via dei Tribunali. The shadows were growing longer, and if I thought it was warm for my thick winter jacket, as soon as the sun began to set a cold breeze descended upon the streets. I walked straight into the Cappella di Sansevero, a tiny but gorgeous chapel holding a number of sculptures, most famously Giuseppe Sanmartino’s Veiled Christ. Tragically, they don’t allow photography inside (I suspect it’s because the Christ is like, their one claim to fame in a minuscule space and want to protect it) so I couldn’t take pictures. Instead I took this picture of a picture from the sign outside, so you know which sculpture I mean:
Seeing it up close was nothing short of extraordinary. The skill and the craft needed to chisel down hard marble until it looks like a soft, see through veil draped over the languid body of a man escapes my comprehension.
I walked all around the prone sculpture, and then again around the room to admire the other statues placed along the walls, but it really is a tiny space and so I was quickly back out on the streets. I was counting on having an early dinner, partly to make the most of my outing, partly to beat the crowds, but I was too early so I again set out to walk around the narrow streets. I happened across Port’Alba, a small street all populated by bookstores that had bargain shelves out on display. Maybe it was one of these bookstores that saw Elena Greco, the main character from Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels, work part-time in one of the books!
Eventually I considered myself ready for dinner and went to Sorbillo, on advice of a local acquaintance. It’s extremely popular, so I was advised to arrive early, and sure enough even at 19:00 there were already three or four families waiting outside while the interior was full. But here I was rescued by the Solo Traveler’s Boon: even though the tables were all occupied and with a waiting list, they had a long counter by the window, so me being by myself they waved me right through!
Here in Naples you are of course meant to have the pizza margherita, the simplest one of all, but I cheated a bit and was seduced by one that also had salami and black pepper (I do love black pepper). I didn’t have to wait long to receive a GIGANTIC pizza for just €9!
Reader, it was delicious. The dough was paper thin, but still there was so much of it that I left feeling massively full. The cheese was creamy, not rubbery, and the leaves of basil gave it a fresh aroma. A wonderful first Neapolitan meal -but it may be the last because right now I don’t think I can eat for the next 48 hours!
From there it was a nice nocturnal walk back to the hotel. Even though it was early, the night already felt alive with college students drinking and setting up parties. Me, I’m going to plan for a big day tomorrow: I’m going to Pompeii, and I want to see it all!
This Is A Lake 