Month: September 2022

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Sunday, September 25, 2022

We woke up to a wet and wild world. Thunderstorms were everywhere. The forecast is for rain the entire day and most of tomorrow. At least we have hot water!

We took the morning to catch up on some personal business. Our time is running short here and still have a few things we want to do in the Naples. We are thinking about day trips to Capri, Caserta, and would like to go swimming amongst the Roman ruins.

We spent the afternoon booking places for our next couple of destinations. We’re all set until the end of October. Given the precipitous drop of the Pound Sterling we’re considering changing our plans and spending a full three months in the UK. We’ll keep an eye on the situation. Because the Fed keeps raising interest rates the exchange rate keeps moving in our favor. Most foreign currencies are at historic lows against the dollar. At least that works in our favor. Afterwards we continued to binge watch Suits on Netflix. We’re up to season five now.

Monday, September 26, 2022

Another rainy day. Once again we stayed in.

Tuesday, September 27, 2022

We heard from AirBNB this morning. They’re thrilled that everything has been fixed. They offered us $50.00 compensation (30% of a day for three days). I’m not sure how they came up with that. I’ll be speaking to them later this morning. In the five years we’ve been using them we’ve had very few problems, but when we have had issues, their support has been non-existent. The hosts seem to have no accountability and the guests have no recourse and appear entitled only to trivial compensation.

We had an incident in Bucharest, Romania in 2018. One day the stove stopped working because there was no more gas. That same day the Internet and the TV stopped working, too. We contacted our host every day for a week. He told some vague story about how services were unreliable there. AirBNB support was useless. One day, just out of boredom, we translated the error message on the TV. It seems he hadn’t paid the bill. An hour after we brought this to the host’s attention the services were back. Coincidence? We were outraged. AirBNB said that it was great that everything was working again. When pressed they offered $50.00 as compensation and said that’s the maximum that they were allowed to offer. I guess that’s their magic number.

It’s rather wet outside this morning. There is a small chance of rain until the afternoon when the likelihood of rain significantly increases. We had talked about going to Caserta today but it turns out that the Royal Palace there is closed on Tuesdays. Our backup plan is to go to Capri. We’ll evaluate again after breakfast to see if it’s worth going.

It’s nasty, wet, and rainy. We decided to just take another day off. We went to a local restaurant for lunch and, of course, ate pizza. It may seem odd but the main dish on every restaurant’s menu is pizza. Afterwards we went to get dessert at a shop that makes graffe, Italian donuts. In Italian I ordered a plain donut and one filled with Nutella. The clerk quite literally laughed at me and then responded in perfect English. I was a little insulted.

They have freshly made plain donuts that are covered in sugar. They also serve stuffed donuts. The plain ones are lengths of rolled dough formed into a large circle. The stuffed ones are round, like traditional jelly donuts. When you order a stuffed donut they take a pair of scissors, cut in open, and fill it while you wait. The clerk emptied half a pastry bag of Nutella into ours. We took them home to eat later. They were absolutely delicious.

Wednesday, September 28, 2022

Today was forecast to be similar to the previous days but instead of striking out we took it easy. We both felt like we might be getting colds. It’s probably just the weather and/or allergies but we decided not to press our luck.

We went out for lunch to a restaurant we’d been to twice before. We saw our usual waitress arguing with another waiter. She seemed out of sorts. When she came to take our order it didn’t look like she was paying attention at all. Deborah ordered a pork Milanese and I ordered the spaghetti with clams. We also ordered an appetizer. We watched as people at several tables who’d arrived after us were served. We wondered if we were going to get any food at all. Finally our waitress delivered two pork Milanese. That wasn’t what we ordered and, what happened to our appetizer? We told her that it was wrong and she was fit to be tied. She insisted that this was what we ordered. We pointed to the items on the menu that we had ordered and she went away in a huff. It wasn’t clear what was going to happen next.

Deborah ate hers and I waited for my food. About ten minutes later our appetizer arrived. It wasn’t exactly what we ordered but we let it go. Another ten minutes later my spaghetti with clams arrived. It was cold. I told the waitress. She felt the bottom on my plate and said it was fine. I repeated that it was cold. She walked over to the manager and had a dramatic conversation in Italian. I’d had enough. I had no doubt that my next plate was going to have spit in it. I walked up to them and said I wanted the check. The manager, who only spoke Italian, said he would have another plate made up. I insisted on the check. He saw I was unhappy and that I wasn’t going to change my mind. We paid and left.

On the way back we stopped a the donut place again. The clerk remembered us. We told him that his donuts were delicious and he broke out in a huge smile. We just made a new friend. We ordered one plain and one filled donut. There were a bunch ready to be sold but he said if we were willing to wait he’d make some fresh for us. We waited!

We ordered a filled donut with creme topped with cherries. This time he cut a hole in the middle, filled it with creme, and then topped it with even more creme before adding the cherries. We said it was beautiful. He said, “yes, like me”. It was obvious we couldn’t take that home so we ate it right then and there. We also took two plain donuts home for later. Surprisingly they weren’t greasy at all. They were, however, rolled in more sugar than one should eat in an entire lifetime.

Thursday, September 29, 2022

Yeah, we both have colds. The prediction is for more rain. We’re going to stay in again today. Our time in Naples is almost over. We’re leaving tomorrow. We have tickets on the 11:45 am train to Salerno. For some odd reason the first class tickets were cheaper than the coach tickets so we decided to treat ourselves. It really doesn’t matter because the trip is less than 40 minutes. It doesn’t look like we’ll get to Caserta or swim amongst the Roman ruins but we can still get a ferry to Capri from Salerno.

I told our host we would be leaving the apartment around 10:30 am tomorrow. We haven’t seen or spoken with him since the hot water was finally fixed. He said he would come over to say goodbye. I think he really just wants to convince me not to give him a bad review. That’s the only thing he really seems to care about. We’ll see. Frankly, he’s always late and we have no intention of waiting for him. Once we get a cab we’ll be gone. It’s very likely we won’t see him at all.

Actually, we had originally booked this place through AirBNB until the 27th. We made a private deal with him to extend our trip. We wanted an extra week but he could only give us three days. We wondered, based on all the complaining we did, whether he would just kick us out. I’m happy to say he didn’t.

We tried to schedule an UBER for tomorrow morning. The app made me go through the entire process before telling me that scheduling in this area is unavailable. There aren’t any dedicated UBER drivers in Naples. If you call for a car you’ll get a taxi and taxis don’t do scheduling. We’ve seen this before in our travels. It’ll be fine.

We went out to a local restaurant we’ve eaten in several times before. While we were there a couple came in and asked the waiter in broken English how long the wait would be for a pizza. He didn’t understand their question. I asked him for them in Italian and he responded to them in Italian. It turns out the couple was from Russia. When we found that out I said to them, “pet minut”, which means five minutes in Russian. They laughed. That seems to happen to me a lot. I’ve seen the Hunt for Red October enough to know that one. Actually, we’ve spent a lot of time in the Balkans and picked up quite a few phrases. The people there would deny it but Bulgarian, Serbo-Croation, and Russian are all very similar.

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Thursday, September 22, 2022

It was a day off. We slept late and had a unhurried breakfast for a change and caught up on some personal business. As usual there was no hot water this morning. We went out for lunch to a restaurant in the neighborhood. We like trying new place, especially ones that only locals would know about. We actually found a place that didn’t serve pizza. We tried to order the zucchini blossoms as an appetizer but they were out of season. We had them for the first time when a friend in Greece cooked dinner for us back in 2018. We’d never had them before and couldn’t believe how much we liked them. We’ve been on the hunt for them ever since. Instead we order the “Fried Italy” which had fried dough, breaded and deep fried mashed potato and Sicilian rice balls with cheese. For her meal Deborah ordered the eggplant parmigiana. We’ve had this several times in Naples – they don’t fry and bread the eggplant like they do in the States; it’s just sautéed. I had meatballs with meat sauce. We both mopped up the extra sauce with fresh bread. The food was very tasty.

Afterwards we walked up the hill and went to one of the larger grocery stores in the area. For the very first time we found garlic in the vegetable section. None of the grocery stores we’ve been in have had it. In fact, the food here has all been very sparing in its use of garlic. No doubt it’s a regional thing.

On the way back we stopped at one our favorite cafes for some pastries. Their shelves were decimated. Thursday must be a good day for business. We looked around and didn’t see anything that we really wanted and went home empty handed.

During the rest of the day we occasionally checked for hot water. We never got any. We spoke to our host around 6:00 pm. He said he would come over with a plumber tomorrow at 11:00 am. Based on his track record there’s a small chance he might actually show up before 6:00 pm.

Friday, September 23, 2022

We had planned to go to the Island of Capri (pronounced KAP-ree). One of the most interesting attractions there is the blue grotto. It is a narrow cave that can only be entered when the waters are calm. All week long their website has been saying that they were not doing any tours because of water conditions. They update the website every morning at 9:00 am. We’re going to keep monitoring the situation. Regardless we plan to visit Capri before we leave Naples.

As a backup plan we decided to go to Sorrento. You can get there by bus or train but the fastest, most fun and least expensive way to get there is by ferry. The trip takes just 45 minutes and drops you off near the center of town. Win, win!

We walked over to the docks in time to purchase tickets for the 9:00 am ferry. When we got there no direct ferries to Sorrento were shown on the board (we could take one to Capri and then go on to Sorrento but that would be a much longer trip). We asked the ticket seller and he said there was a 9:00 am ferry. Go figure. Two round trip tickets cost us €56.00. We reserved seats on the 4:30 pm coming back. Credit cards are accepted.

The trip was quick and easy. At less than two feet the seas were perfectly calm and the ride was very comfortable. Once off the boat we had to figure out how to get into town. The entire city is built on top of a steep hill. The remnants of the old castles / city walls were evident. We walked a couple of blocks along the shoreline and found some stairs that wound their way up near the town center. It was a very long climb.

We checked out several churches on our way to the main street. The town is replete with restaurants and shops that sell everything lemon. Sorrento is famous for its giant sized lemons – the ones that are used to make limoncello. You can buy lemon candies, lemon gelato, lemon scented candles, and even lemon print clothes. The list goes on and on. We found an interesting shop where the clerk offered to let us taste a bunch of things. We told him we’d be back after lunch.

We found the Duomo, the most famous church in Sorrento. It is also known as Cathedral of Saints Philip and James. It was originally consecrated on 1133 and was built on the remains of an ancient Greek temple. It’s not quite as large as we expected but was still very nice to visit. As you can imagine the decorations range from the Medieval to the Baroque.

Afterwards we walked up and down every street in the downtown area and checked out every restaurant, every gelato shop, and every shop selling anything having to do with lemons. The truth is that we visited a few churches just for cover. This trip was really all about the food. We settled on a restaurant for lunch and waited 20 minutes for them to open. Deborah ordered the special of the day: pasta with eggplant. I got the cannelloni stuffed with cheese. The food was excellent. This might have been the best meal we’ve had since we’ve been in Italy.

After lunch we walked around town some more and just did some sightseeing. The town is high up on a cliff and overlooks the Gulf of Naples. The surrounding area is incredibly beautiful. We took out the binoculars and scanned the area. Across the water we could see Naples’ Castel Sant’Elmo.

Down below there were several “beach clubs” along the waterfront. There aren’t any beaches. The clubs had lounge chairs set up along the docks and people were swimming in the harbor. The water looked clean and clear.

We went back to the first limoncello shop we saw. The clerk remembered us and offered us each a small glass of limoncello. It was very good. We also tried a sample of the white limoncello. It is made with milk and is sweeter than the usual kind. He also offered us a taste of the orange and melon flavored versions. We walked away with a bag of lemon covered chocolates, a jar of lemon creme, and a medium sized bottle of the white limoncello.

Eventually we hit a gelato shop and shared a lemon creme ice cream. Today was going to be about eating as much lemon as we could. We were hoping for a strong, tart lemon flavor. In that regard it was a little disappointing. Further down the street we stopped at a cafe for dessert. There were so many interesting things in the window that we wound up ordering three: a typical Neapolitan lemon cake covered with a lemon creme, a sfogliatella filled with lemon creme and topped with lemon icing, and an eclair that was filled and topped with dark chocolate. The best one turned out to be the sfogliatella.

While we were having dessert I got a message from our host. He was just getting to the apartment. It was 2:30 pm and only 3.5 hours after he said he would get there. By his standards he was actually early. He said they found a problem (shocking!). He said there was a blockage in the pipe and that they would need some special equipment to fix it. They planned to come back tomorrow and finish the job. If that made sense I might have been encouraged but a blockage would have been on or off – not intermittent as we’d seen. I told him if it wasn’t fixed tomorrow he was paying for a hotel room for the night.

By the time we were on the boat heading back we were both a little tired. It had been a long day and we’d walked quite a bit. We both took short cat naps along the way. Around 8:30 pm I got a message from our host. He wanted us to take a picture of the hot water heater. The plumber needed to know what brand it was so he could bring the right parts. Needless to say our level of confidence in this getting fixed tomorrow is low.

Saturday, September 24, 2022

I got up early and was fuming about the hot water situation. I opened a case with AirBNB and then I called their offices. They sounded sympathetic and said they would follow up with our host. Our concern was that if this wasn’t fixed today it wouldn’t be fixed until Monday because no one here works on Sunday. We were hoping to apply a little leverage. Given our past experiences with AirBNB our confidence with them was about the same our as our confidence in our host.

Yesterday the weather report said it was supposed to rain all day today. We woke to a bright and sunny day. The forecast was for more of the same for the rest of the day. No further comment required.

We decided to take advantage of our good fortune and head over to Oplontis. Never heard of it? I’m not surprised. Oplontis was a very small town that was also destroyed by Vesuvius in 79 AD. It’s about 2.5 miles West of Pompei. Two large villas have been excavated. They are said to be in excellent condition. Like The Old Town of Naples, Pompei, and Herculaneum, Oplontis is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This one will be number 54 on our list. Yes, we keep count of those too! UNESCO’s list contains over 1,100 sites in 165 countries across the world.

We walked from our apartment to Piazza Garibaldi where the central train station is located. It took about 45 minutes. From there we bought two round trip tickets to Torre Annunziata. Our destination was 17 stops away and the trip took about 45 minutes. Trains on that line run about every 30 minutes. Round trip tickets cost €7.50 each. Credit cards are accepted.

The actual train was more like a subway than a commuter railway. This line, called The Circumvesuviana (literally circumnavigates Vesuvius), can be taken all the way to Sorrento. There is, however, a high speed train that will make the trip in much less time.

The excavation was just a four minute walk from the train station. Since it was about 11:30 am and there was no food at the site we decide to have a quite bite beforehand. We stopped at a mom and pop salumeria and split a caprese sandwich. Surprisingly neither Mom nor Dad spoke any English at all. You wouldn’t expect that right near a tourist spot. We managed to get along just fine. They were very sweet. While we were eating we heard from our host. They were entering the apartment to fix the hot water.

Tickets to Oplontis cost €5.00 a piece. Another surprise: cash only. From the ticket office we had a good vantage point to look down, into the excavation. We walked down about 50 feet worth of stairs and started our day’s adventure.

Until it was re-discovered the only evidence of Oplontis’ existence was a name on the Tabula Peutingeriana – an ancient map of the entire Roman world. The site was found in the 16th Century during the construction of the Sarno Canal. Construction of this canal covered and/or damaged portions of the ancient town. Initial excavations were done in the late 18th Century by the Bourbons. Work was stopped due to unsafe conditions. Since that time several other excavations have been undertaken.

Villa A (the so-called Villa of Poppea), is a grandiose house with about 90 rooms spread over 100,000 square feet. Many of the walls and ceilings are still intact. Numerous frescos, intact columns, mosaic floors, and marble moldings are still present in the house. The complex contained a swimming pool, Roman baths, gardens, and agricultural operations. There are so many internal connecting hallways that it would be easy to get lost in this house.

It was built in the first Century BC and is thought to have belonged to the second wife of the emperor Nero. Before it was destroyed in the 1st Century AD it changed hands more than once. The decorations range from style one to style four.

Villa B (the so-called Lucius Crassius Tertius) was found in 1974. In 1984 a trove of artifacts were discovered there including jewels and coins. It is currently closed to the public.

On the return trip we caught an express train. It made fewer stops. We arrived back in Naples in just 20 minutes. Once again we heard from our host. He told us that the hot water was fixed. The problem was that the battery in the igniter needed to be replaced. Obviously he hadn’t brought the plumber yesterday as he said he had or this would have been taken care of the previous day. We told him we’d check it out when we got back.

We walked down the Corso Emanuelle I and found a place to have a late lunch. We split a pizza fritte and went back to our favorite gelato place for dessert. To our absolute dismay and unmitigated horror they no longer seem to carry our favorite flavor. If we had not already paid we would have walked out. We settled for a scoop of hazelnut and a scoop of pistachio. They were good but not as good as the amarena we love so much.

Back at the apartment we seem to have hot water. We both showered and Deborah is doing some laundry. If we still have hot water in the morning we just may be out of the woods.

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Tuesday, September 20, 2022

It was another two church day. First we started with Chiesa di Sant’Anna dei Lombardi. It’s a lovely church on the edge of the old town. Construction was started in 1411. It was expanded by Alfonso II, King of Naples and was, at that time, a favorite place for the gathering of the Aragonese Court. The most recent modifications were done in 1798 and sponsored by Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilys. Parts of the church were heavily damaged during World War II and have subsequently been rebuilt.

There is a great deal of diversity in the chapels. Many are plainly from the Medieval period and some are from the early Renaissance. Quite a few of the older Frescos have been damaged and/or in need of serious restoration. Even so, the church has a number of works by well known Neapolitan artists and is a great place to visit.

One of the most interesting things on display is in the right transept. It is a series of life-sized terracotta figures known as the Lamentation Over the Dead Christ by Guido Mazzoni. Completed in 1492 the dramatic expressions on the figures are in stark contrast to the figure of Christ laying motionless on a slab. Originally the figures had been painted in bright colors but time has removed most of the pigment. Even so it is very impressive. We haven’t seen anything quite like it before.

As is typical you can visit the church at no cost. To help raise money for restoration efforts two of the chapels can only be visited if you purchase a ticket. A standard ticket costs €6.00 per person. We bought the €8.00 version which included a tour of the crypt (Credit cards are accepted). The two additional chapels are nicely decorated. One of them has an elaborate funerary monument carved in marble. One of the cherubs on top has been attributed to a very young Michelangelo.

The crypt, accessed from behind the main altar, was down a fight of stairs. There we saw a series of holes in the wall where bodies were drained over a period of time, just like we described at the Catacombs of San Gennaro. The bones were stored in a large room under the floor. All human remains had been removed.

We’ve walked past this piazza several times and never noticed the church – only the building next to the church, which looks like a monastery. When we arrived we checked it out. Today it’s the local police station but at one time it was the site of The Monastery of Santa Maria di Monteoliveto, which was closed in 1799.

Our next church was just a few blocks away. Santa Maria La Nova is no longer a church. It has been deconsecrated. Today it is a museum. Tickets are €5.00 per person. Credit cards are accepted.

When Charles of Anjou built Castel Nuovo in the early 13th Century he did so by replacing an existing church. As compensation the Friars were given new land to build another church. The new, Gothic style church, was completed near the end of the 13th Century. A series of earthquakes and other disasters caused the church to be completely reconstructed in 1587, this time in the Baroque style. It became a museum in 2006.

We entered through one side of the cloister and observed frescos on the walls and the vaulted ceilings and funerary monuments along the walls. We walked along one wall where several modern sculptures had been installed. We entered the building at the opposite end. We walked through several large rooms that had a combination of old paintings and decorations and a smattering of modern art. Eventually we came to a door which led us to the church and the main altar.

Behind the altar, where only the priests would have been, were huge, floor to ceiling frescos detailing the lives of several saints. Parishioners would normally not have seen these works as they would have been obscured by the large, ornate altar. We also had a great view of the entire ceiling. It was made of carved, gilded wooden frames that were filled with paintings. The chapels were beautifully decorated. Some were in the Medieval style and some in the Baroque.

For me, one of the most interesting things about the church was a story of one of the burials around the cloister. Vlad Tepes, aka Vlad III, aka Vlad the Impaler, aka Vlad Dracul was an actual historical figure from Transylvania on whom Bram Stoker based his book Dracula. We visited the house where he was born in Sighisoara⁩ and we visited his so-called castle when we visited Romania in 2018 (Bran Castle wasn’t his castle, but he was imprisoned there for a few days). The story goes that when his gravesite was excavated no body was found. It has been surmised that when his daughter moved to Naples to marry she brought his body with her and he was interred in this church. Scholarly research has been done on the subject.

Up one flight of stairs we found a large meeting room and access to the roof of the cloister. Up another flight there were more modern works on display.

We had lunch at a cafe in the old town district. They had some interesting desserts. Deborah had a slice of a typical Neapolitan cake called Pastiera. It’s a heavy cake make from ricotta and flour. I had a slice of cake that had layers of cream, chocolate, and cherry and was topped with meringue. Like most Italian desserts it was not overly sweet but it was very tasty.

Wednesday, September 23, 2022

We went to Pompei. In 2016 we spent a week in Rome and decided to book a tour to Pompei and Vesuvius. A bus took us to the site and a guide waked us around for about 90 minutes. We didn’t get to see everything and we didn’t have time to see the museum at all. It always bugged us that we might have missed something. Today was the day when we would see it all at our own pace.

Nothing is ever easy. When we boarded that dreadful bus back from Herculaneum on Monday they never collected our ticket. We explained the situation to our ticket seller and he suggested that we use the ticket for the trip to Pompei. We purchased another ticket for the return. It may seem like we were trying to get away with something but we felt we were entitled to some sort of compensation and had originally planned to dispute the cost of the ticket on our credit card. This was simpler – NOT.

When we boarded the bus the ticket taker gave us a really hard time. She said we couldn’t use the left over ticket and that we had to buy another round trip ticket. After some back and forth we gave her the one-way ticket we bought this morning. She said we would have to buy another one-way ticket for the return trip.

Because of heavy traffic in the city the 45 minute bus ride turned out to be a 90 minute bus ride. When we finally arrived in Pompei it was an utter madhouse. The street was lined with restaurants, ticket sellers, tourists, and what was worse, tour groups. We managed to get a couple of tickets at a cost of €18.00 a piece (credit cards are accepted). A quick stop at a restroom cost us another €1.00 a piece before we walked down the street to enter the excavation.

Once inside we quickly went through some side streets to avoid the tour groups. They tend to be very loud and block up entire areas – and there were many of them. Fortunately Pompei is very large and we were able to get to some of the less traveled sections quickly.

Actually, the site was much larger than we remembered. We didn’t realize that there were multiple entry sites, too. Unlike last time we came in via the Porta Marina; it took us a few minutes to orient ourselves. The first time we basically went up one of the main streets and down another. That was it. Our map showed that the town is logically split up into five main sections. As is our way we slogged through each section one by one.

It turns out that there are several large amphitheaters. We also found an open air museum that specialized in ancient erotic art. Of course most of the best preserved artifacts have long since been removed to museums around Italy and around the world but we managed to find some statuary and some frescos that were worth our time. The forum area is centrally located, very interesting, and very popular. Since we were there they’ve opened a small cafe just on the other side of the Temple of Jove where you can purchase snacks and beverages.

We did, finally, get to go to the museum. It was much smaller than we thought it’d be but it was still very nice. They had a collection of the usual artifacts. Somewhat unique to this museum was the plaster casts depicting the final moments of a number of inhabitants, including a horse.

The one place we didn’t get to revisit was the brothel. When we walked past there was a huge line of people waiting to get in. By the time we got there it had been a long day and standing in line in the hot sun for 30 minutes was definitely not on the agenda. We can live with that.

We had an hour before the next bus back to Naples so we had some panini at one of the restaurants outside the entrance. We met a very amusing couple from Minneapolis who shared stories of their travels.

The ticket taker on the bus was the same woman from this morning. We kept our heads down and showed the other half of our tickets from Herculaneum. If we had purchased round trip tickets to Pompei this morning we would have been left with exactly the same stubs (the tickets have neither destinations nor dates on them – just the amount they cost, and trips to Pompei and Herculaneum cost the same amount). Easy peasy.

On the way back we realized why they really didn’t want to let us use the leftover ticket stubs. They never collect the stub on the way back and so everyone has a leftover that could potentially be used again and again.

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Sunday, September 18, 2022

We woke up this morning to find that there was no hot water. It wasn’t a huge issue for us because we typically shower in the evenings. We let our host know. He said he’d come over in the morning and check it out.

The weather has finally broken! Instead of hot, humid, hazy, stagnant, sticky days with temperatures in the mid-80s we were delighted to see the temperatures drop into the mid-70s with clear skies and a cool breeze. It’s supposed to stay that way for the entire week. For us it’s delightful but for the Italians it’s rather cold. We’ve seen them wearing long pants, long sleeved shirts and jackets.

In the morning we headed up (and I do mean up) to the top of the Vomero Hill, one of the highest hills in Naples to see Certosa e Museo di San Martino. The building sits at the edge of the hill and enjoys panoramic views of the entire area. We joined a number of people along the embankment and took delight in the view and the breeze before heading in. The complex was founded in 1325 as a charter house for the Order of Carthusians by Charles of Anjou, Duke of Calabria, the son of Robert of Anjou. When Naples became a republic in 1799 the monks were forced to leave until 1804. By that time most of the monks in the order had left. With the reunification of Italy in 1867 it became a national monument. It contains an elaborate Baroque Church, a cloister and a museum. It is by far one of the largest religious complexes in Naples. Entry costs €6.00 per person. Credit cards are accepted. It might be the best bargain in the entire city.

The entryway to the church contains a number of beautiful frescos. Entering the church is a breathtaking experience. The building was constructed in the Gothic manner but the interior is decorated in the High Baroque style. Every square inch is adorned with frescos or inlaid marble. The many chapels running along the sides are outfitted with works of the finest craftsmanship. Each chapel typically has an elaborate marble altar flanked with sculptures. Above the altar are paintings depicting various saints. Along the walls you can find even more paintings and/or frescos. It was almost impossible to take it all in. Several chapels were outfitted with intricate wooden inlays. We were permitted to visit the back of the main altar. There we found gigantic paintings that were almost impossible to see from the front of the church including Guido Reni’s Adoration of the Shepherds from 1641. Even the passage ways were elaborately decorated. One hallway, that joined the church to the cloister, was designed in the exact style of Rome’s Sistine Chapel. We spent a lot time in these rooms trying to follow the stories or figure out the allegories. It was a lot of fun.

After exploring every inch of the church we walked outside to the cloister. It was a very large square that opened up to numerous doors that would have been monastic cells. It was a lovely place for quiet contemplation.

The museum was contained in a number of separate sections within the complex. Passage ways to/from each section often led to huge balconies that overlooked the city. We could easily see Vesuvius, Sorrento, Capri, Naples Harbor, and the city below. It was a priceless view.

The next section of the museum had a number of terracotta figures. Many had been damaged by earthquakes over the years. Another section contained numerous presipi (manger scenes). Some dated back as far as the Middle Ages. The paintings gallery was actually the weakest part of the exhibit. Most works were from the Renaissance period. Very few were by well known artists, many were in need of restoration, and most were lighted so poorly that they were hard to see. As we turned towards the exit we found another room with some modern works from the 19th and 20th Centuries.

If you ever go to Naples we strongly recommend that you visit the Certosa e Museo di San Martino. It will not disappoint.

Just outside the museum complex we found two shops that made fine quality cameos. One shop had more traditional designs and the other had more modern designs made out of many different colored materials. They were quite interesting and not ridiculously overpriced as you would expect.

Our next destination, Castel Sant’Elmo, was just steps away. We decided to fill our stomachs before entering. The only restaurants in sight were cafes serving coffee and pastries. We wanted food. We wound up walking down the hill for a few blocks until we found a piazza with several restaurants. We settled in for a lunch consisting of a pizza Margherita and a pizza fritte. We realized something interesting. The tomato sauces that we liked the best were always made with San Marzano tomatoes. They really do make a huge difference. They have a sweetness to them but also a little tang. They originated from San Marzano sul Sarno near Naples and trace their origin back to 1770. You can get that variety from most grocery stores in the USA but there is almost no chance that you’ll be eating ones that were grown near Naples, which are the very best.

We decided to try a tartufo for dessert. It’s an ice cream based dessert that originated in Calabria. The picture of the menu looked wonderful. What we got was a commercial, pre-made dessert. It was simply ok. It’s not the kind of thing most restaurants in Italy serve.

Entry to Castel Sant’Elmo was €5.00 per person. Credit cards are accepted. Oddly the name has nothing to do with Saint Elmo. The castle was built upon the site of a 10th Century church dedicated to “Sant’Erasmo”. Over time the name was shortened to Ermo and then Elmo. Most of the building was destroyed in the earthquake of 1456. The present castle got its unusual and controversial hexagonal shape, around the mid 16th Century. Many enhancements have been made over the subsequent years. It continued to be an official military post until 1976 when a restoration project was started. Today it is a major tourist attraction.

The castle is situated on top of the Vomero Hill and has a commanding view of the entire valley below. Using its long range cannon and unassailable vantage point the castle was able to coordinate coastal defenses with the seaside castles.

The lower portion of the seven story building is carved into the mountains tuff stone. The upper floors are constructed using blocks made from the same volcanic stone. We walked up a long ramp that leads to a bridge that crosses the now dry moat. Inside the rooms are very large with incredibly high ceilings. Long narrow slits were cut into the rock to provide cannon emplacements. Given that they are recessed there was very little chance that waring parties could hit them and knock them out of commission.

Aside from a few cannon there isn’t much to see inside the castle. It’s a just a very large empty shell. At various points the paths open to large balcony-like view points where you can enjoy magnificent views and fresh breezes. Once we got to the top we walked the entire parapet. It was fun trying to pick out all of the places we knew. At this level there was also a museum of 20-21st Century Modern Italian art. It was rather small and we went through it rather quickly because it was hot and there was no air conditioning.

The castle has the best views of just about anywhere in the city. It’s a fun little excursion.

On our way to the restaurant for lunch we noticed that there was a funicular stop nearby. There are several funicular lines in the city along with an extensive bus and metro system. We had intended to walk down the hill but decided it would be even more fun to ride. Getting tickets was a little challenging. We tried using the ticketing machine in Italian but couldn’t make it work. We admitted defeat and tried again in English. Still no success. Some kind person came over and gave us a hand. It turns out that there is an extra “confirm” button that needs to be pressed but the screen makes no mention of it.

The funicular reputedly affords great views of the city below. The trip from the top to the first station was through a tunnel before it finally opened up. Unfortunately for us we got off at the first stop. We’re determined to try it again and ride the whole way down just for fun.

By the time we got back we had hot water. Our host had visited the apartment and taken care of the problem. It’s not clear what the issue was.

Monday, September 19, 2022

Once again we woke up to find that there was no hot water. We messaged our host and he said he could come over with a plumber later this morning. We had a quick breakfast and walked down the hill towards the Don Carlo Opera House and bought two tickets to Herculaneum.

One of the first days we were in Town we checked out the opera house. Built in 1737 it is the oldest opera house in Europe. The 2022-2023 season started in September but from September until January they are only hosting concerts. The actual opera season doesn’t start until next year. We were VERY disappointed.

Herculaneum isn’t very far from Naples. The cheapest route is to take the train from the central station. Tickets are under $5.00 per person. The problem is that we wanted to get an early start and there is no convenient way to get to the train station. We could walk but that would take about 45 minutes. We could take a city bus to the train station but we’d still have to walk about 22 minutes to get that and a taxi to the train station would cost about $20.00 so we opted to take a private bus. They had convenient stops, ran on the hour, and would take us there and back in air conditioned comfort all for €20.00 per person.

The bus dropped us off on a street corner where there was a sign indicating which way to walk. So much for door to door service. It was just a five minute walk but it seemed longer because we didn’t know how far we’d be going. Tickets for Pompei and Herculaneum are €23.00 per person per site. You can get a combination ticket for both sites for €20.00 per person but it turns out you can’t buy that on site. Damn! We’d been to Pompei in 2016 and have every intention of going back but since we’d never been to Herculaneum before we figured we’d go there first. The site looked smaller than we expected. Herculaneum was a much smaller city than Pompei but it’s reputed to be in better condition. We picked up a free booklet in the welcome center and were on our way.

Herculaneum has a similar story to Pompei. It was destroyed in 79 AD when Vesuvius erupted. In just minutes the entire city was covered in ash and pumice thus preserving it virtually intact. You often hear that the town was rediscovered in 1709 when a local was trying to drill a well but the fact is that it was known about before that. Entry was gained through tunnels that were dug into the mound and some of the houses were looted. Excavations started in 1738 and have been continuing, on and off, since.

In ancient times Herculaneum was a town of about 5,000 people. It was said to be smaller and wealthier than Pompei; it was a popular seaside resort for Roman elite. Today it is about half a mile from the shoreline mostly due to material being ejected from the volcano. The town was buried in over 65 feet of ash.

To enter the excavation you have to walk down quite a ways. You cross a bridge, which corresponds to the ancient shoreline, and enter the city. Along the old waterfront you can see warehouses and boat storage lockers. The city was arranged in a set of east-west streets crisscrossing with north-south streets as was typical for ancient Roman cities.

There are a number of larger houses near the shoreline where the wealthier people lived. These houses were larger and had colonnaded gardens/courtyards surrounded by statuary. Along the road there were several “diners” where you could still see countertops with large tureens which would have been filled with various dishes. It was common practice to eat lunch at a restaurant every day.

All of the houses were richly decorated with statuary and marble. All of the walls, even in the poorest houses, were fresco’ed from floor to ceiling. Towards the back of the excavation was a large, colonnaded space used as a sports complex with large shrines to various gods. Nearby was a system of tunnels used as a fish hatchery.

Some of the houses had large frescos still on the walls but for the most part the best examples have been removed and are on display in museums. Very few actual artifacts are on display in the city.

The excavation also includes a museum. It is rather small and contains a number of interesting artifacts found on site including frescos, jewelry and statuary. Another building displayed an ancient boat that had been preserved along with fishing tackle and boating accoutrements.

We got back to the bus pickup point about 20 minutes early. The bus was 40 minutes late. We were told that there was a mechanical problem and that they would be using a spare bus. Not only wasn’t the air conditioner working but it felt like they had turned on the heat. During the ride back the driver drove like a maniac (re: like a typical Neapolitan) in order to try and make up some time. It was a rather unpleasant drive.

We had dinner at one of the many area restaurants before returning to our apartment. We got back around 4:30 pm and checked the hot water. It was working just fine. Our host had texted during the day and said he’d be there around 5:00 pm (so much for taking care of it early in the day). We told him the hot water was working and that he didn’t need to come over. We expect that this will be normal for the rest of our stay. We pity the next people to stay here.

Click here to see the full post on the web with pictures.

Thursday, September 15, 2022

Unlike our experiences in Rome a number of churches in Town just never seem to be open and quite a few that are open are no longer active churches; they are museums and places for exhibitions. We tried to see the inside of The Church of Santa Maria Maggiore della Pietransanta but found that they had an exhibition in progress and wouldn’t let us in unless we bought a ticket. No thanks. There’s plenty of other fish in the sea.

Next was Chiesa di Santa Maria della Anime del Purgatorio ad Arco, a church dedicated to souls in purgatory. The interior of the church is rather modest in size but is beautifully decorated in the High Baroque Style. In the lower level you can find a large assortment of skulls of people who were condemned to purgatory. Parishioners are encouraged to adopt these people and pray for them thus hastening their assent into heaven. When the church was originally dedicated in 1638 this was a crucial issue for the Counter-Reformation. Catholic theologians differ on the amount of time a typical soul stays in purgatory. It varies from weeks to thousands of years.

We continued down Via dei Tribunali until we reached Piazza San Gaetano where we found a large sculpture of the saint. We had intended to see Basilica San Paulo Maggiore but found it was closed. In fact, it has been closed every time we’ve seen it in the past few weeks. Naples is said to have over 500 churches. At least half appear to be closed all the time and quite a few seem to need structural renovations. I suppose time, neglect, and earthquakes will do that.

Next door we entered Santuario di San Gaetano da Thiene. It’s a lovely little chapel where both Saint Gaetano, and Sant Cajetan, the patron saint of Argentina, gamblers, and the unemployed, are buried. The walls of the chapels are decorated with beautiful frescos. It’s a nice, quiet, private place to come and pray.

As is our custom whenever we see an open church we poke our heads in and have a look around. You never know what you’ll find. So many churches appear unassuming from the outside and turn out to be magnifico on the inside. We’ve found some interesting artwork in many of these less well known places.

We attempted to go to Cappella Sansevero to see the very famous sculpture called The Veiled Christ by Giuseppe Sanmartino from 1753. What we didn’t realize was that you had to buy tickets to enter the church. There was a very long line to buy tickets and an even longer line of people waiting to get in. We decided to buy tickets online and go back on another day,

Our last planned stop was at The Complesso Monumentale San Lorenzo Maggiore. In 1235 Pope Gregory IX agreed to the construction of this church, the sixth in Naples to be dedicated to San Lorenzo. It was built in the Gothic style and is located at the center of the ancient city of Naples in Pizza San Gaetano. The church originates from the Franciscan Order and was meant to replace the church that was converted to a fortress by Charles I of Anjou (present day Castel Nuovo).

As is typical of Gothic churches this one is very long and has a very high ceiling. Inside the ceiling is supported by a triangular wood structure instead of the more typical vaulted arches. The left transept contains a huge, Baroque style chapel dedicated to the named saint. His body is actually buried in Rome in The Basilica of Saint Lawrence outside the Walls. The chapels are generally decorated in Medieval style. The families that originally sponsored them are clearly labeled. Many elaborate marble tombs can be seen in each.

Along Via dei Tribunali, in the same neighborhood, there is a rather famous pizzeria called Sorbillo. Whenever we’ve passed by there has always been a very long line of people waiting to get in. Since it was still early we figured we’d see if we could get a table. We arrived at 11:25 am and found that the restaurant didn’t open until noon. There were about a dozen people already waiting in line. We took our place at the end and queued into the street. As time went on people queued behind us and to each side of us. This was going to be a NYC style free-for-all to get a table. There was an Italian woman in line behind us that was getting indignant about people pushing in ahead instead of waiting at the end. She was personally taking charge of the situation.

It’s interesting to note how many Italians we’ve seen around the city. I know that sounds silly. The fact is that we tend to be in areas that are frequented by tourists and are used to hearing many different languages. Since we’ve been in Naples the overwhelming majority of the people we’ve encountered have been Italian. Many are obviously on holiday. We suspect that COVID has something to do with this. Italy has one of the highest vaccination rates in Europe and we suspect that Italians are vacationing in their own country rather than traveling abroad.

We got into the restaurant and found a table with little drama. The menu, which was written in Italian only, was mainly pizzas. There were no fritte or any other local specialties. Most restaurants we’ve been in have had menus in multiple languages. It’s surprising that a famous tourist destination like this wouldn’t be so accommodating. We expected the prices to be outrageous but they were in line with what we’d seen at other pizzerias. I ordered a pizza with prosciutto and various cheeses. Deborah got a pizza Margherita with extra cheese. Both pizzas were good but nothing special – certainly not worth standing in line for hours as we’d seen others do.

On our way back to the apartment we stopped at an outdoor market and bought some fun stuff. We picked up a half dozen interesting looking pastries too. We’d never seen cannoli filled with Nutella or Bueno before. We bought some choux pastries filled with various creams too.

During our travels we have found all sorts of interesting candies. In Europe they have something called Kinder. It’s quite delicious. The only analog we’ve ever found in the States is a product called Kinder Bueno. It is made by the same company but is slightly different – and really not very good. We’d strongly recommend you try Kinder but stay away from the Bueno version.

We booked tickets to the Cappella Sansevero to see the Veiled Christ. Initially the website told us that they were sold out until Monday but there was an error with the credit card screen (sometimes I mess up with websites that are entirely in Italian). When we went back to try and book again there was a spot open for tomorrow at 1:30 pm. Tickets were €8.00 plus a €2.00 charge for graft and corruption per person.

Friday, September 16, 2022

It rained most of the evening and it was drizzling on and off all morning. Normally the rain tends to cool things off but today it just made it even hotter and stickier. It was rather unpleasant. By the time we walked to the church we were pretty much soaked in sweat.

We arrived about 20 minutes early. There was no line. They let us in right away. We entered a richly decorated deep but narrow chapel. It was elaborately decorated in the High Baroque Style with lots of intricate colored marble. The tops of the walls were decorated with numerous white marble sculptures. The sculptures in the four corners depicted the four virtues. The ceilings were painted with bright frescos. The Veiled Christ was situated in the center of the room near the altar.

The sculpture is one of the most famous in the world. Giuseppe Sanmartino’s work was completed in 1753. The famous sculptor, Antonio Canova, admired it so much that he tried to buy it. In fact, the style seemed quite reminiscent of Canova and, if we hadn’t known differently, we might have attributed it to his hand. It’s truly a magnificent work. Unfortunately no photos were permitted.

The chapel was crowded and unbearably hot. In spite of a pair of fans the air was stagnant. We walked around the room twice, more quickly then we would have liked, and took the stairs down one flight to see another exhibit.

The second exhibit is known as The Anatomical Machines. They are complete skeletons of a man and a woman with their entire arteriovenous systems intact. They were created by a Palermo doctor named Giuseppe Salerno and probably date from the early 18th Century. 250 years later there is still much debate on how this was accomplished. It has even been suggested that they are not real. No definitive answers have been found for either question.

Like the Veiled Christ we’d heard of them before. Seeing them in person was rather interesting. The word creepy certainly comes to mind but they were also quite fascinating. Since the air quality downstairs was even worse than upstairs we left after just a few minutes.

As an aside, we’ve been in many churches and museums and they always let you take pictures. Given that we paid a significant price to see these exhibits you’d think you’d be allowed to take photographs. In this case it was just a naked attempt to get you to spend additional money at their gift shop. I think that’s a reprehensible practice. As I’ve said many times, charge what you want to charge, but don’t nickel and dime your customers. It REALLY pisses them off.

We had intended to get some lunch and see some other churches but it started to rain again. We jumped into the first taxi we could find and decided to spend the rest of the day in our apartment.

Saturday, September 17, 2022

We were ambitious today and visited three more churches. First was Chiesa del Gesù Nuovo. It’s a very large, elaborately decorated, Baroque style church. The building was originally constructed in 1470 as a palace for Roberto Sanseverino, Prince of Salerno. Due to some political scandals the building was confiscated and eventually sold to the Jesuits in the 1580s. The church has a rather unusual facade made of bricks placed in a diamond pattern. We were not able to see the facade as it is undergoing restoration. As a matter of fact there is so much scaffolding there that we’ve walked past it many times and didn’t realize that there was a church there.

One of the more unusual decorations was part of an incendiary bomb from 1943 during World War II. Apparently it hit the church but never exploded. It was considered to be a miracle.

Across the street was the Complesso Monumentale di Santa Chiara. It’s a large, Gothic style church with a monastery, tombs, and an archeological museum. It was built in the early 1300s by the Queen Sancha of Majorca and her husband King Robert of Naples. Given its length there are a huge number of family chapels along the sides. Most contain elaborate sculptures for burials and original artwork.

The original stone altar, commissioned by Joanna I, the king’s granddaughter and heir to the throne, has been moved to one of these side chapels near the front. It includes the final resting place of Robert of Anjou. Only some of the frescos have survived in tact. The church was damaged by bombings in World War II.

The last church was Chiesa di San Domenico Maggiore, a Gothic style church founded by the Dominican Friars, situated in the center of the ancient city. Construction started in the late 13th Century and was completed in the early 14th Century. The original church on that location, San Michele Arcangelo a Morfisa, was incorporated into the new building. The square in front of the church contains an obelisk, one of the three so-called plague columns, that were erected to celebrate the end of the plague of 1656. Over the years the church has undergone many structural changes as well as changes in interior decoration. Today much of the church is decorated in the Baroque style.

There are several royal burials in the church including Kings Ferdinand I and II. More recently the church contained the bedroom and study for Professor Giuseppe Moscati (1880-1927). He was a doctor who gained fame ministering to the sick. He was canonized by the church.

For lunch we went back to Via Toledo and returned to a cafe we had eaten at before. They have nice, large umbrellas that shade the tables from the sun. It was particularly pleasant as there was a strong breeze blowing off the gulf. I ordered a pizza fritte and Deborah had a pork Milanese. The dough on the fritte was some of the best we’ve had and it had been liberally sprinkled with sea salt. Interestingly, none of the restaurants in Naples put salt, pepper, or any other condiments on the table. In Rome it was common to have salt, pepper, good olive oil, and other spices. Deborah’s cutlet was nicely breaded and delicious.

Click here to see the full post on the web with pictures.

Monday, September 12, 2022

Today was a slow day. We went out for lunch at a local restaurant – you know the one with the kitchen across the street. This time we split a pizza with prosciutto along with an order of fried polenta with ciciouli. Afterwards we walked up to the Corso and bought some interesting looking pastries for dessert. Two were run soaked babas filled and covered with Nutella, the other two babas had white cream, and the last two were choux pastries with another sort of cream. They were delicious. At €3.50 for all six we’re going to go back to that bakery again and again. 😎

Tuesday, September 13, 2022

Today we visited The Catacombs of San Gennaro, the patron saint of Naples. Greek and Roman law dictated that burials could not take place inside a city so cemeteries were built outside of the ancient city walls. These catacombs were built high up on Capodimonte Hill. Naples has three sets of catacombs named for Saint Gennaro, Saint Gaudiosis, and Saint Severo. Cost of entry was €11.00 per person. Credit cards are accepted. Separate tours are given in English and in Italian.

While we waited for our tour to begin we checked out the large church next to the visitor’s center: The Basilica dell’Incoronata Madre del Buon Consiglio (The Basilica of the Crowned Mother of Good Council). The interior, in Renaissance style, was a smaller version of Saint Peter’s Basilica. There was beautiful statuary, fine paintings, lovely mosaics, and even a richly decorated central dome. The church contained high quality copies of Michaelangel’s Pieta and Moses. Lovely vases with fresh flowers had been placed all about in anticipation of a wedding ceremony.

The Catacombs of San Gennaro originated in the fourth Century BC and were built from tuff stone, a light porous material that comes from volcanic ash. At that time the burials were pagan. Agrippinus, the first patron saint of Naples, was buried there in the 2nd Century AD. He was interred on the original, lower level, of the structure. A church dedicated to him was consecrated near his tomb. The tombs were expanded to allow others to be buried as close to him as possible.

Saint Gennaro was born in the 3rd Century AD. He came from a rich family and by the time he was 20 he was already bishop of Naples. He was martyred during a time of Christian persecution coinciding with the reign of Diocletian. The catacombs were consecrated to Saint Gennaro in the 5th Century AD when his remains were interred there. This caused many more people to want to be buried there and the site was further expanded. The catacombs were used mainly for the burials of Neapolitan Bishops until the 11th Century AD. Between the 13th and 18th Centuries AD the catacombs were looted and during World War II they were used as a bomb shelter. Starting in 1981 the site was subject to archeological excavations and eventually was opened to the public. All of the human remains have been removed. Most were deposited in the nearby Cemetery of the Fountain. Saint Gennaro’s remains were moved to the Cathedral of Naples (The Duomo) in the 9th Century AD.

We walked down a number of flights of stairs to get to the entryway. Unlike the catacombs we’d seen in Rome these caves were much wider and had higher ceilings. All along the walls there were niches carved out where bodies had once been laid to rest. The niches would have been covered with marble slabs. We were directed to observe some larger cutouts where small family chapels had been. Inside there was space for many burials. Many large remnants of frescos could still be seen.

Further down was the remnants of a church. We could see the arches that had defined the space and could make out where the altar had once been. Near the end of the passage there was more large frescos above where Saint Gennaro had been buried. These frescos featured several saints along with the monks who’d built this section. Next we went outside, down some more stairs, and entered the original, lower level of the complex.

To the right of the entrance we could see the burial spot for Agrippinus and the small church that had been consecrated to him. This site is still consecrated and services occasionally take place there on special occasions. We saw evidence that the church had been expanded over the years and found high arches where more fresco remnants could be seen.

Off to the left of the entrance was the place where Saint Gennaro had been buried. Between the two burials there was a corridor that contained many niches and several chapels. We walked down as far as we could. Several of the chapels had beautiful frescos. The entire catacomb would once have been richly decorated with fine marble, carved columns, and all sorts of frescos. During the excavations hundreds of oil lamps and other artifacts had been found. Very few of the original decorations survived.

Lastly we entered an adjacent church that originally dated from the 3rd Century AD named Basilica di San Gennaro fuori le mura (The Basilica of Saint Gennaro Outside the Walls). Our guide told us that the church had been redecorated many times over the centuries. Until the 1930s it was richly decorated in the Baroque style. During the Fascist era the decision was made to restore the church to its 3rd Century AD appearance. All of the Baroque decorations were unceremoniously destroyed. The few remnants that had been found were on display.

Our guide explained to us that these tours were vitally important to the surrounding area. The neighborhood, known as the Sanita District, was where the very poor lived. The money collected from the tours and the increased tourist traffic helped contribute to the revitalization of the district. He thanked us for our support and informed us that our tickets would allow us entry to The Catacombe di San Gaudioso at no extra cost.

Afterwards we walked through an arch that was richly decorated with frescos. This next building, which had once been a monastery, had been converted to a public hospital in the late 1800s. We walked downhill, through the Sanita District, in search of a place to have lunch. Not finding any we continued for a ways until we found a suitable restaurant on Via Toledo. We found a lovely outdoor cafe whose tables were shaded by huge umbrellas. We enjoyed the breeze while we ate our lunch consisting of spaghetti con vongole and veal scaloppini with lemon.

Wednesday, September 14, 2022

Another day, another catacomb. This time it was The Catacombs of Saint Gaudiosus, a saint of African origins who as buried on the site in around 452 AD. During the Middle Ages mudslides covered the area and it was completely uninhabitable. Dominican Friars rediscovered it in the 17th Century. They developed a way to preserve human remains (a primitive form of mummification) by poking holes in a corpse and letting the fluids drain out over a period of about a year. Mummification appealed to the rich nobles who paid the friars the equivalent of millions of dollars to preserve their bodies. The friars made so much money that they built the church of Santa Maria dell Sanita on top of the catacombs in just a few, short years.

Our tour began by walking down a steep flight of stairs located near the main altar. We came to a room that had a large niche cut out in the shape of a large arc. This is where a wealthy person would have been buried. Above there were remnants of frescos made around the 5th Century AD.

Down another passage we came to the final resting place of Saint Gaudious. There were niches cut into the wall all around him so people could be buried as close to him as possible. Further down we came to another set of niches. These were used to store the bodies while they were being dried out. Another passage took us to a place where the nobles were buried. Their skulls had been implanted into the walls and their bodies hung. Their bones were tied together and they were dressed in the most elegant clothes. Frescos of them can still be seen on the walls along with their names.

Back in the church our guide explained that the area under the main altar was once the church’s crypt. In was now a huge space with small chapels all along the edges. In front is the oldest depiction of the Virgin Mary that can be found in all of Naples. Then we headed into a separate room where there was a very large presepe (nativity scene). She explained all of the symbolism. Many of the characters shown represented people and legends from the Naples area. It was very interesting.

We had lunch at a pizzeria across the street. I ordered a pizza with various cheeses and prosciutto. The middle was a regular pizza but the corners had been rolled up in such a way as to contain the meat and cheese. It was very interesting (and quite delicious). Deborah had a pizza with eggplant. The red sauce, which was different from what was on my pizza, was incredibly tasty.

On the way back to our apartment we walked through the Sanita District until we came to the Palazzo dello Spagnolo. It’s a famous former palace (now apartments) that had a fancy double staircase. Supposedly it’s been featured in several films.

Click here to see the full post on the web with pictures.

Friday, September 9, 2022

Another day, another museum. This time it was Gallerie d’Italia – Napoli. The collection is housed in a beautiful, modern building with marble staircases. It even has climate control. Their collection was distributed over three floors and contained some really fine works. In fact, most of the paintings were beautifully lit and were in such good condition that they’d probably undergone full restoration.

The ground floor contained a variety of periods. There were a great many from the Medieval period but they also had artifacts from Ancient Greece, early Renaissance tapestries and some gorgeous illuminated sacred works. It was nice to see that all of the works were clearly, and completely labeled – something that has been lacking in some of the other local museums.

The second floor contained paintings starting with the Renaissance and continued until the early 20th Century. There was a huge collection of paintings, drawings, and sculpture from an Italian artist we’d never seen before named Vincenzo Gemito. He worked mainly around the turn of the last century. He did a number of self portraits and, as usual, were some of the artist’s best work.

According to the museum’s literature the star of the entire collection was a painting by Caravaggio entitled, “The Martyrdom of Saint Ursala”, 1610. We’ve seen quite a few Caravaggios in our travels. We didn’t think this was one of his best.

The third floor was quite odd. It started with very modern works. There were two pieces by Andy Warhol that depicted Vesuvius blowing its top. The other part of the floor was dedicated to ancient Greek works. It contained mostly Kraters (large vases / wine jugs) from the 3rd Century BC.

One of my favorite works was a large marble sculpture of Atlas holding up a large globe. It was on display in the entry way. We hadn’t noticed it until we were on our way out. It is part of the Farnese Collection and was on loan from the Archeological Museum. No doubt it was one of the pieces that Pope Paul III had stolen.

By far this was one of the nicer museums we’ve seen here in Naples. It had a very high quality collection and was displayed in a lovely setting. At €7.00 per person it is a must see attraction.

We’ve been on the lookout for some Torte Caprese. It’s a speciality of this area. It’s said to be crispy on the outside, chewy in the inside, and very gooey. The closest analogy would be a flourless chocolate cake. We’ve found a few shops that sell whole cakes, ranging between €20 – 25, but we wanted to try a single slice first. Today we found a shop that made mini versions that were perfect for tasting. They also had them in lemon. We bought two chocolate and two lemon. They were to be dessert for tonight’s dinner.

After a dinner of gnocchi with pesto sauce we couldn’t wait to take our desserts out for a test run. We cut one of each in half so we could each sample them. We started with the lemon. It was sweet and had a mild lemon flavor. The inside, however, seemed like just plain cake. There was no way that this was flourless. There was also a distinct aftertaste of coconut. The chocolate was similarly disappointing with an even stronger coconut flavor. We’re glad we did’t spend the money on an entire cake. Maybe we’ll try it again when we go to Capri.

Saturday, September 10, 2022

We had intended to do a church crawl but by the time we finished breakfast it was raining pretty hard. We wound up having lunch in the apartment and then went out and walked around parts of the city we hadn’t already seen. We bit the bullet and started out by going UP the hill.

We’ve been going to a grocery store down the hill called Ciro Amodio. Apparently there is another one up the hill. This new one is even smaller than the old one (that’s pretty hard to believe), but it had some different items. When we got to the main road we found another, larger Italian chain called Carrefour. It’s much more in the size, and style of an American grocery store. We took a good look around. Next time we need groceries we just might brave the hill and come here instead. We walked out with a jar of Amarena (Italian sour cherry) preserves.

Just up the block there was an incredible view of the harbor, Vesuvius, and the city below. We walked down some winding stairs until we got to a very residential district. We followed along until we got to an outdoor market. There were all sorts of incredible goodies there. We bought a spaghetti pie from one shop; it was piping hot and smelled so good we wanted to eat it while we walked. Fish mongers were everywhere. We stopped into a few salumerias to check things out and shockingly walked away with nothing. The smell from the bread shop was so overwhelming that we walked away with a fresh, hot loaf. Down the street we found a bakery with almond horns. We walked away with a some orange and some pistachio flavored ones.

It was tough not stopping along the way back for some granita or gelato but we were anxious to get back to the apartment to feast on what we’d gotten.

Sunday, September 11, 2022

Another day of walking around and exploring neighborhoods. This time we headed down to the waterfront and strolled along the Gulf of Naples. It was a pretty sight. There were plenty of boats out on the water and Vesuvius was clearly visible in the clear skies. The Neapolitans were out in numbers taking their Sunday passeggiata (stroll).

First we came to Castel Dell’Ovo and after that a park with the remnants of some ancient columns. Further down we came to a set of stairs that led to the water’s edge. It was a sight to see. There were two large stairs that led into the water. Dozens of people were swimming in the waters and sunning themselves on the nearby rocks. A hundred yards further and you could see people fishing off of those same rocks. When we were there no one had caught anything yet.

Past Castel Nuovo we finally came to the docks where three enormous cruise ships were sitting. Hundreds of passengers were disembarking. To avoid the crowds we changed course and took a street one block away that paralleled the water. We continued on for a while. It was fun to see other parts of the city. This part was obviously geared to servicing the cruise ship passengers. Finally, in the distance, we saw a large statue. We knew it sat in the Piazza del Gesu Nuovo. We knew exactly where we were.

We headed to a nearby outdoor market where we got lunch: a paper cone filled with fried fish. It contained sardines, shrimp, calamari, fish, and fried dough. The sardines were served whole and really didn’t do it for us. We should have tried removing their heads first to see if that would have been better. The rest of the fish was absolutely delicious. It was prepared simply with a light breading and some sea salt.

We ate the rest of the almond horns with our dinner back at the apartment.

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Tuesday, September 6, 2022

Normally one of the first things we’d do in a new city is take the free walking tour. Almost every city in Europe seems to have one. They’re a fantastic way to orient yourself to new surroundings. They are, in fact, free. The guides are usually very enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and have lots of interesting stories to tell. It’s customary to tip them at the end of the tour. Tours for several parts of the city were available but as is typical for us we went with the Old Town Tour.

The tour met in a large square in front of an ornate metro station. Due to the large statue in front it is referred to as Dante Square. About 20 people showed up. Our guide first took us to Port ‘Alba. It’s an old town gate where the booksellers have their shops. Continuing on to Piazza Bellini, named so because of another statue, we stopped to see a small excavation of some Ancient Greek ruins. Much of the old town of Naples is built upon Ancient Greek and Roman foundations. Unlike Rome, which is essentially an open air museum, the ancient remains in Naples have been built upon and are not always easy to see. The piazza is a haven for inexpensive drinks and nightlife given that on one side is the music conservatory and the other is a school of art.

Next we stopped in front a church from the 17th century. The outside looked much newer. It had been rebuilt several times because it sustained heavy damage during several earthquakes. Outside was an old bell tower that was obviously much older. We were told that the site was originally used as a Greek Temple, then a Roman Temple, and finally a Church. The lower part of the tower was obviously made from Roman brick. The upper parts had been added on later and used a different material, but if you looked carefully at the bottom you could see some white marble that had been part of the original Greek Temple. It was a fantastic illustration of how each civilization built upon the previous one.

Our guide led us through a road nicknamed Pizza Street. She said that 20 years ago this was the only place to get authentic pizza in Naples. She said now you can get good pizza everywhere. Then she held up cards that showed other foods that Naples was famous for and encouraged us to try them all (we will!). Another road led through a series of shops where all of the goods were made in Naples – not China. She suggested that if we wanted to buy any souvenirs that this was the right place to do so.

We turned a corner and entered a small alley that was flanked by large arches on either side. It was easy to see that this was Roman construction. The guide explained that these arches were part of a Roman theater where Nero had actually performed. The street was lined with apartments that had been built where the stage had once been.

At the end we were given some information about other things to see in the area. It was another hot day in the city but it was two hours well spent. Afterwards we walked through some non-touristy alleys and found a lovely cafe to have lunch. We ordered another food that Naples is famous for: pizza fritta. It resembles what we Americans would call a calzone. They can be stuffed with all sorts of things but what makes then different from a calzone is that they are deep fried and served piping hot. Ours was filled with provolone, ricotta, tomato sauce, and ciccioli – a meat made from rendered pork fat. One portion was enough for two people. It was absolutely delicious. At this cafe the cost was a modest €7.00. I’ve seen them from street vendors for as little as €2.00.

Wednesday, September 7, 2022

For the most part we took the day off. While Deborah luxuriated in the air conditioning I walked over to the waterfront district and visited a tennis club to see if I could play there. It took a while to find someone who’s English was as bad as my Italian but I got an answer: No. They said that they were preparing for an ATP 250 tournament and no courts were available. The tournament is in mid-October – about five weeks away. Perhaps something got lost in the translation. I did manage to bring home some interesting dessert. Cannoli filled with ricotta and with pistachio cream.

For dinner we had spaghetti with fresh gamberi (shrimp). Just steps from our apartment is a pescheria or fish monger and they had some beautiful looking shrimp. I asked them if they were from Naples and he they said, “No”. It turns out they were from Ischia, a small island in the Gulf of Naples about 20 miles off shore. I would have said Yes! We got about 1.25 pounds of fresh shrimp for about $7.50. You can’t beat that with a stick. Of course they had the heads on and needed to be cleaned but it was still a great deal. It’s almost impossible to get shrimp in the States that have not been previously frozen. Deborah cooked them in a little butter and olive oil and they were absolutely delicious.

Thursday, September 8, 2022

We visited Castel dell’Ovo which literally translates as the Castle of the Egg. The story goes that the Roman poet Virgil put a magical egg into the foundations of the castle. If the egg should break the castle will be destroyed and disastrous events in Naples will occur. I guess the egg is still in one piece. Entry to the castle is free.

There are many myths about the castle. My favorite is the one about the Greek Siren Penelope or Parthenope (pronounced in Italian as part-an-O-pee). In Homer’s Odyssey as Ulysses sailed close to land three Sirens began to sing. To avoid being affected by the deadly singing his men stuffed their ears with wax and lashed him to the mast. The sirens despaired at their failure and threw themselves into the sea to die. Parthenope washed up on shore at the exact location of Castel dell’Ovo. The town that was founded there was called Parthenope, later called Neapolis (Greek for New City), and even later simply Naples.

Castel dell’Ovo was originally settled by Greeks in the 9th Century BC when the city was called Parthenope. At that time the land was part of an island called Megaride. Today the island has vanished and has become a peninsula. In Roman times it was a villa owned by a rich nobleman. It later became a Roman prison and in the 5th century AD it became a monastery. The first castle was built on the site in the 12th Century AD. It was used for many purposes by many invaders over the years. The most recent changes were made by the Spanish during their occupation in the 15th Century.

Entering the castle takes you on a long, winding, gently sloping staircase that ends at the rooftop level. There isn’t a great deal to see. Most of the rooms you can enter are just empty chambers. There are some excavations and restoration in progress so, perhaps in the future, there will be more to observe. It was fun to walk the grounds and discern the structures from different periods in history. There are great views of the Gulf of Naples, the city, and of Mount Vesuvius. The isle of Capri is in plain sight and Sorrento can be seen in the distance. It’s really a lovely way to spend a morning.

For lunch we went to another restaurant that was recommended by our host’s father. This one is just a short walk from our apartment. When we got there it looked like a takeout stand with a couple of rickety tables in front. We were about to sit down when someone from across the street hailed us. What we thought was a takeout stand was actually the restaurant’s kitchen. Seating was across the street. The entire time we were there we watched as waiters walked across the street, gave their orders, and later went back to pick them up and deliver them to the tables. It was pretty amusing.

We had intended to split a pizza fritta but the menu also had a pizza parmigiana (oddly, it was a pizza with eggplant). Given that the prices were very reasonable we decided to order them both. It was a great decision. The pizza fritta completa had provolone, ricotta, mozzarella, tomato sauce, and ciccioli. It was piping hot and delicious. The pizza parmigiana was the best pizza we’ve had since we came to town. We were quite full but couldn’t resist asking if they had desserts. The waiter mentioned two: one was fried pizza dough covered in Nutella. We couldn’t make out what the other one was as the exchange was entirely in Italian. We’ll figure it out the next time we go there.

Click here to see the full post on the web with pictures.

Saturday, September 3, 2022

The Royal Palace of Naples was founded in 1600 by the Viceroy, Fernando di Castro, Count of Lemos as a palace for the King of Spain. It was subsequently used by French rulers during the Bourbon and Napoleonic periods. When Italy was unified it reverted to the Savoais family who ruled at that time. Victor Emanuele III, Prince of Naples, and future king of Italy, was born in this palace. The family lived there until 1946. Today the building houses the National Library and is a museum. Cost of entry is €10.00. Credit cards are accepted.

There is a large open courtyard in the middle of the palace. It is open to the public with free access. We walked around it the other day. Other than a very pretty fountain, there is little there to see. We entered the palace through a very grand double staircase. The entryway is huge and takes up one whole side of the four sided palace. It is made entirely of marble and richly carved and decorated.

Upstairs we were lead through a series of rooms where the royal family lived and worked. We passed through several antechambers, each one more richly decorated that the previous one, and entered the throne room. The walls were adorned with portraits of members of the Savoais family. Along the top of the room were silhouettes of 14 women clad in gold who depicted the 14 provinces of Italy that existed at that time.

Several rooms later, in the Hall of the Great Captain, we found a familiar painting. It was The Tax Collectors by Marinus Van Roymerwaele from 1465. We had seen this painting before in Warsaw. I compared the two versions and found that the details varied in very subtle ways. Throughout the ages artists have frequently made multiple versions of their works. It was a very amusing find.

When we finished with the royal apartments we entered into a series of rooms that had depictions of the book Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. Starting in 1757 a series of paintings and tapestries were produced on that subject. It seems that both the Spanish and French rulers were very fond of this book. In total 46 tapestries of scenes from the novel were produced. In some cases, where the museum held a painting and a tapestry depicting the same scene, they were hung next to one another. They also had on display several early copies of the book with elaborate illustrations and a handwritten score by Giovanni Paisiello from his opera of the same name. It was a very nice exhibition.

Next we saw the Royal Chapel. It looked very grand but because it was being restored we were not allowed in. The sign said that it had also been used as a music school. Past directors included Scarlatti and Pergolesi.

On our way back to our apartment we stopped for some gelato. Deborah had lemon/lime and banana. I had the Nutella and amarena. They were not disappointing. We had dinner at home. Here’s an example of a typical meal for us these days: fresh bread, good olive oil, fresh ricotta, several kinds of cheese, prosciutto di parma, pesto alla Genovese, sale di mare (sea salt) and pepe nero (black pepper). It doesn’t get any better than that.

Sunday, September 4, 2022

Happy Birthday Deborah! I’m sure I’m not allowed to tell how old she is but take my word for it she looks half that.

In many European countries the museums are free on the first Sunday of the month (or some such similar nonsense). It’s that way all over Italy. We used our good fortune to visit the Naples National Archaeological Museum where tickets normally cost €15.00. The museum has a number of collections including the Farnese Collection (mostly marble statues), Bronzes from the Villa of the Papyri, Mosaics from Pompei, a collection of Egyptian artifacts, and a so-called secret room.

We started off with the Farnese collection. The short version of the story is this: when Alessandro Farnese became Pope Paul III he stole just about every interesting ancient Roman artifact he could get his hands on. These included a number of larger than lifelike statues from the then recently excavated Baths of Caracalla. We’ve been to those baths. They were built on a grand scale. Those statues would have fit right in. There was also a huge collection of busts. Many emperors and well known people from history are represented. The Farnese collection is also supposed to contain jewelry. We didn’t see any. In our experience many parts of the museum that are normally open are closed on free days.

The second floor started with displays from the Bronze Age in Sardinia. There were some interesting pieces. The adjoining rooms had artifacts from Pompei, Herculaneum, and other cities destroyed by Vesuvius in 79 AD, that included bronzes, marble sculptures, and frescos. Another room had a display Greek statuary.

Walking down to the first floor we found a huge display of mosaics taken mostly from Pompei. There was also a sign to a numismatic section but that portion of the museum was closed. The basement level is where the Egyptian collection is housed. It too was closed.

This was another museum without any air conditioning or climate control whatsoever. The air inside was hot a stuffy. We may consider going back to see some of what we missed but we will certainly wait for a cooler day to do so.

Monday, September 5, 2022

Today’s main activity was our tour of Castel Nuovo. Literally translated the name means new castle. It was named so because there were already two castles in the area and this was the newest (but it wasn’t the last one). This castle is located along the waters edge and has a long history. About 2,500 years ago it was the site of a Greek home. Afterwards the Romans constructed a bath there. After the fall of Rome the site was used as a graveyard. The first castle on the site was built in 1259. The present day structure dates primarily from 1443 when Alfonso V of Aragon conquered Naples, rebuilt and expanded the castle, and established his court there.

Touring the castle requires reservations be made in advance. When we got there we were advised that there were two options: the basic tour and the all inclusive tour which included the art gallery, the underground areas, and a visit to the topmost level. The basic tour cost of €6.00 per person was paid at the ticket office. Credit cards were required. The all inclusive tour cost an additional €10.00 per person and it was paid at a completely different office where only cash was accepted. That’s pretty weird even by Italian standards.

The castle is made primarily from dark stone but the entryway pops out at you because it was constructed of white marble. It was built to resemble the Triumphal Arches that Roman Emperors built in the Forum to commemorate their great victories. Alfonso marked his hard won victory for Naples over The House of Anjou with an ancient idea.

Given that the tour started at 10:00 am we were there about 20 minutes early. When the tour was scheduled to start we queued up for the ticket office to pay our entrance fees. Then we were told we should be back in the courtyard at 10:20 am when the tour actually started and in the meantime we could see the art gallery.

Alfonso V of Aragon was an avid art collector. He brought a number of artists to Naples and commissioned them to create works for his court. The gallery has about 30 paintings, a number of sculptures, and several reliquaries that date from that period. Many of the works were very nice but dark and faded and in need of restoration. The original giant-sized bronze doors that were built for the castle are also in the gallery. They are made of thick bronze and engraved with scenes of the victory over The House of Anjou. They were very impressive. We were back in the courtyard at 10:20 am and waited another ten minutes for the tour to start.

Our guide was a very enthusiastic woman who liked to tell stories, which is great, because we love to hear stories. She told us how Alfonso V of Aragon liked to think of himself as a superior person because he was educated. Apparently he had little regard for lesser humans. To illustrate his intellect the castle is replete with symbolism. She also told a story of how Alfonso thought of himself as Sir Galahad from the tales of King Arthur and how he’d found the Holy Grail (there were many “authentic” Grails in Europe at that time). In order to pay for the construction of the castle he sold the Grail to a religious order in Valencia, Spain.

Our guide took us up 33 stairs to see, what was then, the Throne Room. The number 33 corresponds to the number of bones in the human vertebrae. This symbolized the idea that at the bottom of the stairs you were just a mere man but at the top you have been elevated to another level. In addition to other symbolism there was a window that was aligned with the summer Solstice that would project the image of a book on the back wall once a year. The room is now used as a council chamber for civic functions.

Next to the Throne room there was an ornate chapel. We were only able to see it through the glass as it was undergoing restoration. Next we walked down to the lower levels. There we could see the remains of the Roman baths that once occupied this space. Further down a narrow set of stairs we came to the dungeon where two pits were evident. Prisoners were thrown into these pits and were usually left to stave to death. Legend has it that at one time a crocodile got in through the water lines and ate several prisoners. Finally we ascended MANY stairs to get to the roof level. This was the highest point in the castle where there was a 360 degree view of Naples and the harbor.

Walking around the castle gave us a good appetite so we visited a nearby cafe. Our lunch consist consisted of a pizza Margherita, insalata caprese (tomato, mozzarella, and basil), and two very refreshing bibita lemoni (lemon sodas).

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Wednesday, August 31, 2022

We started out by walking to Piazza del Plebiscito. There we found the Basilica Reale Pontificia San Francesco da Paola. Construction of the church began in the early 1800s but was interrupted and wasn’t completed until 1846. It was a turbulent time in Naples as the city went from French Napoleonic rule back to the control of the French Bourbon Kings. The final building, both inside and out, closely resembles the Pantheon in Rome with the very obvious distinction that there is no oculus. The roof is completely closed and is topped with a cross. It was the first church in Naples to have a reverse altar.

Across the square is the Royal Palace of Naples. It was used by the House of Bourbon during the time they controlled the city. Today it is a museum and houses the National Library. Outside there are a number of larger than life statues depicting the kings of Naples.

We continued towards the harbor with the intent of touring the Castel Nuovo. Naples is known as the city of seven castles. Six of the seven are still standing and can be visited. This one sits right on the waterfront in the harbor. When we got there we were told that we’d need to make a reservation in advance. We decided to change tacks and proceeded up Via Toledo, one of the main shopping districts in Town.

We did some window shopping and finally decided to stop into a cafe for a late lunch. Deborah tried to purchase some fritters but was told that they come free when you order a drink. We ordered a couple of lemon sodas and a Neapolitan sandwich with cheese and ham. It was very pleasant sitting on the sidewalk under a large umbrella and the lemon sodas were very refreshing. The cafe had some amazing looking pastries but we decided to come back another day with better appetites.

Finally, we went back to our apartment and spent the rest of the day making reservations for various actives in the city. We plan to be very busy.

By this evening our host had completed all of the things that needed to be fixed. We now have air conditioning in the kitchen/living room, the water pressure/temperature in the shower was fixed, and the Internet was working – and even upgraded. It turns out that the washing machine worked just fine all along. We suggested that it took him four days to fix everything. He said it was three days because no work gets done on Sunday. That’s a very Italian attitude.

Thursday, September 1, 2022

We’ve been retired for five years now. Sometimes it feels like we’ve been very active and sometimes we realize that for two of those years we were just killing time in Vegas because of COVID. Who knows what the next five years will bring.

We slept rather late and so got a late start. It had rained the night before and the forecast was for significant rain throughout the day so we decided to spend our time indoors in a museum. We went to the Capodimonte National Gallery and Museum.

We tried taking showers this morning but had a problem: the line bringing water into the shower head broke. Living without a working shower would be hellish in this heat. We know that things occasionally need maintenance but after dealing with all of the other issues this was rather maddening. I tried to impress upon our host that this needed to be taken care of today without delay.

Capodimonte, which literally translates to top of the mountain, was the summer palace and gardens of King Charles III of Naples. In 1743 he established a porcelain factory there as well. He moved the factory in its entirety to Spain in 1759, the same year he inherited the throne of Spain from his brother. Today the site houses a museum of fine art. Entry costs €12.00 per person. Credit cards are accepted.

The museum floor plan indicates that it is spread over four floors. In reality there is nothing of interest on the ground floor and the fourth floor is very small. We took a long flight of stairs up to the first floor (this is Europe, floors are numbered from zero, so the first floor is what we Americans would call the second floor). There was no air conditioning whatsoever and there was very little air flow. We’ve never seen a museum that was not temperature controlled. Very strange.

The museum doesn’t seem to follow any particular layout or order except that pieces from similar time frames were grouped together. The first few rooms had a number of paintings by Titian and a few by Caravaggio. Next we were in several large rooms called the Armory. These were weapons that had been collected by various local and foreign rulers over the centuries. They had a large display of “Orientale” (Turkish) blades and a huge display of fine Medieval Italian armor.

After a trip through late Medieval / early Renaissance paintings we were finally treated to a display of 18th Century Capodimonte porcelain. Many of the pieces were white bisque but quite a few were in the more traditional Chinese / Meissen style. As a matter of fact there were two large cases full of Meissen pieces that were given to a Queen of Naples as part of her dowry.

We found some large apartments that were used by Napoleon during the time his empire included Naples. They were rather ornate with furniture and decor that reflected his obsession with everything Egyptian.

The third floor, which was air conditioned, had more traditional Renaissance paintings by artists like Carracci and Reni and there was even a painting by El Greco. The fourth floor was devoted to modern works. There was very little that interested us up there.

As is so often the case in museums the lighting was really poor in most galleries. It’s true that the palaces that typically house these museums were built long ago but even back then the nobles commissioned art to be displayed in their homes. You’d think that some attention would be given to lighting given that we’re talking about a visual art.

For lunch we tried to go to a restaurant that our host’s father had suggested. We walked in around 4:30 pm and found out that they were closed. Apparently their hours are noon until 4:00 pm and then 7:00 pm until midnight. Instead we found a trattoria on Via Toledo. We decided it was time we started eating some of the other local fare: seafood. We ordered a plate of calamari (squid) and gamberi (shrimp) and a plate of spaghetti con fruitti di mare (fruits of the sea) which had vongole (clams), cozze (mussels), gamberi (shrimp), and calamari (squid). The seafood was so fresh and delicious and we enjoyed it immensely. For dessert we found a popular gelateria down the street. Deborah had two scoops of fondente (dark chocolate) and I had a scoop of latte di cioccolato (milk chocolate), and a scoop of variegate amareno (cherry with cream). Damn they were good.

By the time we got back to the apartment the shower was fixed. We’re hoping that’s an end to all of the issues we encounter.

Friday, September 2, 2022

We got a late start and went out for lunch at restaurant that several people had recommended: Dal Soldino. It was just a five minute walk – downhill – from our apartment. I ordered the spaghetti con vongole (clams) and Deborah ordered the classic pizza Margharita (I will probably turn into a clam before we’re done with Naples). The food was very good.

After lunch we went on a tour of the Naples Underground. We’d read several descriptions of what was there but still didn’t really know what to expect. Our tour took us several long flights of stairs under the city to a depth of about 40 meters (120 feet) to a large cavern. The atmosphere down there was cool with a high humidity. It was very pleasant after walking about 30 minutes to get there on the streets above.

The first room we entered was a large vault with ceilings over 40 feet high. Our guide told us that this was a well that had been built by the Greeks over 2,500 years ago. Water collected in these underground chambers from springs in the mountains. A single shaft had been drilled into the street to reach the water and buildings had been built all around the well head thus forming the first piazzas or plazas in the city. Eventually so many of these cisterns and well heads were built that they decided to connect them all together forming a very sophisticated underground aqueduct. These wells were the primary water source for the city until the cholera epidemic of 1884.

Naples was heavily bombed during World War II. First by the allies and then, after Italy changed sides, by the Germans. Many thousands of people hid in the underground as a way of protecting themselves from the bombings. Our guide showed us three bombs that managed to find a well head and dropped all the way into the underground. Miraculously they became entangled, didn’t land on their detonators, and didn’t explode.

Thousands of years ago the Greeks learned that the easiest way to increase the rate of the water’s flow was to have it travel through narrow corridors so they built a sequence of narrow connecting tunnels. Our guide led us to a series of these tunnels and invited us to walk through them. We were warned that they were dark and very narrow in places and that we’d have to use the flashlights on our phones to guide our way. The tunnels were rather long and quite narrow. For the most part we had to walk sideways to get through and, in some place, we scraped along the edges. I wouldn’t recommend this part of the trip for anyone with claustrophobia. We came out into a large cistern that was a private well for a well to do Greek family. Then we went back in and circled back to where we started to pick up the rest of the party that hadn’t ventured in.

We saw another part of the underground that had been converted into a cellar that was used by Nuns to age their wine and store the products that they would sell to the public. Finally we climbed the stairs back to street level where our guide took us to to see the remains of a Greek theater that had been updated and expanded by the Romans. Today houses stand on what was once the foundations of those theaters. We went into a basement and saw some of the old passageways and found layers of construction relating to the Roman, Medieval, Renaissance, and modern periods. It was something to see.

Nearby we stumbled upon a large church which we just had to explore. In fact it was three churches in one. The main church, named simply the Church of Naples, was a large early Renaissance style Cathedral. On the side, where you’d expect a private chapel, we found another whole church: The Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta, a Medieval style church. On the other side was another whole church dedicated to Saint Gennaro, which included a treasury that you could tour for a fee. This one was in the high Baroque style. In the front, near the altar of the main church, was a small underground where you could view the crypt where Saint Gennaro was buried. It was quite a complex.

On the way home we stopped at a cafe and picked up some Italian pastries to try with our dinner. They put them onto plastic dishes, covered them in plastic wrap, wrapped them in fancy paper and then tied the entire package up with ribbon. I don’t wrap Christmas presents that well. It was just too beautiful to eat!

We got a cannoli, a biscotti amareno, and something chocolate with Nutella. The biscotti amareno was filled with a cherry infused chocolate paste and glazed with sugar and the chocolate thing turned out to be a chocolate cake with Nutella filling which was enrobed in chocolate and finished with chocolate shavings.