The charms of Naples, Italy

 

Majolica bench, Santa Chiara cloister

Naples is a wonderful Baroque surprise.  Before starting our drive around southern Italy, we flew into Naples to spend a couple of days.  We're so glad we did.  This is a city with layers of history, Greek, Roman, Norman, Spanish Empire, French, and now its own creation.

Medieval arch and graffiti

Once the capital of a kingdom that encompassed southern Italy and Sicily, Naples went into decline after the unification of Italy in 1861 as industry and jobs moved north and the entire southern part of Italy became the poor half of the new nation.  The Mafia took advantage of the ensuing despair to build its large criminal empire.

outdoor market

Tourism is beginning to revive Naples, with many B & B’s, restaurants and merchants now filling the historic center of the city.  It is a popular stop for cruise ships, particularly since it is near the island of Capri and the ancient Roman ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum.  Mt. Vesuvius, whose huge eruption buried Pompeii under a thick layer of ash in 79 AD looms in the distance.  

royal palace

The historic center of Naples is packed with tourists, university students and locals.  There is music in every piazza, graffiti on every wall and lots of trash in the streets, but the liveliness and the history block out the cigarette butts and confetti (left over from Carnival), while the graffiti becomes street art as it blends with the Renaissance arched doorways leading into the innumerable palaces.

Graffiti on palace wall

Many of the beautiful Baroque buildings are crumbling, but others have been restored fully or in part into homes, B and B’s and museums.  There are hundreds of churches in the small historic center of Naples, many now empty because church attendance is low, some now home to small shops and cafes.  The entire area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The very narrow streets of the historic center open onto numerous piazzas, all with at least one church.  Because most of the alleyways don’t have sidewalks, pedestrians and motor scooters share the cobbled streets.  Drivers in tiny cars and trucks try to negotiate the crowds, hoping to avoid getting stuck as a street becomes nearly impassably narrow.  Any extra space is quickly filled with a café’s small tables and chairs, which, in turn, fill up with people.

Santa Chiara cloister arcade

A highlight is the Santa Chiara cloister, built in the 18^th century as a peaceful place for the nuns to walk outside, secluded from the busy life of the surrounding city.  Pillars, walls and benches are covered with colorful Majolica tiles depicting scenes of ordinary activities. 

Cloister nativity scene

Inside the cloister is a large Nativity scene, filled not with Mary, Joseph and Jesus, who have only a small presence in it, but with figures and scenes of daily life.  Our guide told us that Nativity scenes are very important to families at Christmas and are filled with their favorite daily activities.  She took us to a street that sells figurines and dioramas for Nativity scenes, ranging from political and sports figures to butcher shops and farms.  Before Christmas, families go together to select which items they want to adorn their holiday Nativity scene in their homes.

Fish market diorama for home nativity scene

Girls sometimes entered convents in order to receive an education which was difficult for most of them to get outside.  Others were sent to convents because that was a cheaper alternative to providing a marriage dowry for them.  

The Spanish Quarter is slowly responding to the opportunities tourism brings.  In the lower streets of the Quarter, restaurants, tourist shops, and bars abound.  There are 2 people adored by Neapolitans, whose images are all over walls and signs, the soccer star, Maradona, and the movie star, Sophia Loren.

the last supper with Sophia Loren

The Piazza Plebiscito is the main piazza of Naples and is home to the Royal Palace.  Along with the neighboring port, the Spanish Quarter and the Centro Historico, this is the heart of Naples, a great place to stay and to wander.   

Piazza Plebiscito