Naples, Campania, Italy, Thursday, October 11, 2012

Naples Police Officer

I thought I would put a quick disclaimer here. I mention in this entry, a secret room in a museum that had ancient X-rated stuff. I included a few photos as I found them a little humorous, but also thought they showed how much we humans have not evolved in 2000 years. So look at this entries pictures at your own risk or don’t look at all. – Charlie. Now the Entry.

Visit Naples or Not to visit Naples. Many guidebooks talk about the crime in Naples and it makes you pause on whether or not to visit. Here is an excerpt from Rick Steves. ” err on the side of caution. Assume able,bodied beggars are thieves. Stick to busy streets and beware of gangs of hoodlums. Past local governments have set an example the mafia would be proud of. Any jostle or commotion is probably a thief team smoke screen. Thieves on scooters have been known to snatch bags as they swoop by. If you are changing trains, you’ll be stepping into a crowded Naples subway filled with thieves hunting disoriented tourists with luggage.”
Sounds incredibly inviting, doesn’t it? We came through Naples train station on the way to Sorrento and took the circumvesuviana subway/local train. It didn’t seem any worse or better than any other city/local trains we have been on. Therefore, we decide to check Naples out for ourselves.
We catch the 0852 train again for the hour and ten minute ride to the city. When we get off, there is an information booth right there and I ask for a Citta mappa (city map). The man smiles, gives us the map, and then proceeds to show us different areas, sights, buses we can take, and where we have to walk. It is a very nice start to our visit. As we are exiting the station, there is a cop in a golf cart. At my brothers request, I have been taking pictures of cop cars and vehicles everywhere I go. When there is an officer nearby, I usually ask if it is okay as I do not wish to be in an Italian prison. This officer is talking on the phone to his mother, cousin, brother, who knows, but I ask politely in Italian, saying my brother is a police officer in New York, can I take a photograph. He stops talking says si, and then proceeds to put on his hat and grabs his radio, looking all business like, for the picture. I really liked the effort, take the shot and tell him thanks and have a great day. So far, so good in Naples.
We cross the street and find our way to the main drag we have to follow. Our goal is to see a few churches first as they close at 1300 and then visit the Archeological museum where they have many items from Pompei.

Naples Duomo

We turn off the main street and do not see the street we are looking for, so I look at the map and pick another route to follow which takes us up a small side street. We have to dodge the occasional car and motorcycle but we are now seasoned veterans in that regard. We walk on looking for Via Duomo. We pass a street I think might be it but there are no signs. While trying to figure it out, we see a dome and the back of a church where we are. We decide to go and see if we can find the entrance, visit it, and figure out where we are from there. We walk up a few blocks and turn right towards the church. The street also happens to be the one we were looking for to turn left on.

Chapel in Church of San Gennaro

The church turns out to be the Duomo of Naples and San Gennaro. I know San Gennaro only by the fact that every year when i was growing up in Mew York, there was a festival of San Gennaro. Now I am here and will find out about the saint. San Gennaro was the Bishop,of Benevento and one of the earliest Christian martyrs, executed in 305 by Emporer Diocletian.
The church contains a silver ampule of San Gennaro’s blood which miraculously liquefies very year on September 19th. There are also beautiful frescos, and the Capella di Santa Restituta which is actually the oldest Church in Naples, dating from the 4th century and built by order of the first Christian Emporer, Constantine.

Great Street Food

   Leaving the church and now knowing where we are, our walk continues. There is a small place selling pizza and items from a counter right on the street so we check it out. 1 Euro is all I need to see, so we order a fried pizza folded over and filled with ricotta and a large potato croquet which increases our bill to 1.50. Then we stand near an alley and eat them. Molto Bene and oh so filling.
We pass a small shrine to Diego Maradona. The shrine is not for his sainthood, but rather for his talents in the game of soccer. He was a big star for the city in the 1980s and the shrine includes some of his hair and other objects. The streets here are very busy and full of life.

St. Moscati Statue

Next we stop into the Church of Santa Chiara. The church is gothic and not very ornate. We read that most of the frescoes were destroyed when the church was bombed in WWII. In stark contrast, we visit the Church of Gesu Nuovo, which is baroque. A bomb casing hangs from one wall. The bomb hit the church, went through the dome, but did not explode. There is a statue and chapel inside of Giuseppe Moscati (1880-1927), a local doctor who was famous for helping the poor. In 1987, he became the first modern doctor to be canonized. In the short time we are there, we observe several Italians come by, say a short prayer and touch or kiss the statue. We pay our respects in his chapel.
The outside of this church is not typical as it was converted from an old fortress like palace of the Sanseverino princes of the 1400s. The dome has been rebuilt twice due to earthquakes. We backtrack our steps to visit a pastry shop known for its Sfogliatella. It is cream filled, flaky, and definitely tasty.

Glassware From Pompei

We walk the vibrant streets towards the Archelogical museum. This museum contains most of the items found in Pompei as well as the Farnese collection. Like myself, another great Charles, King of Naples and Sicily, inherited this collection. His son, ignored previous dictates that stated the collection was to remain in Rome and had the best and most valuable statues moved here and put on display in 1801. Political wrangling by the governor of Naples managed to avoid these being taken by Napoleanic forces. This was also the time when most of the antiquities from Pompei and Herculaneum were moved here as well. The next king in line, added the secret room which increased the popularity of the royal museum. During WWII the collection was moved several times for protection from bombs, ending up at the Vatican. They were eventually returned here after the war.

Toro Farnese

We start with this collection, viewing the phenomenal marble statues. The Toro Farnese is one of the best and depicts Dirce being tied to a bull. It is 13 feet tall, making it the tallest ancient marble group ever found. It was carved out of one slab of marble and tells the end of a story. King Lycus left his pregnant wife when he was bewitched by Dirce. His wife bore and raised twins and when they grew up, they killed their dad, and tied Dirce to the horns of a bull so she could be bashed against a mountain. The wife, Antiope is shown in the background observing the ancient justice. It is a stunning piece of work.

 

Yeah It’s a Burden to Carry Around

        We go to visit the secret room mentioned above. This room contains X – rated displays recovered from Pompei. There are erotic frescos, statues, well hung pottery, and an assortment of erotic wind chimes, candle holders, and other items from the day. When moved here, these could only be viewed with written permission from the king. There are also stone penis’s which used to hang above doorways. Not necessarily meant to be pornographic, these symbolized fertility, happiness, good luck, and riches. How they know this, I don’t know, maybe it was just a mine is bigger than yours thing!

Pompei Mosaics

The rest of the museum contains original mosaics from Pompei (some of which were damaged in transport), frescos, everyday items such as glassware, plates, cups, decorative things, and a two large dioramas of the site. One is from 1879 and one from 2007, so you can see how much more has been excavated. The arena we visited was still covered in 1879. There is also a large part of the city still needing to be excavated. The museum provides a good glimpse into life two thousand years ago, but I find it sad that they moved it here instead of leaving it at Pompei or in a museum there. I think it would have greater meaning and enhance the visit there even more if it was located on site.
We make the walk back to the train station, where we buy our tickets for Rome on Saturday, and still manage to make the 1641 train back to Sorrento. We get back at 1800 and while Carol is showering, I go on trip advisor to look for possible places to eat. To be honest, the food in Sorrento while good, has just been average. We have tried a few of the top rated places here but are not overly impressed.

Spaghetti and Mussels

We go out and check two places near our BNB and are not crazy with the atmosphere or menus we see. We wanted to stay close after our long day but I mention a place I had read about which is on the Marina Grande about a 15 minute walk from here. I figure if we are going to have average food, we might as well sit by the water with a nice view. We make the walk and look at the menu of Trattoria Di Emilia. Surprisingly, the prices are very reasonable and we get a table for two with the water lapping the shore right near our feet. It is a beautiful night. Time to go out of our food comfort zone, we decide to get an antipasto Di mare ( of the sea), along with our dinners of Spaghetti and mussels, and fried calamari. A liter of red wine will wash it all down nicely.

Antipasto Di Mare

The antipasto comes and has fresh tuna, salmon, mussels, clams, anchovies, and a mixed seafood pile of calamari, large squid, and assorted shellfish. A nice slice of the famous Sorrento lemon to sprinkle it with accompanies the platter. We cannot believe how good everything tastes. The anchovies look and taste nothing like we would get on a pizza in the U.S. the rest of the meal is very good also and we decide might as well reserve for tomorrow. He says no reservations as they are calling for rain and he has very few tables inside.
Instead of just bringing the bill, they come to the table and ask what did you have, write it, and then give you the price. When the owner comes and asks, I jokingly say, solo acqua (only water) which makes him laugh.

Where We Ate Lower Left

I forgot to mention that while we were eating, a small fishing boat pulled into the harbor. Unloading it’s catch onto a van for tomorrows fish market, we also notice people stopping by the boat. One walks right by us holding about a 10 pound fish by the tail for tonight’s meal. We see several other locals with fish in bags walking home. It is cool to see the way the people shop every night for their dinner.
We take a leisurely walk back home stopping at a little viewpoint where we can listen to piano music being played in a fancy hotel next door enhancing our relaxed mood.
We return back to the BNB having thoroughly enjoyed Naples and our meal tonight. We never once felt unsafe or threatened. Maybe it would be different at night in certain areas, but so would most big cities. I see no reason for someone to avoid this vibrant city.
CNC
“Scusa Mi, but you see, back in old Napoli, that’s Amore”- Dean Martin

Expenses
8E- train tickets to Naples
1.50E – fried pizza, potato croquette
1.70E – Sfogliatella from G Scaturchio
7.75E- Buffalo Mozzarella, gelato from supermarket
40E- antipasto Di mare, mussels and spaghetti, calamari, wine, 1.50E coperto at Trattoria da Emilia
65E- Casa Dominova

Miles Walked – 9.5 Miles

I thought I would put a quick disclaimer here. I mention in this entry a secret room in a museum that had ancient X-rated stuff. I included a few photos as I found them a little humorous, but also thought they showed how much we humans have not evolved in 2000 years. So look at this entries pictures at your own risk or don’t look at all. – Charlie