Perhaps the most notorious exhibit at this
museum is known as the Gabinetto
Segreto, or “Secret Cabinet.” Until 2000,
this part of the museum was strictly off-limits to the general public,
and one needed to obtain special permission to view it. This is
because it houses what is probably the most extensive collection
of ancient pornographic sculpture and paintings in Europe, or even
the world. Among its over 250 pieces, most of which were taken from
the ruins of Pompeii, are numerous paintings depicting various sexual
acts, once believed to grace the walls of the town’s many
brothels and baths. Some archaeologists believe that these paintings
were intended to advertise to potential customers the different
specialties of the prostitutes working there, while others think
their purpose was only decorative. Whatever the case, they certainly
leave little to the imagination. There are also many small statues
of men with outsized phalluses, believed to serve as good luck or
fertility charms in the ancient world. One of the most remarkable
of them is a depiction of the satyr Pan, engaged in a highly unnatural
act with a nanny goat.
The secret cabinet is certainly not for the
prudish or faint-hearted, and families visiting with small children
should probably avoid it. But for those interested in the social
life of the ancient Romans, it offers a unique glimpse into the
customs and practices of people in times past. The scenes depicted
there, such as the impossibly well-endowed statues, are probably
likely to arouse more laughter than lust. However, the Catholic
Church, a once-powerful force in Naples and throughout southern
Italy, insisted for years that the secret cabinet be restricted
to serious researchers only. But in 2000, the museum’s governing
body finally decided to open it to the general public, despite strong
protests from the local bishop. A year later, a series of very explicit
frescoes, discovered in the ruins of a Pompeii bathhouse in the
1950s, were put on display for the first time. One of them depicts
what is believed to be the only lesbian sex scene from the ancient
world.
The surprises of the secret cabinet certainly
added another level of experience to what we had imagined would
be a fairly serious visit to this world-renowned archaeological
museum and its many priceless treasures. But after exhausting ourselves
trying to take in the museum's many delights, we needed something
to revive us. In Naples, that kind of pick-me-up can only mean one
thing — coffee. For those who love espresso, cappuccino, and
café latte, Italy is almost a pilgrimage destination. But
anyone who really appreciates fine coffee knows that the country’s
very best is to be sampled in Naples. It is practically impossible
to be served an inferior cup in the whole city, and even the smallest,
most unprepossessing local cafés can turn out a truly outstanding
brew. Very close to our hotel was one of these neighbourhood spots,
where we frequently attracted a great deal of curious but friendly
attention on our daily visits there for a coffee and a “cornetto,”
the delicious Italian version of the French croissant. I am fairly
sure that we were among the very few tourists who took their “prima
collazione,” or breakfast, at this local café, where
the locals conversed in dialect and all seemed to know each other
very well.
One day, when I asked the man behind the
counter whether it was true that Naples produced the best cups of
coffee in Italy, he looked at me as if my question hardly even needed
an answer. And when I continued to ask why this was the case, he
explained that it was a combination of three things: materia,
macchina, and mano. By this he meant the coffee
itself, the quality of the espresso machine, and, most importantly,
the manual pressure that the operator exerted on the handles that
release the steam. In Naples, hardly any self-respecting café
owner would purchase the new kind of espresso machines one can frequently
see in the neighbourhood Starbucks, operated with buttons. The ancient
50s-era Gaggias and Faemas that are becoming rare in North American
coffeehouses continue to serve up the best Naples has to offer.
Sipping a cup of espresso or cappuccino in a small coffee bar, in
the company of Neapolitan connoisseurs is a memorable, and rich
experience, and a good break during an energetic day of sightseeing.
The historic centre of Naples, known to the
locals as “Spaccanapoli,” is situated on the site of
the earliest Greek part of the town, originally known as “Neapolis,”
or “new city” after settlers from mainland Greece colonized
it in the fifth century BC. It has been officially declared a UNESCO
World Heritage Site, and there is nothing contrived or reconstructed
about it; it is a crowded, bustling neighbourhood with its own character.
Entire families perched precariously on Vespas roar through the
narrow streets, oblivious to the shopkeepers who have set up their
stalls right next to them. There are no sidewalks to speak of, and
the street life spills out from the small stores right into the
main thoroughfares, making walking about a real adventure. Especially
in the rainy weather we encountered in Naples, it was necessary
to keep a firm footing on the slippery slabs made of dark volcanic
stone that are used to pave these narrow streets.
The nearest main street to our hotel was
the Via dei Tribunali, originally the Roman decumanus maior,
or main road. Along it are to be found many of Naples’ breathtaking
churches, dating from different historical periods. Admission to
all of them is free, which is frequently not the case northern Italy.
On Piazza Gaetano, where the Roman forum once stood, is the imposing
Chiesa di San Paolo Maggiore (Church of St. Paul the Great), a masterpiece
of Baroque architecture with an impressive double staircase at its
entrance and many important paintings by 17th-century Italian masters
inside. This church stands on the site of an ancient pagan temple,
of which two columns are still visible. It dates originally from
the ninthcentury, but was completely rebuilt in the 1500s, making
it a jewel of the Baroque style. On one side of the church is the
entrance to “Napoli Sotterranea” (Subterranean Naples),
one of the city’s most fascinating places to visit. Here it
is possible to descend literally into the underground of the city,
to discover and experience the deepest, most hidden ancient levels
of the city’s earliest settlement.
The trip underground takes the visitor through
many different periods of Naples’ colourful and dramatic history,
from ancient Greek times to the Second World War. Originally a stone
quarry, from which the Greeks extracted volcanic tufa stone blocks
to build their walls and temples, the underground tunnels and passageways
also served through the centuries as a cemetery, water cistern,
sewer, and bomb shelter. With the aid of candles, one can see ancient
graffiti scrawled on the walls, many dripping with moisture. In
Roman times, an ambitious underground aqueduct was excavated, linking
the city to fresh water sources in the hills hundreds of kilometers
away. This was to serve as Naples’ main water source until
1884, when it was closed following an outbreak of cholera. Neapolitans
had also used the underground caverns as a convenient, but seriously
unsanitary place for disposing of their garbage and sewage.
During the last years of the Second World
War, as Naples was subjected to massive aerial bombardments from
both German and Allied aircraft, many citizens took shelter underground.
It is still possible to see political graffiti, reflecting both
pro-and anti-Mussolini sentiments, written on the walls where anxious
Neapolitans once sheltered from the bombs exploding overhead. Probably
the high point of the underground tour, however, comes at the end,
when the guide took us literally into a very humble Neapolitan “basso,”
a humble home that one enters from street level, with one floor
beneath. After opening a trap door, we were taken down a dark, narrow
staircase and to our amazement found ourselves standing inside a
Graeco-Roman theatre.
It seems that the owner of the house came
across this remarkable archaeological find quite by accident, while
digging out a basement-level wine storage area. For years he kept
his discovery a secret, knowing that if the government found out,
he and his family would be forced to move from the premises. Upon
realizing that he had a potential tourist gold mine literally underneath
his home, he offered private tours to interested visitors and pocketed
the proceeds until finally local authorities learned of the theatre’s
existence.
Now it is possible to stand on a stage where
the Emperor Nero, the “Elvis” of the ancient world,
once sang and danced, imagining the reactions of the audience seated
in the semi-circular amphitheatre nearby. Apparently even an earthquake
did not stop Nero from performing, for according to an eyewitness
account from the time, “Nero made his theatrical debut in
Naples and while he sang the ground began to shake. Nero continued
to sing during the earthquake and, at the end of the show, thanked
both the audience and the gods for their applause.”
Subterranean Naples is one of the city’s
unique sites, and should definitely not be missed. As part of its
promotion, it quotes an enthusiastic endorsement from a recent visitor
to Naples whose presence can still be felt in many parts of the
city — U.S. President Bill Clinton. Clinton was in Naples
in 1994 for a meeting of the G7 world leaders. That summit came
just as Naples was finally beginning to turn a page following decades
of rampant crime, urban decay, economic distress, and governmental
corruption and neglect. One year before the summit, a reforming
mayor, Antonio Bassolino, had been swept into office on a platform
that called for a crackdown on organized crime and massive new investments
in urban infrastructure and renewal. Bassolino’s enlightened
municipal administration is widely credited with restoring Naples’
image as a city of art and culture, and a potentially interesting
place for tourists to visit, as well as making it far more livable
for the Neapolitans themselves.
During his two terms in office, Bassolino
made the city a safer, cleaner, and far more pleasant place for
both residents and visitors. He turned the massive Piazza del Plebiscito,
once a Camorra-run used car lot, into a magnificent pedestrian space
fronting the Palazzo Reale and the Teatro San Carlo. The city’s
ailing public transit system was revitalized, an ambitious summer
arts and music festival was inaugurated, and the city’s spectacular
churches, many of which were crumbling after years of neglect, were
lovingly restored to their former glory. Hosting the G7 summit was
a feather in Bassolino’s cap, and did much to improve the
image of his city in Italy and the world. He and Clinton discovered
that they were both political and personal soul mates, and the two
politicians toured the city’s many appealing attractions with
gusto. After completing two successful terms in office, Bassolino
was promoted to the presidency of the Campania
region of Italy, and it was left to his successor in the mayor’s
chair, Rosa Russo Jervolino, the first woman to hold the office,
to continue with his reform agenda.
Clinton especially loved the vera pizza
napoletana (authentic Neapolitan pizza) one of the city’s
major claims to culinary fame worldwide. His personal endorsement
can be seen at more than one of the city’s many outlets for
this traditional staple of Neapolitan cuisine. The locals proudly
claim that their version of pizza is not only the original one,
but that it is also clearly the best. It’s made in wood-burning
ovens known as pizzaiole, and served with a thick crust,
unlike the thin-crust variety found in northern Italy. Those used
to the extensive variety of toppings common in North America might
be surprised to find that when they order pizza in Naples the choices
are far more limited. However the chewy texture and delicious taste
more than compensate for the restricted choice. Legend has it that
the most popular form of pizza, the margherita, made with
mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce, and fresh basil, was named in honour
of Queen Margherita, who visited the city with her husband King
Umberto I in 1889.
A local pizza chef, Rafaello Esposito, anxious
to impress the royal couple with the loyalty of their new Neapolitan
subjects, designed a pizza whose colours would imitate those of
the recently adopted Italian flag — red, white, and green.
Probably the best pizza on offer in Naples can be found in small
pizzerias that display the vera pizza napoletana label
on their store windows. One of the most famous is Da
Michele, a small pizzeria not far from the Piazza Garibaldi
that has been turning out its pies since 1870s. Along with margherita,
the only other variety on offer is marinara, with seafood, tomatoes,
garlic, and oregano. By the way, true pizza connoisseurs know that
the best mozzarella to order on a pizza in Naples is mozzarella
de buffala, a cheese made from the milk of Calabrian water
buffalo. Accompanied by a cold beer or glass of wine, a Neapolitan
pizza makes a filling and delicious meal for either lunch or dinner.
One can see why Bill Clinton would have been pleased..
After devouring a Neapolitan pizza, a walk
through the historic central core of the city to some of Naples’
other magnificent attractions is definitely in order. The
Duomo, or cathedral, is an easy stroll from Da Michele,
and is definitely the most famous and important church in the city.
For inside its massive neo-Gothic façade is the 17th-century
Baroque chapel named in honour of the city’s patron saint
— San Gennaro. It was completed in 1637 to house the skull
and bones of the saint, who was martyred at nearby Pozzuoli in 305
AD by the Romans. According to tradition, his followers gathered
phials of his blood, which miraculously liquefied upon their return
to Naples. Three times a year, in May, September, and December,
anxious crowds descend on the cathedral to pray for another miracle,
that the saint’s blood will liquefy again to preserve Naples
from disaster. In 1944, shortly before the last major eruption of
nearby Mount Vesuvius, the failure of the miracle caused widespread
panic in the city. While skeptics question the veracity of this
religious custom, most Neapolitans take it very seriously, even
those who may not necessarily be religiously inclined. During the
short-lived Parthenopean
Republic of 1799, when a radical anti-religious faction
aligned with the French revolutionaries briefly held control of
the city, the miracle was successfully performed, much to the relief
of the officially non-believing Jacobin authorities who attended
the ceremony!
Just up the Via del Duomo is a small church
called the Pio Monte della Misericordia. Inside, on permanent display
above the main altar, is the single most important painting to be
seen in all of Naples. It is called Le
sette opere di Misericordia (“the Seven Acts
of Mercy”), and is one of the masterpieces of Michelangelo
Mersini, better known as Caravaggio, widely considered the greatest
Italian Baroque artist.
Caravaggio was truly the “bad boy”
of his time, living a rough and tumultuous life from 1573 to 1610.
Born in northern Italy, he spent much of his creative life in Rome,
but had to flee the city after murdering a rival in a quarrel. He
ended up in Naples, spending a year in the city, where he perfected
the chiaroscuro
style, a blending of brilliant light and shadow and
the naturalistic technique that seems to bring his subjects to life
on canvas. The Seven Acts of Mercy depicts two angels bending down
towards a group of shadowy people clad in humble Neapolitan garments.
To the right, a young woman offers her exposed breast to a wizened,
starving old man with a graybeard. Caravaggio’s other famous
painting from his sojourn in Naples, the Flagellazione,
depicting the whipping of Christ prior to His Crucifixion, can be
seen at the Palazzo Reale di Capodimone, the city’s most important
art gallery, housed in a former Bourbon palace to the north of the
city.
As one proceeds west through the old centre
of Naples towards the magnificent Piazza del Plebiscito on foot
(the only reasonably safe way to explore central Naples), there
are at least two other churches that are not to be missed. In the
Piazza del Gesu Nuovo are two stunning examples of different architectural
styles — the Chiesa del Gesu Nuovo and the Basilica de Santa
Chiara. The Gesu Nuovo is a magnificent Renaissance-era church,
consecrated in the 16th century. Santa Chiara, for its part, is
a Gothic construction, but the most famous feature it boasts are
the outdoor cloisters, with their beautifully painted tiles.
The walkways dividing the central gardens
are lined with over 70 ceramic-tiled columns connected by benches,
painted by the Basilica de Santa Chiara in the 18th century in vibrant
tones of red, blue, and yellow. The church of Santa Chiara was heavily
damaged during the bombardments that occurred during the Second
World War, but has been magnificently restored since then. It also
houses a fascinating museum of religious life in Naples from the
14th century to the present day. Some of the Bourbon rulers of Naples,
whose family held sway from 1734 to 1860, are buried in the church’s
main chapel. Standing in the centre of the Piazza is a famous guglia,
an ornately carved Baroque statue inspired by the Egyptian obelisks,
and a feature found only in Naples. It was erected by the Jesuit
order in the 18th century, and dedicated to the Madonna.
One of the principal streets of the old centre
of Naples is the Via Benedetto Croce. It is named after a great
Italian historian and lifelong Naples resident, who helped organize
the “four glorious days” of 1943. This was when the
citizens of Naples rose up against their Nazi occupiers, and helped
drive them out of the city before the advancing Allied forces arrived
to finally liberate it towards the end of the Second World War.
At the end of it, is the Via Toledo, the city’s premier shopping
and commercial street. Walking south, towards the harbour along
this impressive thoroughfare one is transported from the crowded,
chaotic life of the old city centre to a more spacious, orderly,
and well-designed part of the town. The Piazza del Plebiscito is
the largest square in Naples, and within easy reach of it are four
important places to see: the Palazzo Reale, the Teatro San Carlo,
the Galleria Umberto I, and the Castel Nuovo.
But before exploring these fascinating places
it might be advisable to stop for another café and a delicious
pastry, the Neapolitan delicacy known as the sfogliattella.
This is the most famous of the many dolci (sweets) that
the city produces. Filled with sweet ricotta cheese and candied
fruit, and dusted with cinnamon powder, the sfogliatella
is best eaten hot from the oven. And in the opinion of most Neapolitans,
the very best place to eat sfogliatelle is in a small bakery
at the northern end of the Piazza del Plebiscito. There, a sign
outside proudly proclaims, the sfogliatelle are perfumati per
il professore (perfumed by the professor). With such an elegant
recommendation, it is almost impossible to resist, and stopping
at one of these toothsome delicacies requires an immense effort
of will.
The Palazzo Reale is just one of the many
royal palaces that can be visited in Naples and the surrounding
area. Originally built in 1600, when Naples was still under Spanish
rule, it was not completed until 1841. In 1888, statues of eight
of Naples’ most important kings were placed on the exterior
façade. The palace today houses one of the most important
museums in the city, including a rotating reading desk designed
for Queen Maria Carolina, the sister of Marie Antoinette and wife
of King Ferdinand IV, and a huge 18th-century nativity scene, known
as a presepa. Another impressive room was once the private
office of Joachim Murat, an officer in Napoleon’s army who
served as king of Naples during the French occupation from 1806
to 1815. The day we visited, the entrance fee was waived, since
it was a United Nations Culture Appreciation Day. This applied to
a number of other art galleries and museums throughout the city.
However, it proved difficult to take full advantage of that offer,
since there was a heavier than usual police presence throughout
the city, with many roadblocks and traffic diversions. For once,
though, this had nothing to do with local organized criminal activity
in Naples. Instead, we later discovered, it was a cautionary response
to a proclamation of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden condemning
the Italian government for its support of the U.S.-led war in Iraq.
Not far from the Palazzo Reale is the Teatro
San Carlo, one of the most famous theatres and opera houses in Europe.
It is actually located on the nearby Piazza Trieste e Trento, and
predates Milan’s renowned La Scala opera house by over four
decades. It was opened in 1737 by King Charles VII, severely damaged
by fire in 1816, and rebuilt a few years later by the famous architect
Antonio Niccolini. The rich interior glows with red and gold, and
the boxes are located on six levels, stretching from the orchestra
to the highest balcony seats. A number of major operas and theatrical
performances take place here throughout the year, and obtaining
a ticket to an event at the San Carlo can be difficult, but certainly
worth the effort. The acoustics inside are considered to be perfect.
Even if one is not able to take in an actual performance, the guided
tours are worth joining.
Directly opposite the Teatro San Carlo is
the imposing steel and glass structure known as the Galleria Umberto
I, named in honour of the first king of united Italy. A similar
arcade, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, named after his son,
stands in Milan. It is worth a short visit to view its impressive
floor, entirely made of marble, and its vaulting steel arches. Despite
its name, the Castel Nuovo (New Castle) dates from the 13th century,
and is one of the most important in the city. Locals refer to it
as the Maschio Angioino, or Angevin Keep, in recognition
of the fact that it was built by Charles I of Anjou, a French ruler
who ruled Naples and much of southern Italy during the 13th century.
It is called the New Castle to distinguish it from the two other
major castles in Naples, the Castel dell’Ovo (Egg Castle)
and the Castel Capuano, or Capuan Castle, both of which were constructed
earlier by the Normans.
The Castel Nuovo was once home not only to
the Angevin rulers of Naples, but also to leading artists and intellectuals,
such as the painter Giotto, and the writers Boccaccio and Petrarch.
It is now the home of the Museo Civico (Civic Museum), containing
a number of major frescoes and sculptures dating from Renaissance
times. To reach it, one passes through the magnificent Sala dei
Baroni, or Hall of the Barons, where meetings of the Naples city
council are now held. This hall is named after the barons who were
murdered there in 1486 after a failed plot against the then-ruler
of Naples, King Ferdinand of Aragon, husband of Queen Isabella and
patron of Christopher Columbus. During the summer, the beautiful
castle courtyard is opened for outdoor concerts, some of which are
performed by companies from the Teatro San Carlo.
Closer to the harbour, or Borgo Marinaro,
a popular area full of bars and restaurants, is the Castel dell’Ovo,
with its unusual name. Local tradition holds that the ancient Roman
poet Virgil is supposed to have buried an egg on the site where
the castle now stands, warning that should the egg break, the building
above it would collapse. Another local tradition holds that Partenope,
one of the legendary sirens who sought to tempt the Greek hero Ulysses
with their irresistible songs on his return home from the Trojan
Wars, is buried on the site. Partenope, whose name is sometimes
used to refer to Naples, was supposed to have been so devastated
by her failure to lure Ulysses from his destination that she committed
suicide. But most experts today believe that it is the castle’s
unique oval shape that is responsible for its name. It stands on
the site of an ancient Roman villa, built by the general Lucullus,
a strategic point in the conquest of the Campania region of southern
Italy from local tribes who had long resisted Roman rule.
Since then, this castle has been occupied
by the succession of various foreign rulers who have held sway in
Naples over the centuries, including the German Swabians, the French
Angevins, and the Spanish Aragonese. During the last desperate days
of the Parthenopean Republic in 1799, the outnumbered pro-French
radicals held out there against a Catholic royalist mob of poor
Neapolitans, enflamed by the ousted Bourbon rulers, and howling
for the revolutionaries’ blood. Thanks in part to the efforts
of the English admiral Lord Nelson, whose ships were blockading
the harbour at the time, they finally were able to exact their revenge
on the republicans and their supporters. Naples was convulsed for
days in an appalling orgy of violence that is still recalled in
the city today as one of the most shameful episodes in its history.
A small, but impressive monument to those who bravely fought and
failed to implant the ideals of democracy and enlightenment in Naples’
unforgiving soil in 1799 now stands in the Piazza dei Martiri (square
of the Martyrs), located in the fashionable Chiaia district.
Along with pizza and various kinds of pasta,
one of Naples’ most enjoyable culinary delights is seafood.
Fish and crustaceans from the Bay of Naples are caught daily and
within hours are offered for sale in the small fish stalls that
dot the historic centre. One of our most memorable meals in Naples
was a long and relaxing lunch at a small but elegant restaurant
called Lombardi a Santa Chiara, near the basilica of the same name.
There we ordered the seafood platter, a combination of squid, octopus,
mussels, clams, and various kinds of fish. The waiter expertly de-boned
everything in front of us before serving it to us with typical old-world
flourish. Accompanied by an excellent white wine, some green salad,
and crusty bread, this was truly a meal to remember. And it proved
to be far more reasonable than a lunch in a restaurant of similar
quality in Rome or any northern Italian city.
On the very last day of our stay in Naples,
we headed north of the city to visit the renowned art gallery housed
in the Palazzo Reale di Capodimonte (Royal Palace of Capodimonte).
This palace was originally intended as a small hunting lodge for
the Bourbon monarch Charles VII, but as construction continued it
eventually grew to a full-size royal palace, completed in 1759.
It is a striking building of gray and peach-coloured stone, located
in a beautiful park. In 1957 it became the Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte,
an art gallery that could be favourably compared to the Louvre in
Paris, the Uffizi in Florence, or the National Gallery in London,
and is not nearly as crowded, at least on the day we were there.
To attempt to tour the entire gallery in
a single afternoon, as we did, is probably foolhardy, for there
is just too much to see. Along with Caravaggio, almost all the great
artists of the Italian Renaissance and Baroque are represented here,
including works by Raphael, Titian, Bellini, and Ribera. But paintings
by more modern artists can be found here too — one of the
most unusual works in the gallery is a colourful painting of Mount
Vesuvius erupting by the American “pop” artist Andy
Warhol.
For those planning to use Naples as a base
from which to explore the other sites of interest in the Campania
region, the choices are practically endless. Many of them, including
the fascinating ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum, are an easy day
trip from the centre of town. It is also possible to arrange guided
tours of Mount Vesuvius, one of three active volcanoes in Italy,
which has been quiet since its last major eruption in 1944. But
local authorities worry that should another major explosion take
place, the task of evacuating the densely-packed population from
the area might prove impossible, and the loss of life could be very
serious. The Bourbon royal palace of Caserta and its magnificent
grounds, built to rival Louis XIV’s Versailles, is also a
very popular day trip for locals and tourists alike. A little further
afield, one can explore the wonderful scenery of the Amalfi Coast,
and take in the elegant atmosphere of upscale summer resorts such
as Sorrento and Positano. And of course the beautiful islands of
Capri and Ischia are only a short distance away from Naples harbour
by on a high-speed hydrofoil. Because of the poor weather, we did
not travel very far afield from the city itself, but we found that
there was more than enough to see, do, and experience there during
our stay.
Our trip to Naples left us exhausted and
irritated at times, but exhilarated and reluctant to depart at the
end. There were many moments of frustration, when we had to cope
with reckless drivers, poorly functioning ticket dispensers in the
subway, the brusque manner of some of the locals, slow buses, and
slippery streets. But the hotel and its surrounding neighbourhood,
which had seemed so menacing and forbidding upon our arrival, began
to feel so much like home that we were sorry to leave it. It was
fun to greet the elderly ladies looking out the windows of nearby
houses with a cheerful Buongiorno as we left the hotel
every morning. The dark and narrow streets of Spaccanapoli that
we were so hesitant to walk down, even by day, became places we
did not hesitate to stroll through on our way to restaurants and
cafes, amidst the milling crowds, even after nightfall, despite
the danger of out-of-control Vespas.
On our return to the train station, we decided
to take a taxi, instead of trying to walk through the streets with
our luggage again. Even though we might have been overcharged on
the fare, the experience of driving through the city’s chaotic
traffic, with someone else at the wheel, of course, was just one
more level to add to our taste of la vita napolitana.
But my fondest memory of all has to be the
moment on the way to Capodimonte when we were in a bad mood because
the erratic Sunday bus schedule had not given us enough time to
see the art gallery properly. Just when we were ready to complain
about Naples once again for its many failings and dysfunctional
features the city itself had the last word. As the bus rounded a
curve to reveal the breathtaking panoramic view of the bay and the
harbour spread around it in all its glory, the sun finally broke
through the clouds, for the first and only time we were there.
Remembering that delightful moment, and all
the levels of our experiences in Naples, I would have to agree with
the great German poet Goethe, who after spending time in the city
said that, “After seeing Naples it is impossible to be sad
again.” But the next time I visit, I certainly hope that the
sun is shining.
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