In the next 5 mins, I am going to plan the perfect itinerary
for your next holiday in Napoli.
Where to eat, what to see, what to do in 1 DAY only.
Coming up, right now.
Welcome to Searching for Hidden Italy,
the series with which we will discover together Italy's hidden beauties.
Our first stop is one of the most vibrant and colourful cities in the world: Napoli.
Iniziamo.
DAY 1, 8:30 am BAR MEXICO
You have arrived the night before. It was dark.
Binge-watching the TV series Gomorrah turned out to be a bad idea.
Your mind played a trick on you:
you felt in the middle of a blood feud and almost shat your pants.
You called a taxi and hid under the bedsheets in the hotel.
But this morning the sun shines bright and Napoli is your oyster.
You are hungry. And here is my top pick:
Bar Mexico in Piazza Dante.
Here you can buy their freshly-grounded coffee beans, the famous Passalacqua brand,
and bring a piece of Napoli with you.
Don't forget to have a coffee with a sfogliatella or a babà.
Sfogliatella is a shell-shaped pastry filled with ricotta.
The Babà is a rum cake.
Which one? Listen, you have one job here. Choose the one that inspires you.
Coffee is enticing, the Italian banter is lovely,
even though you don't understand a single word because you have never done your
Italian homework,
life is too good to be true, you know you don't deserve that,
but get up, you don't want to spend all day there.
Walk through Port'Alba. Port'Alba is the remnant
of one of the city gates in Napoli. The gate is located on the northwestern edge of
Piazza Dante, and leads to a pedestrian alley, which is known for
its shops selling musical instruments and books.
From the smell of coffee to the smell of books. Let it envelop you.
The Sansevero Chapel opens at 9 am.
And you can't miss the Cristo Velato by Giuseppe Sammartino,
who produced the sculpture of a dead Jesus
covered by a transparent shroud carved out of the very same marble block
shared with the rest of the statue.
Even if you don't like Art, this work is breathtaking.
Antonio Canova, the great neoclassical sculptor, said
he would give up ten years of his life to produce such a masterpiece.
40 metres below street level, under the historic
centre of Napoli, is an extensive network of streets and squares
which were partly built by the Romans and Greeks and carved out of the tuff.
During WWII, Napoli was the most bombed city in Italy,
but here died the least number of people in the country
because people were using the underground as a bombing shelter.
Lots of stories and legends enrich these dark tunnels,
you can learn everything from two-hours guided tours in English and in Italian.
Ma andiamo avanti.
E quindi uscimmo a riveder le stelle , wrote Dante.
And then we emerged and saw the stars again.
It's a bit too early for the stars, but it's pizza time.
Walk 8 mins and here we are: we are: Antica Pizzeria da Michele.
Founded in 1870. The menu is fairly simple:
Marinara or margherita.
My wife doesn't have a menu to choose from?
Sia lodato Michele. Michele sia lodato. Michele Santo Subito.
Pizza was good but now we need to digest it.
Spaccanapoli is a straight, narrow, charming street
packed with artisan workshops, markets, and laundry flapping like colourful banners.
Spaccanapoli is so-named because the main street spacca (splits) Napoli in two.
Eat ice cream, buy a souvenir, and mind the scooters.
Let Napoli's smells and sounds embrace you.
Always straight on.
If you want to stop, then go to the Duomo:
San Gennaro's house.
San Gennaro is the patron saint of Napoli,
in whose cathedral two ampoules are preserved with a liquid in the solid-state,
which tradition says that it was saint's blood, and that melts three times a year.
Quick liquefaction is considered a sign of good luck
while its delay or failure are taken as negative omens.
It's time to meet the sea.
Castel dell'Ovo (lit. the Egg Castle) is the oldest fortress in Napoli.
It has served to defend the city,
as a prison and as a royal residence over the centuries.
According to the legend,
the poet Virgil hid a magical egg in the foundations of the Castle,
promising that if the egg were broken,
the city would suffer great catastrophes!
Whether or not the myth is true, here is explained its name.
You must be tired after this long yet enchanting day.
My choice falls on the restaurant 28 Posti,
a hidden gem near Castel dell Ovo.
It's your last stop. Whether you go here or somewhere else,
make sure you have a sea view.
If you would like to know where to eat, what to see, what to do, in a DAY II in Napoli,
like and leave me a comment.
Dal Maestro è tutto. Mi raccomando: studiate.
See Naples and then die.