1.8.13

Naples


Back from too short family holidays in Italy. This time we had rented a house on the Sorrentino Penisula, perhaps more known for its Amalfi Coast, close to Capri, Vesuvius … and Naples.


“Forgetting” Paris for a while, let me first show you something from Naples.

My beforehand idea of Naples was to a large extent linked to narrow streets, balconies, drying linen … I got it confirmed. 












In the “old town”, there are a number of monuments (sometimes tagged, sometimes invaded by a bit of wild grass..), tens of churches, beautiful, but mostly with restricted photo rights. I was especially impressed by a number of sculptures, statues, in the Sansevero Chapel, more particularly by the “Veiled Christ” (1753, by Giuseppe Sanmartino). The picture is from Wikipedia.





Naples is clearly linked to the “pizza”. Although pizza-like food has been eaten since thousands of years, the modern “pizza” that we know was born in the 19th century, when tomatoes, with origins in the Americas, became an important ingredient. Purists consider that there are only two real “pizzas”, the Marinara and the Margherita, named after Queen Margherita, evoking the colours of the Italian flag - green (basil leaves), white (mozzarella) and red (tomatoes). A few pizzerias claim to be the best, the traditional ones. Of course we had to line up.


There is a more monumental-type of surroundings close to the medieval Castel Nuovo, the  17th century Royal Palace, one of the homes of the Kings of the Naples, of the Two Sicilies (and for a short while of Joseph Bonaparte / Julie Clary, followed by Joachim Murat / Caroline Bonaparte), the Teatro San Carlo, the Piazza Plebiscito, the San Francesco di Paola Church, the spectacular Galleria Umberto… . 



With a lot of courage (especially in hot weather), you can climb the several centuries old steps...

... to the top of Naples, to find the Castel Sant’Elmo and especially the Certosa di San Martino, a former monastery, closed during the Napoleonic years, today a museum, constructed between the the 14th and 17th centuries, fabulously decorated. The statue of the Virign is by Pietro Bernini, father of the even more famous, Gian Lorenzo Bernini. 








The views over Naples and Vesuvius are already worth the climbing. 


17 comments:

Anne in Oxfordshire said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anne in Oxfordshire said...

Hi Peter , so glad that you and your family had a super holiday.

Well what can I say? You have shown me Naples and that is exactly what I thought it was like too ,, very interesting and those houses all crammed together, you could nearly take each others washing,

I love the rest of the photos too, and what a climb and as you say ,, So worth it, thanks for sharing,

Anne in Oxfordshire said...

Hi Peter , so glad that you and your family had a super holiday.

Well what can I say? You have shown me Naples and that is exactly what I thought it was like too ,, very interesting and those houses all crammed together, you could nearly take each others washing,

I love the rest of the photos too, and what a climb and as you say ,, So worth it, thanks for sharing,

Anne in Oxfordshire said...

oops not sure what happened there and now cannot delete them , sorry Peter,

yoko said...

thank you for lots of Naples photos. Pizza's story is interesting. Let's eat tonight !

Mystica said...

You've had a gorgeous holiday and I have had a gorgeous time looking at the photos. I cannot believe the narrowness of the streets and drying of the clothes like that. It used to be and is still common in flats in Sri Lanka but there is now a concerted move to stop this as here it looks just plain unsightly, in Naples it looks picturesque!

Thérèse said...

Naples, une ville magnifique bien sur que tu as bien su rendre en images, même bien moderne vu le nombre de portables aux balcons :-)

Dédé said...

Quand je vois tes photos de rues, j'imagine le bruit assourdissant qui doit y régner. Je ne suis pas sûre que je sois très adepte... :-)

Synne said...

Such a charming place. I've also been to Naples with my family, and your photos bring back the memories! We had pizza too, of course!

Anonymous said...

Looking at your magnificent photos I feel like I'm reading all over again Flora Fraser's beautiful book, Beloved Emma-The life of Lady Hamilton.

As the wife of the British Ambassador to the court of Naples, Emma became a close friend of Queen Maria Carolina, younger sister of Marie Antoinette.

When Vice Admiral Lord Nelson and his squadron anchored in the bay one day, he was given a hero's reception.

In charge of the welcoming ceremonies was Emma. What do you think happened when Lord Nelson saw the ravishing Mrs. Hamilton?

The genius of Fraser lets the reader see this fabled city through the eyes of the protagonist. It is exactly how you are showing it to us, Peter!

To me this is a very happy and very beautiful post.
Gracias mil.
Maria

Amanda said...

I am sure you kept your blogger friends in mind when you took those photos. I would love to visit Mount Vesuvius and Pompeii but I am not a fan of big cities anymore. I'd rather look at your photos. I hope I am not offending anybody but I have noticed in several blogs that a lot of Europeans have become as heavy as Americans. Have you noticed it too?

Cergie said...

Les rues semblent aussi étroites que les églises sont vastes et hautes !
Je ne sais pas comment tu fais pour visiter aussi sérieusement mais moi quand il fait chaud et que je suis avec ma petite famille, je ne fais rien que de paresser...

Starman said...

Wow...so many great photos. I really got a feel for the city. Did you know tomatoes were at one time considered poisonous?

claude said...

Salut Peter !
Je suis passé hier en fin d'aprèm mais j'ai eu une coupure internet.
Quelle publication fort riche !
Ah, Voir Naples et mourir !
J'ai un cousin, pour avoir voulu visiter Naples, lui est mort de rage. Pendant qu'il prenait une chambre d'hôtel, on lui a volé tous ses bagages dans le coffre de la voiture. Plus de vêtements, plus d'appareil photo, une partie de l'argent, rien que ce qu'il avait sur eux, lui et sa femme.
Merci pour ce martage et ton com sur Bernadette.
Bonne journée !

Studio at the Farm said...

I LOVE the photos of the narrow streets, laundry and all! And the photo of Vesuvius over Naples is superb. It looks like you and your family had a wonderful time. Good to have you back, Peter. :)

Jeanie said...

I'm so glad your holiday was all you wanted it to be (except maybe a little shorter than you would have liked!). Peter, these are just amazing photos -- I don't know much about this area or even Italy in general and as you so often do, you inspire me to want to travel all the more. Stunning photos showing the diversity of this spot. Splendid.

Cezar and Léia said...

Hi, thanks for confirming my own idea of what Naples was like! :)
Hope you had a great time with your family!
God bless you!
Cezar