Naples' Special Report

Monday, 20 March. We had to catch the 8:53 am Eurostar from Florence to Naples and so we got up a bit earlier than usual on an overcast Monday morning. After an easy 15-minute walk to the train station and a short wait for the train to arrive we soon boarded and found our seats. In our recent short trips to Bologna we rode 2nd class on whatever train type was available. For this trip, however, we opted to pay a little more not just for reserved seating (thus assured of a place to sit down) but also to spend a bit more for the Eurostar: it is faster and provides somewhat more room both in 2nd as well as 1st class than the other types of long-distance trains in Italy. In fact the trip south only took about 3.5 hours with just one stop in Rome (where most of the people in our carriage got off).

I have said it before and will say it again Trenitalia, the official Italian railway is one fantastic organization. Their website, which is in English, is very easy to use and makes ordering tickets a breeze. Using their website not only gives you access to their timetables and train types as well as ticket purchase but also allows you to bypass waiting in queues to pick up your tickets. With the Eurostar you also have the option not only of using the ticket machines to pick up your ticket at the station but, and this is really cool, you can opt for their email ticket. You just print out the email confirmation and hand it to the conductor on board the train. He then issues you a ticket then and there! Is that the 21st century or what?

Anyway at half past noon we arrived on schedule at the main strain station in Naples and were looking forward to a brand-new experience of the city famous for pizza and Sophia Loren. We had passed through the city in April of 2002, just to change trains for Pompeii so we counted this as our first trip to Italy’s 3rd largest city.

OK let’s get the bad stuff out of the way right now: it is dirty, noisy, people are indeed packed into some of the most overcrowded living conditions imaginable in the west, with streams of humanity moving in every direction imaginable, gargantuan construction projects adding to the general anarchy of the place, and lots of people just itching to take advantage of the person next to them, tourist or local it doesn’t matter which.

(This last point is particularly true of the taxi drivers. We were overcharged by one and still count ourselves lucky. After that we relied on public transportation. Even our hotel gently tried to pull the “Oh and you need to pay for. . . “ “But we have already paid for that and have the receipt right here.” “Oh, OK.”. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!)

With that out of the way we thoroughly enjoyed the short time we spent in the city. The food was great, the wine delicious, people are very friendly and certainly more animated than northern Italians (or so it seemed to me) and the history unbelievable. From the Palazzo Reale to Pompeii every historical era in western civilization imaginable is represented in the very stone used to build the city. Incredible.

After a short (and expensive) taxi ride we found ourselves very close to the Palazza Reale, just a few blocks up from the water on the Piazza Trieste e Trento, at Via Chiaia (KEE-eye-yah), a pedestrian-only street full of shops and bars and restaurants and, not surprisingly, the Hotel Chiaia, where we would spend the next three nights. The hotel is located on the first floor – there is no lift. (We found this hotel through both online research as well as a note in the rough guide to Italy; we reserved it through www.venere.com. Via Chiaia 216, ph: 081.415.555. www.hotelchiaia.it.)

In our search for hotels in Naples I discovered that the Rick Steves’ guide to Italy 2005 recommended staying in Sorrento rather than Naples although they did suggest several accommodations near the strain station. However, we thought this area was certainly one of the least attractive and, as the Rough Guide notes, not conducive for going out at night. We tend to agree with the Rough Guide that the centro storico is both lively and great for passegiata in the evening down Via Toledo or down Via Chiaia for example, making for a wonderful evening stroll.

After we checked in and dropped our things off in our small but comfortable room – which overlooked Via Chiaia -- we returned to the front desk to see if they had any of the Campania Arte cards on hand. These city-wide cards are by far and away one of the best deals we have yet to find anywhere in Italy. There are several different variations of the card; we opted for the 3-day, “tutti I siti” (“all the sites”) card. For 25 euros you get (1) free access to the first two sites and 50% off all the other sites visited during that period, and includes all the sites in the Naples area as well as Paestum; (2) unlimited travel on the entire Naples transportation network, which includes the local buses as well as the Circumvesuviana train to Pompeii and Sorrento. The entrance fees to Pompeii and Herculaneum alone are almost as much as the cost of the card! The cards are widely available throughout the city and, as we discovered, most hotels have them for sale as well. There is also a 7-day version of the card for and additional three euros but it does not include transportation. (Odd we thought.)

So with our new Artecards in hand we walked out of the hotel, turned left onto Via Chiaia and then left on the Piazza Trieste e Trento up Via Toledo heading to the Archeological Museum. It was drizzling off and on during our stroll uptown. After about 15 minutes we found the museum but decided that before we became entangled in spending who knows how much time inside we would need to recharge our batteries so we went across the street to a ristorante, the Voce e Notte, to have lunch. After relaxing for an hour or so over a tasty lunch of pizza (this is Naples after all) we headed in to the museum where we swiped our Artecard in the machine and passed right through inside. Cool.

While Naples is not really much of a city for museums, the Archeological Museum (“Museo Archeologico Nazionale”) is certainly one of the reasons to come to this city. (Open daily except Tuesday, 9:00 am-7:30 pm.) It houses some of the best pieces of mosaics and statuary found at Pompeii and Herculaneum. You should definitely opt for the audio-guide (price not included in the Artecard though). Oh and if you’re interested in the erotic artwork found at Pompeii you have to make a reservation for the “secret room” at the information kiosk right as you enter the building on the right and before you come up to the ticket booth (where you rent up the audio-guides). It’s actually a rather small collection of art, most of it not terribly graphic and some quite interesting. The mosiacs were absolutely stunning, the exhibition on coins was fascinating and of course the statuary compelling. When we visited there was also an enormous exhibition of Chinese art from the Tang dynasty.

After we left the museum we took a leisurely stroll back down Via Toledo, passing by a couple of fantastic galleries, in particular the Galleria Umberto, as we headed toward our hotel. Upon reaching the Piazza Trieste e Trento we decided to keep going straight, down to the water. We passed through the Piazza Plebiscito, and on our right was the church of San Francesco di Paola (photo below), which is flooded at night and a great place to stroll. We continued to walk another 300m or so down to just short of the bay. We couldn’t see the volcano since the sky was darkening and of course it was still overcast. So we turned around and headed back to the hotel, stopping at the Café Gambrinus, at the edge of Piazza Plebiscito and just around the corner form our hotel; a wonderful place for an aperitivo and one would be a regular spot for our brief stay in the city.

On the way into the hotel we stopped at the desk and asked for a recommendation for dinner, someplace nearby which served local fresh fish. A few minutes later we had reservations for 8:30 at Lucillo, a ristorante in the Santa Lucia area (that’s the place where the song came from), just a 10-minute walk from our hotel.

We arrived at the trattoria on time – although it was quiet and we probably didn’t need the reservations -- and had a thoroughly enjoyable meal, the two of us sharing a whole grilled fish and drinking some wonderful Falanghina white wine from Campania. We also enjoyed the conversation with our waiter and host, over old photos of the Santa Lucia area showing how until the last century the area where the ristorante was located had been in fact in the water, and also showing pictures of his great-grandfather and grandfather (as a young boy), indeed his family had lived in same area for several generations and who had operated the ristorante for many years.

We strolled back to the hotel and went straight to bed. Tomorrow the weather is predicted to be sunny and warm and we are planning our big trip to Pompeii and, we hope, to Herculaneum (“Ercolano”) if time permits.

Tuesday, 21 March. We awoke to a beautiful, warm sunny morning in Naples and decided to make the most of it. After a delicious breakfast of fresh fruit and pastries, cappuccino for Susan and macchiato (espresso with a splash of hot milk) for me we were off back to the train station. Our plan was to pick up the little local train, which runs out to Pompeii and Sorrento and back as well as around Mt. Vesuvius, thus the name “Circumvesuviana” or ‘around Vesuvius”. (Photo on the left is from one of the small theaters in Pompeii. Interpretive history at its best.)

It was such a grand morning we decided to walk rather than take the bus and after 20 or 30 minutes of dodging insane traffic and wending our way around the incredibly huge metro station construction projects going on in downtown Naples we found ourselves back at Piazza Garibaldi and the central train station.

As a note in addition to the new metro stops being put in at several of the major piazzas in the historic center of the city, there is also a project underway (apparently) to completely renovate the main train station. Lots of confusion was apparent to us but we couldn’t really see anything of significance happening to the station itself.

In any case, the changeover is sorely needed: none of the escalators work nor do the moving sidewalks which lead to the Circumvesuviana platforms and a couple of the escalators at the Circumvesuviana station were also out – but then many of Italy’s train stations (Florence’s included) could use major facelifts as well.

We found the stairs to the lower level and within a few minutes were standing on the platform waiting for our train to Pompeii. (It should be pointed out that the Circumvesuviana isn’t really a station per se but just several rail platforms underground.) Since we had our 3-day unlimited travel tickets we were spared having to find the best source for tickets on the local run. Moreover, there is little help available in the tiny station leading down to the platforms so you will have to rely on your guidebook for up-to-the-minute information. All I can say is you will want the train to Sorrento – but if you are still uncertain just ask someone if this train is going to Pompeii “scavi” (SKAH-vee, “ruins”).

We boarded the train along with quite a few people – many of whom were tourists but this is a major commuter run as well -- and after about 30 minutes traveling we got off at the Pompeii Scavi station. (Open daily Apr-Oct 8:30am-7:30pm; Nov-Mar 8:30am-5:00pm; cost 10 euros. www.pompeisites.org.)

We entered the park about 100mts or so to the right of the station proper – moving briskly past the tacky vendors and stopped at the information booth to pick up a map and handy little guidebook -- both very well done and extremely handy. (Although in retrospect we should have opted for the audio guide.)

The Rough Guide suggests that you spend a few minutes getting acquainted with the map and ask if any of the sites were closed. Pompeii is constantly undergoing renovation in one part or another – we inadvertently stumbled into a closed area ourselves – so it might be nice to know where not to go and thus use your time wisely. In our case we had no set schedule to follow and our only plan was to try and see everything we could and go everywhere possible. (Photo looking across Pompeii toward Vesuvius.)

Anyway, when we tried to enter the park just by showing our artecard we were told to return to one of the ticket booths, pick up a paper ticket and return which we did. The paper ticket was then torn in half – rather like “punching” the ticket – and in we went, where we were immediately trapped between two different groups of American tourists. (As an aside, you can glean some fascinating insight by occasionally drifting in among one of these tour groups – and while it shouldn’t become habitual my personal take is it’s the price they pay for being so pervasive and invasive.)

So we headed off through the Porta Marina and spent the next four hours wandering around nearly every corner of the “city”.

Along the way we explored pretty much every “porta” or gate, outside of which one could find the usual necropolis, or city of the dead (Roman law prohibited burials inside the city walls). One or two were quite large and the one at Porta di Ercolano – the old gate which lead to Herculaneum – was in fact an entire street, the Via delle Tombe, where you could see the rows of large tombs, some nearly house-like, on both sides of the street.


An interesting sidelight of following some of these ancient excavated streets – remember they were outside the city walls – was you can actually see how the lay of the land has changed dramatically since the city was entombed nearly two millennia ago. In fact, one of the streets seems to literally disappear into a wall of earth! Which is of course where the excavation stopped. And as you survey the surrounding land, nearly all of which is developed, you have to ask yourself, “what exactly lies under all those new buildings?” In fact, the city of Pompeii is in large part on a much lower level today than nearly all the land around it so whatever existed at the time of the eruption, roads, farms, whatever, must lie under 20-30 feet of earth and detritus. Fascinating.

Oh and as you are walking up from the Porta Marina entrance along Via dell’ Abbondanza, the “main” thoroughfare through the complex, you can see that much of the city remains unexcavated even to this day – in fact you can see on your left where some of the streets just disappear into a wall of brick and stone, and indeed much of this part of the city is “walled in,” possibly to prevent erosion of the unexcavated area. If you look closely you can also see gardens “on top” of the so-called unexcavated area. What’s up with that we wondered?

And speaking of gardens the well-known Campania wine producer Mastroberardino in conjunction with the Pompeii Archeological Superintendent, has several small plots of grapevines under cultivation inside the walls as part of an ongoing project to produce historically accurate Pompeian wines. In fact in 2003 some 150 bottles from these vineyards were auctioned off in Rome, although there are reportedly no plans for commercial production.

Aside from the unpleasantness of having to contend and occasionally vie with tourist groups – some of which are quite large – for entry into some of the sites in Pompeii we spent a wonderful four hours, drifting from one side of the excavated area to another, trying to see or catch a glimpse of one of the truly great wonders of the ancient world.

Although there is little use of useful interpretive signage throughout the complex – a rather common problem in Italy in our opinion – the small guidebook which they gave us at the entrance proved very handy. Our only regret was that we didn’t pack a picnic lunch for there are several places just outside the walls which make for a wonderful spot to relax, catch your breath and grab a bite to eat before pushing on. Go either to the Porta di Nocera and turn left heading toward the exit/entrance at the end of the park but just skirt the exit or to Porta di Sarno and turn right and track along walls; either way you’ll see an enormous open green space where you can relax for a while in or out of the sun. (Above photo is of part of one of the thermal bath complexes at Pompeii.)

It was early afternoon by the time we finished our tour through the ruins at Pompeii and although we had talked of also visiting the Herculaneum site we felt we had seen all the ruined stone we could take for one day so we decided to alter our itinerary. We had also talked about heading up to Vesuvius –and it was a beautiful day to be sure – but frankly we didn’t want to deal with that hassle. (Sad to say the Italians don’t make it easy to get to the edge of the crater – train to Herculaneum, bus to partway up, lots of uncertainty about schedules and reliability issues. No wonder so many people take a tour.)

So we hopped back on the train and went to Sorrento, which is the end of the line from Naples. In 2004 we spent a very short and very wet hour in Sorrento and so we thought we might just see what the fuss is all about. So after another 30-minute ride we got off at Sorrento and walked to Piazza Tasso, the center of town about 10 minutes from the train station. We found our way to one of the local tourist offices where we picked up a map of the city. While we were there we inquired about the schedule for taking the jet boat back to Naples. (They also run frequently to Capri.) Well naturally we had just missed one and the next wouldn’t be for another two hours so we strolled for a bit, ate some gelato and hopped on the train and after an hour we were back in Naples. We grabbed the bus for Piazza Trieste e Trento and in no time we were back in the room relaxing.

We got cleaned up and headed out for the Café Gambrinus for an aperitivo after which we strolled down (or up) Via Chiaia to Piazza dei Martiri where took a right off the piazza onto Via Alabardieri and at number 30-31 we found Umberto’s a great ristorante and pizzeria. I had “baccala’” (salt cod) for the first time and it was delicious; Susan had wonderful risotto with pistachios and walnuts and we both thoroughly enjoyed the meal. I’ve made risotto several times since we’ve gotten to Florence and am now eager to try one with nuts.

After a leisurely dinner we of course took a leisurely stroll back to the hotel and passed another grand night in the heart of Naples.

Wednesday, 22 March. "Jetting to Capri." No really we did jet to Capri -- by jet boat!

Our good weather had disappeared to be replaced by some pretty nasty weather and we awoke to a rainy, overcast and generally dreary Wednesday morning. Our original plan was to head out to Capri after breakfast and so we did. We walked the 10 minutes or so over to the ferry terminal (another good reason for staying in this part of Naples is the proximity to the ferry services) to catch the jet boat to Capri. We bought our tickets and waited a half hour or so until we boarded the ferry.

And what a great little ferry ride too – the boat had only indoor seating, with very comfortable chairs, all facing forward and we quickly picked a couple up toward the forward part of the boat. After about 40 minutes through pea soup and rain and some choppy water we landed on the isle of Capri (KAH-pree we are told is how they say it here) and were faced with the thought that we had six hours to kill before heading back. (Our return tickets specified a particular hour of departure although we wondered if we couldn’t have taken an earlier boat. particularly at this time of year. As you’ll soon see it wasn’t necessary.)

The little town of Capri – mostly residences and hotel and shops – sat on a bluff overlooking the harbor. (For those seeking a trip to the famed Blue Grotto they would catch one of the small boats right from the landing, and that boat would take you to the Blue Grotto and you would transfer to a much smaller boat, which would then row you into the grotto, or so we were told. Anyway word was there would be no visits to the Blue Grotto today due to rain and, more important, rough seas.)

Now normally there is a “funicolare” or cable car, which takes you right to the top from the harbor (Marina Grande) but it wasn’t running the day we were there and so there were large masses of people waiting in the rain for the alternative bus services, which were ferrying people up the hill. We decided to walk and so climbed our way up yet another sizeable hill, winding through tiny narrow alleyways where much work was being done in the middle of the path laying new pipe of some sort or another.

What astounds me is that we seem to be spending far more time walking uphill in Italy than down hill. It seems for every 10 steps I go up I go down two. I don’t get it.

So we eventually got to the top amidst the drizzle of a light rain and along with a small group of Italian students also on spring break and picked out a café where we could sit and have a cup of caffe and get out of the rain while we decided on what exactly we intended to do here.

After a short while the rain let up and we took out our map – we had stopped at the little tourist office by the ferry landing and picked one up for 80 cents – and figured we would head off to the south side of the island opposite from where we landed at Marina Grande to the vicinity of the Marina Piccola, or Small Marina, an easy walk. The woman we spoke with at the tourist office also suggested another itinerary as well which looked intriguing: walking along the bluffs overlooking the water on the south side of the island toward the natural arch. So we were off.

The town of Capri is pretty cool to be sure – although we could not imagine what it must be like in high season. These tiny, narrow streets packed with tourists and tour groups, with every shape and size of human being imaginable wandering aimlessly looking for gelato, lunch, a handbag or just a way to get away from everyone else made our blood run cold. We were glad to be doing this in late March although we still found ourselves inundated with numerous large groups of Italian students (all trying to look cool) and of course lots of folks who were also here because it is, well, spring break. And the tour groups from the Netherlands, America, Japan, wherever. Looking for what I have no idea.


Anyway, first we walked over to the Certosa (the Carthusian monastery which is undergoing serious renovation) and came across something I have never seen before in my life: Bird of Paradise growing wild, or rather growing in large bushes which I suppose were less than wild but still it was a first for me. Right away I knew this had been the right thing to do, coming to Kahpree. A few meters away from the Bird of Paradise we walked to some grand scenic overlooks where we couldn’t help but notice the tiny curving stone path, which wended its way down toward Marina Piccola. It was almost a work of art – sort of a work of art that made one queasy just looking at it,

From the Certosa and Bird of Paradise we set off to get away from the tour groups and headed toward the natural arch, and into the wilderness. From the Via Certosa you find your way to Via Tragara, which will eventually become Via Pezzolungo and will eventually lead you to the natural arch.

There were very few people out along this part of the island to be sure – we did meet up with three Italians part of the way and the five of us shared some small discoveries but we quickly found ourselves totally alone as we plunged deeper into the wilderness. (We assume the three Italians got home OK.)

The path although probably well maintained in high season, became increasingly covered with debris as if to remind us that the further we went the less attention this particular part of the trail received simply because it was away from any sort of ease of access. And of course much of the debris was from inattention during the winter as well.

The cliffs both above and below us were quite steep and there was much undergrowth. Still we were fortunate that it was not raining and at one point it even cleared enough so that we could see the tip of the Sorrento peninsula. Moreover, there were times when we caught a glimpse of the truly spectacular color of the water. In fact there were a couple of spectacular overlooks, which were a bit off the trail but which called to us nonetheless.

After about an hour or so of pretty level walking we started climbing up steps, about 5,000 steps or so it seemed to me. In fact we climbed for about another 15 or 20 minutes up some very steep steps –adding to the difficulty each riser was quite high from the next one and they had not been cleaned all season and were littered with detritus.

As we reached the top (thank the gods) we found ourselves at one of the coolest out-door bars you can imagine: with one of the outrageously beautiful views. They were doing some end-of-winter repair work and obviously getting ready for high season. We could just picture sitting out at one of the tables on a summer evening sipping wine and watching the world slip over the horizon. Wonderful!


To the left at the top of the Steps from Hell would take us back to town in short order; to the right through the patio of the bar and another 300mts would take us to the natural arch but involved going down (and thus up) more stairs. We had come this far and so unlike the Russian family which had just gotten to the top of the Steps of the Cursed ahead of us and who chose to go back to town we headed off for the arch. Down we went and soon we were standing in front of, well, a big natural arch (what did you expect, that would find Jimmy Hoffa?) The arch was actually an old grotto, which had caved in – or so we were told.

After 60 seconds of appreciating this tiny little wonder we turned our back on it and climbed the steps – there were clearly more steps going up than down again proving my earlier point – and after a walk of another 15 minutes or so we were back in town.

It was mid-afternoon and we still had a couple of hours to kill before our boat so we thought we would find a reasonable place to eat in Capri (HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!). Excuse me but I couldn’t help myself for a moment there.

Earlier we had spied a ristorante overlooking the harbor where we landed so we bought our bus tickets (to be used to take us back down to the harbor later) and then went to lunch.

We were nearly the only ones in the place – although toward the end of our meal a woman from Chicago and her friend from Lithuania came and sat down at the table next to us. When the sky cleared enough we could actually see the outline of Vesuvius at one point and the food was good I must admit although grossly overpriced. But then it is reasonable to assume that most everything on Capri is overpriced.

But at least our timing was impeccable. We had no sooner settled in and started sipping wine than a serious – and I mean serious -- rainstorm began and raged off and on for the next hour or so, even to the point of causing a bit of flooding in the ristorante. In fact, two women who were sitting at a table near us asked to be moved inside the ristorante proper because they were greatly disturbed by the noise and rain pelting their window (we were actually sitting in what was in fact the outdoor section although it was properly and securely battened down).

We finished our meal, had our dolci, caffe and a glass of red wine from Fruili-Venezia (red wine from Friuli of all places) which was very good indeed, compliments of the couple from Chicago-Lithuania, paid our bill and headed to the bus stop all of about 50 mts away. The rain had let up and we got to the landing in plenty of time to catch the boat back to Naples.

After we disembarked we stopped at a nearby newsstand to pick up a couple of cooking books Susan had her eye on for the past few days. One of the interesting things about newspapers and magazines in Italy is they will often bundle their publications with a DVD or music CD (usually classical) or a book or special publication.

For example, a recent issue of “Oggi” (“Today”) magazine carried with it the Michelin atlas for Italy. So for less than 10 euros you get the magazine and the road atlas (quite a savings actually).

Anyway, the newspaper “La Repubblica” has underwritten “L’Enciclopedia della Cucina Italiana” (the encyclopedia of the Italian Kitchen) and we happened to see an advertisement for the 13th volume in the series, “Small Pastries”. While we were waiting for the ferry to Capri I went into the newsstand to pickup a newspaper and saw the volume Susan was keen on getting so we planned to stop on the way back. She bought not only that one but also volume no. 11 on Torte (Cakes). I can’t wait for the homework.

Thursday, 23 March. The morning weather was overcast but no rain. After breakfast we packed, paid the hotel bill and walked over to the Piazza Trieste e Trento to catch the bus for Piazza Garibaldi and the train station. We got there in plenty of time to catch our 9:30 train for Florence. We were back in our apartment and unpacked by 1:30 that afternoon. Love that Eurostar.

Wish you were here,

Steve