The next day, we decided it was time to explore the urban chaos that is Naples. Naples is the biggest city of Southern Italy, and gets quite a lot of bad press. What often gets forgotten is that it also has an incredible artistic, historic and cultural heritage, rivaling that of Florence’s and Rome’s. But it’s true that it’s quite a crazy place.
Again, I was happy we came by train, and not by car. I would NOT want to drive in Naples – the only place I’ve been to with even more chaotic traffic is probably Cairo. Being a pedestrian, you have to be careful, but on the other hand, drivers are actually quite careful as well, and do watch out for pedestrians (I suppose since pedestrians cross roads wherever/whenever convenient, rather than at pedestrian crossings). The much talked about problems with Naples garbage collection obviously haven’t been resolved either. So to summarize, walking around Naples is a rather fascinating experience in many ways – but I don’t think I would like to live there.
I mentioned the cultural heritage of Naples – and it really is incredible. We visited quite a number of churches during this day, one more impressive than the other. I got the same feeling over overload I had in Florence. The churches of Naples are definitely less famous than those of Florence, but just as beautiful and impressive in my book. Well – that is on the inside. On the outside, they tend to be covered in graffiti, unfortunately (or I don’t know, maybe it could be said to be a Neapolitan touch?).
Naples is also famous for its pizza – and especially the Pizza Margherita, which was in fact invented here. So we decided to have lunch in the restaurant where it was invented – the Pizzeria Brandi. It was quite a nice place, with surprisingly few tourists around – and the pizzas were certainly good (although perhaps I wouldn’t go so far as to say I had the best pizza ever there).
Our rather long walk around Naples covered most of the old town, a bit of the seaside and port area, as well as the modern part of town with the royal castle, the new castle and so on. After another short stint in the old town, it was time to catch the train back to Sorrento.
On Wednesday, it was time for a bit of landscapes and scenery for a change – Capri. Capri is, I suppose, one of the most famous islands in Italy. It has been a holiday destination since Roman times (honest!), and continues to be very popular with tourists. This made us a bit wary – we’re not big fans of tourist traps. We booked a boat tour through our hotel (which we were a bit wary about as well – we don’t normally do that kind of thing), which basically took us around the island into the Marina Piccola. We needn’t have worried about Capri being too touristy – it is touristy, but it’s also stunningly beautiful. Our first stop was the Blue Grotto (the eerie blue colors for which the grotto are named for are produced by a whole just under the water-line) pretty cool if rather pricey at 10 Euros for a 5-minute visit.
The boat tour then continued around the island, along the beautiful coastline, to the Marina Piccola, a small picturesque marina. A rather steep walk (no easy option like taxi or minibus) from there took us up to Capri, the main town on the island. Now Capri town is touristy, no getting around it. IN fact, it’s overrun by tourists. But as with a lot of cute little towns in Italy, things get calm and quiet once you get out of the main tourist area. Also, I think the best thing about Capri is the beautiful nature and hiking to be had, whereas most people stay in the towns of the island.
After a quick walk around town, we decided to do a bit of a hike – to Villa Jovis, located at the Eastern end of the island. It was a really great hike, with great views over the island and the outskirts of Capri town. Villa Jovis is a palace from Roman times, from where Emperor Tiberius ruled the Roman Empire towards the end of his life. The ruins themselves are perhaps not that impressive (especially not since we’d been to Herculaneum just two days earlier), but again the views from the ruins are amazing…
We had a very pleasant lunch in a small cafeteria on the way back (a Caprese salad, what else) to Capri, from where we then took the bus up to Anacapri, the second, smaller village on the island. We only had time for a quick walk in this pretty little village, before it was time to make our way back to the boat. The way back to Sorrento was pretty nice as well, taking in the Villa Malaparte, an impressive example of modern Italian architecture, apparently (Godard’s Le Mepris was shot here, for the most part).
The next day, it was ripe time for one of THE major tourist attractions in Italy – Pompeii. There are a lot of Roman sites in Campania, so we’d decided to leave this one to the last – a sort of climax, if you will. I was a bit afraid to be disappointed – sometimes these ancient ruins leave a bit too much to the imagination. But Pompeii is of course different – it’s remarkably well-preserved, since the town was covered by a layer of frozen lava for centuries and centuries… So, to cut a long story short, I wasn’t disappointed. Pompeii really gives you an idea of what a Roman city was like, since so much of it remains so remarkably well preserved (even though all the statues and art-work have been moved to museums, of course).
It’s a pretty big area as well – it took us about 5 hours to make our way around the place! But it’s definitely one of those places that each person should visit at least once in their lifetime. The towering presence of Vesuvius makes the experience all the more “real”. What was the highlight, then? Well, there are several: the forum, the baths or perhaps the Villa dei Misteri? It’s hard to pick out a single one – I would say it’s just the experience as a whole…
Back in Sorrento, we decided to go on a bit of a splurge for dinner – and went to Il Buco. Quite a gastronomic experience it was, a bit expensive, but well worth the money. We later found out they have 1 Michelin star – well deserved I would say. One of those places where it’s worth paying a bit of extra for the exceptional service and food. We were also treated to some more Settimana Santa action while we dined…
On Friday, we decided to visit Naples again. I think a town of that grandeur merits at least two days. (more, in fact). We started off by walking around the old town yet more, and visiting yet more magnificent churches. I won’t list them all down (I’ve forgotten) – but one that sticks out in particular is Chiesa Santa Maria delle Anime Purgatorio Ad Arco. The church is home to a rather strange cult of the dead, which is still alive and well in Naples, where people basically bestow gifts upon children’s skulls as a way to keep in touch with absent loved ones (or something like that). Kind of creepily fascinating.
The plan was to have lunch in THE pizzeria in Naples – Da Michele. It is the best place to have a Pizza Margherita (well, they only serve two kinds of pizza so there isn’t a lot of choice, anyway – now that’s what I call purist!). Well, after checking out the queues of tourists and locals waiting for their pizza, we decided to give it a miss. We ended up in a nice enough local eatery, where we had our authentic pizzas (well, they were darn good, anyway!).
We spent the afternoon in the one museum that must be visited in Naples – the archeological museum. This is, of course, where all that artwork from Pompeii is stored. For sure, it’s a great museum, with loads of statues, murals and artwork to see (there is even a “secret chamber” for erotic art). But funnily enough, it’s smaller than I expected. I was expecting something like the British Museum – but this place is certainly smaller. Fair enough – thee hours looking at ancient art is plenty enough for me! My only complaint is that the museum was pretty badly organized (on the other hand, this being Naples, I suppose I shouldn’t expect anything else?), and the audio guide was a complete waste of time and money.
The evening, this being Good Friday, marked the highlight of the Settimana Santa, with a very impressive procession going through Sorrento town. The procession, which involves hundreds of people dressed in some more and less creepy outfits, reflects Madonna’s mourning as she finds her son, Jesus Christ, dead. It’s certainly a spectacular and impressive event, with the hooded monks and other believers chanting away in Latin through the dark streets, observed by the huge crowds.
Again, I was happy we came by train, and not by car. I would NOT want to drive in Naples – the only place I’ve been to with even more chaotic traffic is probably Cairo. Being a pedestrian, you have to be careful, but on the other hand, drivers are actually quite careful as well, and do watch out for pedestrians (I suppose since pedestrians cross roads wherever/whenever convenient, rather than at pedestrian crossings). The much talked about problems with Naples garbage collection obviously haven’t been resolved either. So to summarize, walking around Naples is a rather fascinating experience in many ways – but I don’t think I would like to live there.
I mentioned the cultural heritage of Naples – and it really is incredible. We visited quite a number of churches during this day, one more impressive than the other. I got the same feeling over overload I had in Florence. The churches of Naples are definitely less famous than those of Florence, but just as beautiful and impressive in my book. Well – that is on the inside. On the outside, they tend to be covered in graffiti, unfortunately (or I don’t know, maybe it could be said to be a Neapolitan touch?). Naples is also famous for its pizza – and especially the Pizza Margherita, which was in fact invented here. So we decided to have lunch in the restaurant where it was invented – the Pizzeria Brandi. It was quite a nice place, with surprisingly few tourists around – and the pizzas were certainly good (although perhaps I wouldn’t go so far as to say I had the best pizza ever there).
Our rather long walk around Naples covered most of the old town, a bit of the seaside and port area, as well as the modern part of town with the royal castle, the new castle and so on. After another short stint in the old town, it was time to catch the train back to Sorrento.
On Wednesday, it was time for a bit of landscapes and scenery for a change – Capri. Capri is, I suppose, one of the most famous islands in Italy. It has been a holiday destination since Roman times (honest!), and continues to be very popular with tourists. This made us a bit wary – we’re not big fans of tourist traps. We booked a boat tour through our hotel (which we were a bit wary about as well – we don’t normally do that kind of thing), which basically took us around the island into the Marina Piccola. We needn’t have worried about Capri being too touristy – it is touristy, but it’s also stunningly beautiful. Our first stop was the Blue Grotto (the eerie blue colors for which the grotto are named for are produced by a whole just under the water-line) pretty cool if rather pricey at 10 Euros for a 5-minute visit.
The boat tour then continued around the island, along the beautiful coastline, to the Marina Piccola, a small picturesque marina. A rather steep walk (no easy option like taxi or minibus) from there took us up to Capri, the main town on the island. Now Capri town is touristy, no getting around it. IN fact, it’s overrun by tourists. But as with a lot of cute little towns in Italy, things get calm and quiet once you get out of the main tourist area. Also, I think the best thing about Capri is the beautiful nature and hiking to be had, whereas most people stay in the towns of the island.
After a quick walk around town, we decided to do a bit of a hike – to Villa Jovis, located at the Eastern end of the island. It was a really great hike, with great views over the island and the outskirts of Capri town. Villa Jovis is a palace from Roman times, from where Emperor Tiberius ruled the Roman Empire towards the end of his life. The ruins themselves are perhaps not that impressive (especially not since we’d been to Herculaneum just two days earlier), but again the views from the ruins are amazing… We had a very pleasant lunch in a small cafeteria on the way back (a Caprese salad, what else) to Capri, from where we then took the bus up to Anacapri, the second, smaller village on the island. We only had time for a quick walk in this pretty little village, before it was time to make our way back to the boat. The way back to Sorrento was pretty nice as well, taking in the Villa Malaparte, an impressive example of modern Italian architecture, apparently (Godard’s Le Mepris was shot here, for the most part).
The next day, it was ripe time for one of THE major tourist attractions in Italy – Pompeii. There are a lot of Roman sites in Campania, so we’d decided to leave this one to the last – a sort of climax, if you will. I was a bit afraid to be disappointed – sometimes these ancient ruins leave a bit too much to the imagination. But Pompeii is of course different – it’s remarkably well-preserved, since the town was covered by a layer of frozen lava for centuries and centuries… So, to cut a long story short, I wasn’t disappointed. Pompeii really gives you an idea of what a Roman city was like, since so much of it remains so remarkably well preserved (even though all the statues and art-work have been moved to museums, of course).
It’s a pretty big area as well – it took us about 5 hours to make our way around the place! But it’s definitely one of those places that each person should visit at least once in their lifetime. The towering presence of Vesuvius makes the experience all the more “real”. What was the highlight, then? Well, there are several: the forum, the baths or perhaps the Villa dei Misteri? It’s hard to pick out a single one – I would say it’s just the experience as a whole…Back in Sorrento, we decided to go on a bit of a splurge for dinner – and went to Il Buco. Quite a gastronomic experience it was, a bit expensive, but well worth the money. We later found out they have 1 Michelin star – well deserved I would say. One of those places where it’s worth paying a bit of extra for the exceptional service and food. We were also treated to some more Settimana Santa action while we dined…
On Friday, we decided to visit Naples again. I think a town of that grandeur merits at least two days. (more, in fact). We started off by walking around the old town yet more, and visiting yet more magnificent churches. I won’t list them all down (I’ve forgotten) – but one that sticks out in particular is Chiesa Santa Maria delle Anime Purgatorio Ad Arco. The church is home to a rather strange cult of the dead, which is still alive and well in Naples, where people basically bestow gifts upon children’s skulls as a way to keep in touch with absent loved ones (or something like that). Kind of creepily fascinating.The plan was to have lunch in THE pizzeria in Naples – Da Michele. It is the best place to have a Pizza Margherita (well, they only serve two kinds of pizza so there isn’t a lot of choice, anyway – now that’s what I call purist!). Well, after checking out the queues of tourists and locals waiting for their pizza, we decided to give it a miss. We ended up in a nice enough local eatery, where we had our authentic pizzas (well, they were darn good, anyway!).
We spent the afternoon in the one museum that must be visited in Naples – the archeological museum. This is, of course, where all that artwork from Pompeii is stored. For sure, it’s a great museum, with loads of statues, murals and artwork to see (there is even a “secret chamber” for erotic art). But funnily enough, it’s smaller than I expected. I was expecting something like the British Museum – but this place is certainly smaller. Fair enough – thee hours looking at ancient art is plenty enough for me! My only complaint is that the museum was pretty badly organized (on the other hand, this being Naples, I suppose I shouldn’t expect anything else?), and the audio guide was a complete waste of time and money. 
The evening, this being Good Friday, marked the highlight of the Settimana Santa, with a very impressive procession going through Sorrento town. The procession, which involves hundreds of people dressed in some more and less creepy outfits, reflects Madonna’s mourning as she finds her son, Jesus Christ, dead. It’s certainly a spectacular and impressive event, with the hooded monks and other believers chanting away in Latin through the dark streets, observed by the huge crowds.
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