"View Napoli and then you die”. This is undoubtedly a proverb that helps to understand how fascinating this city can be. From breathtaking views to culture, there are so many to Naples things to see. We thought we'd create a short list that can suggest which places you really can't miss during your holiday: what to see in Naples and what to visit.
What to visit in Naples: places of interest and monuments
Naples is a city to visit in several days. Among the many attractions that this city offers, we want to recommend some key places to you Naples: what to visit during your holiday.
1 Piazza del Plebiscito
Piazza del PlebiscitoIn the neighborhood Saint Lucia, is the heart and symbol of the city. Within the 25.000 mXNUMX that surround it you can find some of the most important works in Naples, such as the Royal Palace , Church of San Francesco di Paola. Eighteenth and nineteenth century buildings are reflected in the square. It is from here that you can admire Vesuvius, located in front of the rear part of the Royal Palace. The square must be placed first in the list "Naples: what to see".
2 Royal Palace of Naples
Il Royal Palace of Naples it was built in the 9,00th century by the Spanish viceroys. It was subsequently enlarged by the Bourbons during the eighteenth century. The royal apartments can be visited from 19,00 to XNUMX, upon payment of a ticket. The internal courtyard and gardens are free to access. Not far from Royal Palace is the Teatro San Carlo, a well-known opera house, which can be visited every day from 9,00 to 17,30, except during shows.
3 Maschio Angioino
Il Maschio Angioino it is the icon of historic Naples, located on the seafront in a particular position. It is one of the main attractions of Naples. Inside you will find the Civic Museum of Naples.
4 Spaccanapoli
Spaccanapoli it is the soul of the Neapolitan city. The meaning of its name is literal: the neighborhood is in fact split in two by a road. This crack is clearly visible from above. Here they cross paths Via Benedetto Croce, San Biagio dei Librai e Old Vicar (deumanus inferior while the decumanus major was Via dei Tribubnali) . Spaccanapoli starts from Piazza del Gesù where is the Church of the Gesù Nuovo of the end of the sixteenth century. Not far away, in the narrow streets, is the Cloister of Santa Chiara, dating back to the XNUMXth century. In this neighborhood you will find the true soul of Naples and this is where you must go to experience it Naples nightlife.
5 San Gregorio Armeno
Via San Gregorio Armeno it is one of the most famous streets in Naples, especially during the Christmas period. Perpendicular to Spagnanapoli, here there are many artisan shops that produce specimens of Neapolitan nativity scene. It is, in fact, known as “Via dei Presepi”. But don't despair; it is possible to observe the artisans working on the figurines throughout the year. To be included in the list "What to do in Naples".
6 Quartieri Spagnoli and Via Toledo
Via Toledo it is the street, full of shops, that connects Piazza del Plebiscito a Piazza Dante. The streets wind perpendicular to the street Spanish Neighborhoods, a degraded area of the city which, however, retains its charm. And speaking of picturesque areas of Naples, more below Piazza Dante, coming from Piazza Plebiscito, is located Pignasecca, where typical markets of the city take place. Here too it is good to pay attention. The closest metro station to Pignasecca è Montesanto but you can also choose to go down to Via Toledo metro stop, considered one of the most beautiful in all of Europe. Absolutely not to be missed.
7 Posillipo and Via Chiaia
The Posillipo neighborhood is located high up from Piazza Plebiscito. The Posillipo hill offers a view of the city that is absolutely not to be missed. Below is the small port of Mergellina. Via Chiaia it's another street to visit if you go to Naples. It runs from Piazza Plebiscito towards Martyrs' Squarei and is an ideal place for shopping and for a walk. At the bottom of Via Chiaia there is one of the historic theaters of the city (Teatro San Carlo and Bellini the best known), the Sannazaro Theater.
8 Naples underground
Underground Naples it is a visit to the tunnels and cisterns of underground Naples that is definitely worth including in the list "Naples: what to do”. If you don't suffer from claustrophobia, it is the ideal place to discover the hidden treasures of the Neapolitan city.
9 Palace of the Naples Stock Exchange
Il Stock Exchange building (1895, project by Alfonso Guerra and Luigi Ferrara), today the seat of the Chamber of Commerce of Naples, preceded by the staircase with the bronze lions by Luigi De Luca on the sides, was born from the renovation works, in the new Giovanni Bovio square (1841-1903, philosopher and politician who lived in these walls for a long time) built in the area of the squares of Porto market. Here, in 1898, the Neptune Fountain, brought back to the seventeenth-century location in via Medina as a result of the works on line 1 of the underground.
10 Teatro San Carlo
Il Teatro di San Carlo, alongside the revivals of the great melodramatic repertoire and the revival of nineteenth-century masterpieces, in recent years it has also carried out an intense activity aimed at recovering the eighteenth-century comic opera of the Neapolitan school. The drawing of Medrano of the San Carlo Theater of Napoli it included a hall 28,6 meters long and 22,5 meters wide, with 184 boxes, including the proscenium ones, arranged in six orders, plus a royal box capable of accommodating ten people, for a total of 1379 seats. Eight months after the start of work, on 4 November 1737, the theater was already completed.
11 Palace of Capodimonte
La Palace of Capodimonte, with the big one park, houses the art collection of Farnese and Bourbons. The Palace is open every day, except Wednesday, from 8,30am to 19,30pm. Paid entry.
Churches in Naples
12 Cathedral of Naples
Il Cathedral of Naples it is very important for the Neapolitans; it is in this place that every year the famous "miracle of San Gennaro”. The Cathedral dates back to the 8,00th century and can be visited from Monday to Friday from 12,30 to 16,30; from 19,30pm to 8,00pm. On Sundays the Cathedral can be visited from 13,30 to 17,00 and from 19,30 to XNUMX. It definitely deserves to be on the list."Naples: what to visit".
13 Monastery of Santa Chiara
Il Monumental Complex of Santa Chiara, comprising Church, Monastery e Convent, was built from 1310 to 1328 at the behest of the monarch Roberto D'Angiò and his wife Sancia of Mallorca. The sovereigns, both devoted to Saint Francis of Assisi and Santa Chiara, they wanted to build a Franciscan citadel that would welcome the Clarisse and in the adjacent convent the Friars Minor. There Church, the central nucleus of the entire complex, was built with the title of Holy Ostia o Sacred Body of Christ, dedication suggested by the Eucharistic Miracle of Bolsena, which occurred in 1264; the aforementioned name immediately changed to Saint Clare, probably due to the extraordinary number of Poor Clares present in the monastery.
14 Pio Monte della Misericordia
Il Pio Monte della Misericordia it is a charitable institution, still active, founded in 1602 by seven Neapolitan noblemen. The seat of the Pio Monte della Misericordia it also houses an Archive/Library which is particularly valuable for the quantity and rarity of the documents and volumes preserved in it. Of notable importance is the painting executed by Caravaggio, "The Seven Works of Mercy” (1607), placed in the church on the main altar.
15 Certosa di San Martino
La Certosa di San Martino with an adjoining museum, is located in a dominant part of the city, on the hill of Vomero (elegant neighborhood of Naples). The Carthusian monastery dates back to the XNUMXth century and offers itself as an attraction of the Neapolitan city. The museum hosts an exhibition of nativity scenes and an important collection of paintings. From the terrace you can enjoy a magnificent view of the gulf of Napoli. The museum is open every day, except Wednesdays, from 8,30 am to 19,30 pm. Entrance fee.
Do not miss: Naples, the best itineraries
Museums of Naples
16 Archaeological Museum of Naples
Il archaeological Museum it is one of the most important archaeological museums in Europe. The MANN hosts, in addition to important works and ancient finds, the Pompeian Collections deriving from the excavations of Pompeii.
17 Chapel of San Severo and Veiled Christ
Visit the Chapel of San Severo it is certainly an exciting experience. Inside this building it is in fact possible to observe one of the most beautiful works of art in Naples: the Veiled Christ di Joseph Sammartino, of 1573. The Chapel of San Severo is located in Via De Sanctis at number 19 and is open every day, except Tuesday, from 10,00 to 17,40. On Sundays it closes at 13,10pm. Entrance is paid.
18 Museo del Novecento in Naples
Il Museo del Novecento in Naples was created in the spaces of High Prison of Castel Sant'Elmo. Approximately 170 works created by 90 Neapolitan artists are on display, with the addition of some non-Neapolitan artists who were active in the city with different roles. From the various testimonies on what happened between the two wars to the experiences that followed after the Second World War (1948-1958), from 'South' group to the so-called Neorealism, from the MAC group toInformal or Group '58 up to our times.
19 Santa Maria delle Anime del Purgatorio museum complex in Arco
Il Santa Maria delle Anime del Purgatorio museum complex in Arco – which includes the Church, Opera Museum andhypogeum – represents an extraordinary opportunity to learn about the ancient cult of souls in Purgatory. In 1605 a group of nobles created aPious Work a Lay congregation, which had among its main purposes the 'care' of souls in Purgatory: thus the elegant church arose, based on a project by Giovan Cola di Franco, conceived, from the outset, on two levels, the upper church, a true masterpiece of Neapolitan baroque art, and the lower church or hypogeum, still today, home to the cult of pezzentelle souls. The iconographic equipment of the church is of great value: on the main altar the masterpiece by Massimo Stanzione, Our Lady of purging souls, surmounted by the painting by Giacomo Farelli Saint Anna offers the virgin child to the eternal Father, and in the side chapels the Transit of Saint Joseph by Andrea Vaccaro, and the Death or Ecstasy of Saint Alexis, a youthful masterpiece by Luca Giordano The Complex also houses a small but precious Opera Museum, which houses a collection of paintings and artefacts created between the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries, the historical archive and a medical clinic dedicated to the needy.
20 Museum complex of the most august Archconfraternity of the Pilgrims
Il Museum complex of the most august Archconfraternity of the Pilgrims includes a sixteenth-century church, an eighteenth-century church (Medrano and Carlo Vanvitelli) magnificent for the singular plan with two octagons connected by rectangles; the Holy Land (work of the architect Giovanni Antonio Medrano); the environments intended for the life of the Archconfraternity (Salone del Mandato, Sala della Vestizione). Excellent pictorial works of art everywhere (from the XNUMXth to the XNUMXth century) (Bernardino Campi, Andrea Vaccaro, Francesco Fracanzano, Onofrio Palumbo and Didier Barra, Giacomo Farelli, Francesco De Mura, Giuseppe Bonito, Giacinto Diano), sculptural (the expressive statue of the founder in bronze Fabrizio Pignatelli kneeling, of Michelangelo Naccherino; in marble a Madonna and Child of Francesco Laurana; in stucco the spectacular group of Trinity by Angelo Viva), wooden (polychrome statues of the Passion by unknown Neapolitan authors of the XNUMXth century; choir in walnut briar and dome with pure gold motifs designed by the architect Astarita), precious furnishings and liturgical objects. Very important historical archive rich in over 1245 volumes and registers and 328 precious parchments. The brothers wear a red habit (from the sixteenth century to the present day) a symbol of charity which recalls the blood of Christ shed for the redemption of humanity .
21 Other museums in Naples
- Hermann Nitsch Contemporary Arts Museum, Naples
- Ascione del Corallo Museum, Naples
- Castelnuovo Civic Museum, Naples
- Naples Sea Museum, Thetys Foundation
- Museo del Novecento in Naples
- Museum of the treasure of San Gennaro, Naples
- Elena Aldobrandini Textile and Clothing Museum, Naples
- Duca di Martina ceramic museum in Villa Floridiana, Naples
- Giuseppe Caravita Prince of Sirignano Museum, Naples
- Laboratory Museum of Rural Civilization “Masseria Luce”, Naples
- Mother Museum, Naples
- “Luigi Petriccione” Scientific Museum of Technology and Work, Naples
22 Getting around in Naples
If you are wondering "Getting around in Naples?”, we advise you to do it on the subway; we then add that it is interesting to take a real tour of the Naples metro stations, a truly interesting example of contemporary art. The stop of the Via Toledo subway it is one of the most beautiful in Europe, worth a visit. Alternatively you can take city buses and, ultimately, a taxi.
Information in a nutshell about Naples: where to eat, how to get there, where to sleep
23 How to get to Naples
The best way to reach Naples is by taking the train or arriving by plane. LNaples airport, Capodichino Naples Airport, is about 7 km from the centre, which you can reach in a few minutes by taxi or bus to the Central Train Station. Naples international airport provides connections to routes from various locations around the world and the train station, with the adjacent bus station, is very efficient and well served.
24 What to eat in Naples
Naples is famous for its fabulous cuisine. You will therefore not struggle to find an ideal place to taste Neapolitan cuisine. In the list "Naples: what to eat”, remember to insert: la Team Building (born in Naples and you can't help but eat it) from Pizzeria Brandi (stairs of Via Chiaia, here it is Margherita pizza was born) or that of Michele o Sorbillo in Via dei Tribunali, mozzarella di bufala, beans and mussels and how sweet Baba e puff pastries. Note the Scaturchio pastry shop in Piazza San Domenico but many others serve quality products.
25 Where to sleep in Naples
For your search hotels in Naples we recommend the areas adjacent to the Maschio Angioino, or the area of Mergellina to be able to enjoy the wonderful panorama that Naples can offer. The historic center also offers interesting stays, especially alternative ones such as B&Bs and holiday homes.
26 Good luck
At the conclusion of this complete guide of Naples we couldn't dwell on the "good and bad luck“. Superstition is inherent in the Neapolitan tradition and numbers (17), things and facts often need superstitious rites that have been handed down in the mists of time in this city of a thousand colours, as it says in "Napul'è'the son of Naples, Pino Daniele. Paraphrasing another great figure from Naples, Peppino De Filippo, “It's not true... but believe ito ".
27 Funiculi Funicula
The famous song "Funiculì funiculà" was written in Naples when the legendary Vesuviana, which led to the crater of the volcano, was in operation. Once that historic facility has been decommissioned, four funicular railways now operate in the Neapolitan capital, connecting the center to the upper districts of the hills.
Comfortable, fast, with overall 16 stations and more than 3 km of tracks, their small colorful carriages are among the means preferred by Neapolitans and tourists. The Centrale, Chiaia and Montesanto funiculars connect the center to the scenic district Vomero; the one of Mergellina it is instead the intermediary between the Posillipo hill and the sea. There Centrale was wittily renamed the “shopping funicular”, because it connects the most prosperous and elegant commercial areas: via Roma and surroundings (Galleria Umberto and via Chiaia) with via Scarlatti and via Giordano. Areas also rich from a historical, monumental and cultural point of view.
La funicular of Chiaia it dates back to 1889 and is one of the oldest in Italy, it connects the neighborhoods adjacent to the Riviera of Chiaia to the very green Vomero, using two modern lines with a maximum capacity of 300 people.
La Montesanto line, in operation since 1891 and profoundly renovated in recent times, always leads to the cool heights of Vomero starting however from the popular heart of Naples, the Pignasecca district. While there Mergellina it goes back and forth between the marina and the elegant Posillipo.
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