The historic center of Naples, a UNESCO heritage site, encloses three thousand years of history and is the largest in Italy (even larger than Rome’s). Its peculiarity lies in the almost total preservation of the street layout from the Greek era, dating back to the 8th century BC, still in use today. These are the so-called Decumani.
To immediately get in sync with the soul of Naples, it is therefore essential to start with an in-depth exploration of the Decumani, corresponding to Via della Sapienza, Via dell’Anticaglia and Via dei Santi Apostoli (Upper Decumanus), Via dei Tribunali (Major Decumanus), and Spaccanapoli (Lower Decumanus). These streets, along with the connecting alleys and squares, guard many treasures, big and small: first and foremost religious buildings, such as the Cathedral of San Gennaro, the Sansevero Chapel (with its Veiled Christ), and the Monastery of Santa Chiara. But one can also admire traces of Greek and Roman Neapolis, popular mural art, or the beautiful palaces, sometimes in slightly precarious condition, but with doorways and staircases of incredible charm.
The most aristocratic and postcard-like Naples is that of Piazza del Plebiscito, with the Royal Palace and the Maschio Angioino, the Galleria Umberto I, and the San Carlo Theater. The latter can be visited with guided tours on weekends. But obviously the best way to enjoy it is by attending an opera, ballet, or classical music concert. And then the Art Nouveau quarter of Naples which is worth the trip.
So far the surface of Naples. But the city also has a surprising underground face worth exploring to deeply understand its history and evolution. There are various tours of Underground Naples. The one that probably offers the most comprehensive general view is the Official Underground Naples Tour, starting from Piazza San Gaetano, number 68. Also to stay underground, when traveling by subway it is good to observe its stations that have been transformed into artistic installations.
Finally, a visit to the Archaeological Museum of Naples cannot be missed, considered one of the most important archaeological museums in the world for Roman archaeology. Its visit is preparatory to excursions to Pompeii and Herculaneum, as many finds from these cities are preserved there, including mosaics and paintings.
What to eat in Naples
The national dish of Naples is pizza and Via dei Tribunali has been nicknamed by many the “Street of Neapolitan Pizza” due to the large number of pizzerias found there. Among these is the one by Gino and Toto Sorbillo, descendants of one of the oldest families of pizzaiolos in Naples. Gino’s grandparents, who opened a pizzeria on Via dei Tribunali in 1935, had twenty-one children, all of whom later became pizzaiolos. The pizza of Gino and Toto Sorbillo is that of “the poor alleys of the city, that is, bigger, generous, and accessible to all.” Another institution is L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele. To best preserve the tradition, it offers only two pizzas, margherita and Neapolitan, prepared with the best ingredients available locally.
Finally, Campanian street food is a gastronomic experience not to be missed. The main specialties are o’ cuoppo, a paper cone filled with fried delights (fish, potatoes, or small mozzarellas), wallet pizza, fried pizza, pasta fritters, and panuozzo, a halfway between pizza and sandwich.
The Amalfi Coast is the stretch of Campanian coastline, located south of the Sorrentine Peninsula, overlooking the Gulf of Salerno. It is a stretch of coast famous worldwide for its natural beauty and is home to important tourist resorts, such as Positano. It takes its name from the city of Amalfi, the central hub of the Coast not only geographically but also historically, as it was one of the Maritime Republics. The beauty of the coast was discovered in the 19th century, during the Grand Tour. After World War II, it became one of the vacation destinations for the international jet set.
The best way to travel between the towns of the Coast is by ferries departing from Piazza della Concordia in Salerno or it is recommended to rent a motorboat, provided you have a boating license.
The cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD, each deserve a day of visit. They are easily reachable from Naples, using the Circumvesuviana line, departing from Porta Nolana station.
Ancient Pompeii was buried under a layer of ash and lapilli. Excavations, started by the will of Charles III of Bourbon, have allowed it to be completely brought to light. Therefore, you can find there all possible types of buildings present in Roman cities: private residences, forums, artisan and commercial premises, buildings for shows, baths, and temples.
The city of Herculaneum was instead a holiday resort for the Roman aristocracy, as testified by the numerous villas such as Villa of the Papyri. It was completely buried under a layer of mud and pyroclastic materials following the eruption of Vesuvius: this layer, over the years, solidified, forming a rock layer similar to tuff but softer, which has protected the remains of the city, although making archaeological excavations more difficult. The theater, in particular, is still buried and, when open to the public, is accessible through a series of Bourbon-era tunnels.
During these first four days, it is possible to stay in Naples and, for transfers, public transport can be used. At the end of the fourth day, it is advisable to rent a car and move to Salerno for the second part of the trip.
In the Cilento and Vallo di Diano, three sites are selected by UNESCO as World Heritage sites: Paestum, Velia, and the Certosa di Padula.
Paestum is a colony of Magna Graecia, founded by the Sybarites. The extent of its settlement, enclosed by its Greek walls, is still clearly recognizable today. Paestum is especially known for its temples, miraculously preserved in excellent condition, so much so that they are considered unique examples of Magna-Greek architecture. The local museum houses a notable collection of artifacts found in the areas around Paestum, primarily funeral furnishings from the Greek and Lucanian necropolises. Countless are the vases, weapons, and frescoed tomb slabs, among which the most famous is that of the Diver.
Velia was also a Greek colony, founded by Phocaean exiles fleeing their land threatened by the Persians. The archaeological area thus preserves remains of the Greek city, the most famous of which is the Porta Rosa, the oldest example of a full-centered arch in Italy, dated to the 4th century BC.
The Certosa di San Lorenzo in Padula is the first charterhouse to be established in Campania, at the beginning of the 14th century. Its 17th-century restructuring transformed it into one of the most sumptuous Baroque monumental complexes in southern Italy, as well as one of the largest charterhouses in Europe.
The last stops of the tour are Benevento and Caserta.
In Benevento is the Santa Sofia monumental complex, which is part of the serial site “Lombards in Italy: places of power”. It develops around the church, built in 760 by the Lombard duke Arechi II. The attached monastery, whose most notable part is the cloister, houses the Sannio Museum which holds, among other things, a remarkable collection of archaeological finds, including many remains of a temple of Isis located in the city.
The best-known monument in Caserta is undoubtedly The Royal Palace known as the Royal Palace of Caserta, built in the mid-18th century by Charles of Bourbon who, driven by a sense of competition with the French royalty and eager to provide Naples with structures capable of playing the role of a European-level capital city, decided to inaugurate a palace that could rival the magnificence and grandeur of Versailles. The palace, considered the last great achievement of Italian Baroque, is a grand complex of 1,200 rooms. The park extends for 3 kilometers in length, covering 120 hectares.
Less famous than the palace, but worthy of a visit, is the complex of San Leucio. The homonymous hill was purchased in 1750 by Charles III of Bourbon with the initial intention of making it a hunting reserve and secondary residences for the leisure of the royal family. Later, Ferdinand IV established a factory there for silk manufacturing and made it the forefront of his industrial policy: a manufacturing center for his population, which later became a colony governed by a special code of laws. The productions of San Leucio still proudly decorate the Vatican, the Quirinal Palace, the White House, and Buckingham Palace.
The Wine of Sannio
Benevento is the pantry of Campanian wine: its area alone produces more than half of the DOC and IGT products of the entire region. The best-known wine of the area is probably the falanghina, a native white grape with a fruity flavor. The first bottle of falanghina was produced in 1979 by the Mustilli Winery of Sant’Agata dei Goti, which wanted to bet on a vine that at the time was destined only for distillation. Needless to say, the bet was widely won, as evidenced by the numerous awards received by Mustilli falanghina wines and by the spread that this vine had in the area of Sant’Agata in the following decades. The historic cellar of the company Mustilli, dug 15 meters deep under the family palace, is open for tastings and visits.
