How long in Naples?
Dec 15th, 2007, 04:28 AM
#21
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I would also consider a day trip to Capri if you have never been there. It is a beautiful spot. Personal favorites there were Axel Munthe's Villa San Michele in Anacapri and Villa Iovis (Tiberius's palace)
Dec 15th, 2007, 06:12 AM
#22
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there are not very many streetlights in Naples/Spaccanapoli. But I did not feel uneasy alone there at night.
Re Carolines point about the Arch. museum, it is interesting but it just doesnt have great stuff in it - when you think about it, Pompeii was just some kind of average roman settlement - the statues and items there were mostly average, mass production not great works. An archeological museum preserves these characteristic items on display - as anthropology, not art. I found the mosaics, jars, and repro statues in situ at Pompeii much more evocative than the stuff in the museum. Do get over to see the Farnese greek statues that were dug up in Rome though - the Herc and Venus are stunning.
Re Carolines point about the Arch. museum, it is interesting but it just doesnt have great stuff in it - when you think about it, Pompeii was just some kind of average roman settlement - the statues and items there were mostly average, mass production not great works. An archeological museum preserves these characteristic items on display - as anthropology, not art. I found the mosaics, jars, and repro statues in situ at Pompeii much more evocative than the stuff in the museum. Do get over to see the Farnese greek statues that were dug up in Rome though - the Herc and Venus are stunning.
Dec 15th, 2007, 06:33 AM
#23
eks - pity, looks like we'll miss. My current plan is to spend the nights of April 9-11 in Naples, 12-17 on the Amalfi Coast (maybe an apt. rental), April 18 - May 11 on Sicily and May 12 back in Naples.
I'm not too worried abut safety, I don't expect to be on the streets after 11:00 at night. However, I did get pickpocketed at night in Rome, so I'm a little warier about big Italian cities than I might otherwise be. The poster on the other board seemed to be suggesting something more physical than pickpocketing, though, which I thought unlikely.
I'm not too worried abut safety, I don't expect to be on the streets after 11:00 at night. However, I did get pickpocketed at night in Rome, so I'm a little warier about big Italian cities than I might otherwise be. The poster on the other board seemed to be suggesting something more physical than pickpocketing, though, which I thought unlikely.
Dec 15th, 2007, 08:45 AM
#24
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To Caroline Edinburgh-
I could find nothing absolutely wrong with your reasoning to spend an hour or so at the Piazza Dante, except I would do it with a Campari. However, Mc D's is great because it is elevated, so you can see more of the action. Too bad they don't serve Negroni or Campari at Mc D.
I could find nothing absolutely wrong with your reasoning to spend an hour or so at the Piazza Dante, except I would do it with a Campari. However, Mc D's is great because it is elevated, so you can see more of the action. Too bad they don't serve Negroni or Campari at Mc D.
Dec 15th, 2007, 08:55 AM
#25
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Incidentally, the absolute most astounding greatest view in this wide world, is achieved on the Via Petrarca, overlooking the Bay of Naples, with Vesuvio in the background. I go to Naples every year, and go to that site often. It's amazing, every time I go there, I'm breathless, and it's like that is the first time I've been there. The panorama is so shattering, I swear, I feel like crying because I'm so overwhelmed. I took pictures of that site several times a year, for about ten
years, and I just couldn't capture the scene. Finally, one day I GOT IT! I'm definitely not an artsy type, but the photo, the time of day, the shadows, the clouds over Vesuvio, etc. were just perfect. I blew the photo to a three foot by four foot size (fortunately, it was a film shot, and not digital), and I now have that photo framed and hanging in my rec room.
years, and I just couldn't capture the scene. Finally, one day I GOT IT! I'm definitely not an artsy type, but the photo, the time of day, the shadows, the clouds over Vesuvio, etc. were just perfect. I blew the photo to a three foot by four foot size (fortunately, it was a film shot, and not digital), and I now have that photo framed and hanging in my rec room.
Dec 15th, 2007, 09:28 AM
#26
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My first instinct was to say one day in Naples is ENOUGH. One full day and night walking around the historic city center, up the Spaccanapoli, wondering through up down and around the streets. People watching.
Catching the sunset at the Bay of Naples.
Eating dinner on a busy steep street near the damichele restaurant.
After reading this post I think I may need to visit Naples one more time. I never saw the catacombs, never made it to Pompeii and would some day like to spend the night in Capri.
Catching the sunset at the Bay of Naples.
Eating dinner on a busy steep street near the damichele restaurant.
After reading this post I think I may need to visit Naples one more time. I never saw the catacombs, never made it to Pompeii and would some day like to spend the night in Capri.
Dec 15th, 2007, 09:29 AM
#27
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Thursday, I know what you mean, as I had a bad experience in Palermo that now makes me more wary than I would be normally. Maybe that alone is not a bad thing, however.
Waldo: Please give me a hint here, as I cannot find Via Petrarca on my Naples Map (I am sure that the problem is with my map..) ...I wanted to mark the spot with an "x."
Waldo: Please give me a hint here, as I cannot find Via Petrarca on my Naples Map (I am sure that the problem is with my map..) ...I wanted to mark the spot with an "x."
Dec 15th, 2007, 06:17 PM
#28
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Find Posillipo on your map. from there, Via Petrarca runs east-west along the bay until it gets to Piazza Sannizarro. It is deceptive, because that area of Naples is built on the side of a hill, therefore on a map, Via Petrarca will appear slightly inland, because it is elevated. It runs parallel with Via Posillipo, which is shown nearer the bay. Via Posillipo affords the same view, but is at the level of the bay, so the view is less dramatic. Let me know if you find it. I have a hilareous story about Piazza Sannizzaro, if you are interested. It is something which is so far out, I believe that the only place on earth that it can happen is in NAPOLI!
Dec 16th, 2007, 02:52 AM
#29
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Waldo: No wonder! My map does not extend far enough to include Posilipo.
Well of course we now need to "hear" your story!
And glad I will have more time for moseying around since the status of the Arch Museum has been changed from a "must" to a "maybe!"
Well of course we now need to "hear" your story!
And glad I will have more time for moseying around since the status of the Arch Museum has been changed from a "must" to a "maybe!"
Dec 16th, 2007, 05:17 AM
#31
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Thursday: What happened to me was really a freak thing and I guess it is like one in a million. Short story: We had just checked into our hotel after arriving on the flights from the US.
I was standing in the lobby on a Sunday which also happened to be May 1. So the city was deserted. I was at the front desk talking to the (female) receptionist and there was no one else around. A guy walked in, brandished a knife, took my wallet and robbed the hotel cash drawer and grabbed the gold necklace off the receptionist. There was lots of screaming and shreiking, to no avail.
The police came and were very nice, giving me a tour of the city en route to the police station, showing off how fast they could drive their car, careening around corners and driving the wrong way along narrow streets with the siren going...
After they let me phone the cc companies, they told me that had some advice for me: They cautioned that Palermo was as bad as Falluja (!!!) and next time I ought to visit their hometown where this sort of this would NEVER happen. And the hometown of the two cops was...you guessed it:
NAPLES!!!!
I was standing in the lobby on a Sunday which also happened to be May 1. So the city was deserted. I was at the front desk talking to the (female) receptionist and there was no one else around. A guy walked in, brandished a knife, took my wallet and robbed the hotel cash drawer and grabbed the gold necklace off the receptionist. There was lots of screaming and shreiking, to no avail.
The police came and were very nice, giving me a tour of the city en route to the police station, showing off how fast they could drive their car, careening around corners and driving the wrong way along narrow streets with the siren going...
After they let me phone the cc companies, they told me that had some advice for me: They cautioned that Palermo was as bad as Falluja (!!!) and next time I ought to visit their hometown where this sort of this would NEVER happen. And the hometown of the two cops was...you guessed it:
NAPLES!!!!
Dec 16th, 2007, 07:35 AM
#32
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I'll be in Naples for three nights in early July, so I'm glad to see this info. Caroline, I think I've read your report but need to look at it again!
ek, I love that story about the cops. I look forward to your restaurant recommendations for Naples.
ek, I love that story about the cops. I look forward to your restaurant recommendations for Naples.
Dec 16th, 2007, 10:30 AM
#33
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This you gotta believe, I swear it's the truth.
My wife was raised in Naples, but she's an American citizen, born in New York, while the rest of her family (three brothers and five sisters plus mom and dad), are all Neopolitans. By that token, all of her family lives in Naples. We visit a few times a year. My son is an airline pilot, so we fly just by paying the tax. One saturday night in Napoli, my wife's brother, Mario, told us he would take us to his favorite pizza place, located at Piazza Sanizzaro. The piazza is circular in shape, with a bunch of restaurants and other stores making up the outer ring of the circle. This one pizza place my brother in law likes, was jammed this night, with tables extending past the sidewalk, into the street, not to uncommon in Naples. In the center of the Piazza is a fountain, with trolley tracks around the fountain. When we got there, the host said he would give us a table on the street, so he had a couple of waiters bring a table and chairs FAR out on the street, CLOSE TO THE TROLLEY TRACKS! He arranged the table and chairs in such a way that I was sitting almost on the trolley tracks, maybe two feet away from the tracks. I told him he was nuts, and I wouldn't go for that. My brother in law told me not to worry, he convinced me that all would be OK. I was reluctant, but I listened to him. So there I was sitting almost on the trolley tracks, figuratively wetting my pants while I was cautiously eating my pizza (which was pretty good). The TROLLEY THEN COMES ALONG!! "DING, DING! What the heck is going on, what do I do??? The trolley STOPS, I move my seat, the TROLLEY GOES BY as if nothing ever happened! I sit down and resume eating my pizza, as if nothing strange ever happened. This went on for a couple of times. This was a regular practice in Naples. They have now forbidden it, but it sure was a blast. Only in Napoli!
My wife was raised in Naples, but she's an American citizen, born in New York, while the rest of her family (three brothers and five sisters plus mom and dad), are all Neopolitans. By that token, all of her family lives in Naples. We visit a few times a year. My son is an airline pilot, so we fly just by paying the tax. One saturday night in Napoli, my wife's brother, Mario, told us he would take us to his favorite pizza place, located at Piazza Sanizzaro. The piazza is circular in shape, with a bunch of restaurants and other stores making up the outer ring of the circle. This one pizza place my brother in law likes, was jammed this night, with tables extending past the sidewalk, into the street, not to uncommon in Naples. In the center of the Piazza is a fountain, with trolley tracks around the fountain. When we got there, the host said he would give us a table on the street, so he had a couple of waiters bring a table and chairs FAR out on the street, CLOSE TO THE TROLLEY TRACKS! He arranged the table and chairs in such a way that I was sitting almost on the trolley tracks, maybe two feet away from the tracks. I told him he was nuts, and I wouldn't go for that. My brother in law told me not to worry, he convinced me that all would be OK. I was reluctant, but I listened to him. So there I was sitting almost on the trolley tracks, figuratively wetting my pants while I was cautiously eating my pizza (which was pretty good). The TROLLEY THEN COMES ALONG!! "DING, DING! What the heck is going on, what do I do??? The trolley STOPS, I move my seat, the TROLLEY GOES BY as if nothing ever happened! I sit down and resume eating my pizza, as if nothing strange ever happened. This went on for a couple of times. This was a regular practice in Naples. They have now forbidden it, but it sure was a blast. Only in Napoli!
Dec 16th, 2007, 12:08 PM
#34
Fabulous story, eks! Like all great travel stories, lousy to live but great to tell! I'll actually be in Palermo May 1st this year. I'll try to remember to keep my credit cards in my money belt that day.
Dec 16th, 2007, 12:10 PM
#35
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Waldo..you are not kidding about that happening "only in Napoli!!" I thought you were going to say that one of the trolley passengers grabbed a slice from your pie!!
By the way, have you read the book, "Falling Palace: A Romance of Naples," by Dan Hofstadter?
By the way, have you read the book, "Falling Palace: A Romance of Naples," by Dan Hofstadter?
Dec 16th, 2007, 01:08 PM
#36
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Another great view is from the Renaissance Naples Hotel Mediterraneo. I stayed on the 8th floor and had a fantastic view of the Bay of Naples also Mt. Vesuvius and the castle Castellano.
You can go to the top floor to get the great view.
You can go to the top floor to get the great view.
Dec 16th, 2007, 05:46 PM
#38
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Speaking about trolley passengers, I have another story. I was on a trolley, travelling on the Fuora Marina towards my brother in law's home, and the trolley was very crowded, which is normal. I was minding my own business, when an argument erupted between a high school (I guess) young girl and an eldery gentlemen. They got at it pretty hot and heavy, and I thought it was going to get violent. The trolley driver wisely stopped the trolley and waved to a policeman and told him, I guess, what was going on. The cop came aboard the trolley, and asked everyone to show their cancelled tickets. You never saw a mass of humanity evacuate the trolley so fast. I was the only passenger left on the trolley! The cop, the driver and I had a big laugh! No one cancels their tickets on the Naples mass transit. I wonder how the system survives.
Dec 17th, 2007, 02:27 AM
#39
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I love those stories! How wonderful that you are able to have an insiders view of what sounds like a fascinating city!
On the subject of Naples, here is another recent book by Roberto Saviano that I believe is creating quite a stir in that city and has been published in the US recently:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/14/bo...mp;oref=slogin
OR, if you cannot read that link to the New York Times:
http://www.amazon.com/Gomorrah-Rober.../dp/0374165270
On the subject of Naples, here is another recent book by Roberto Saviano that I believe is creating quite a stir in that city and has been published in the US recently:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/14/bo...mp;oref=slogin
OR, if you cannot read that link to the New York Times:
http://www.amazon.com/Gomorrah-Rober.../dp/0374165270
