Coming from the winds of the Welsh moors, Naples was quite the culture shock. Vespa scooters buzzing everywhere, Italian being shouted in the streets, pizza and gelato on every corner – it was amazing! We were beyond lucky with our choice of B&B, as it is located just steps from the beautiful Piazza del Plebiscito and the centre of town.
Our first stop was the Piazza and then the port, where the hazy outline of Mt Vesuvius loomed.
The Piazza del Plebiscito
A view of Castel Sant’Elmo from the Piazza
Vesuvius and the port of Naples
We headed up the hill to check out Castel Sant’Elmo. Built in the shape of a star and completed in 1329, the castle has amazing views over Naples.
Climbing the stairs to Castel Sant’Elmo
Enjoying the views – and the breeze!
View of Vesuvius and the port, with a monastery in the foreground
Dad enjoying the massive view
We headed down the hill towards the ‘Centro Storico’ – the historic centre of Naples. There were market stalls lining a square with everything from fresh fruit and veges to freshly caught octopus still squishing around – I felt a bit sorry for them!
More varieties of cockles and mussels than I knew existed!
After all that walking, it was definitely time for a gelato break. Happily for me and my lactose-free stomach, there were lots of delicious sorbets and the lemon was super refreshing and delish, although I was quite jealous of Dad and Zoe’s stracciatella!
Mmm!
Zoe was on a mission to find the Capella Sansevero, a beautiful chapel filled with amazing sculpures, including an incredibly detailed Veiled Christ – it’s hard to believe that the veil is sculpted from the same marble, it’s so sheer.
Veiled Christ by Sanmartino (Image via Creative Commons)
However the most ‘memorable’ exhibit is undoubtedly not the art, but the two ‘Anatomical Machines’ on display in the basement – a male and female skeleton with all the blood vessels and arteries also visible. The story goes that the Prince of Sansevero who was responsible for much of the design of the Chapel, Raimondo di Sangro, created these from the bodies of two servants – although it’s not known exactly how he got the detail of all the veins so exactly right. All a little creepy… especially when standing in front of them!
One of the skeletons (Image via Creative Commons)
After all that we needed some light relief… this street band were rocking out and I loved the drum kit – who needs fancy drums?!
There is graffiti everywhere in Naples, but a lot of it is more like art than your standard tag – and so colourful!
Starving after our epic day of walking, we ordered a number of specials of Naples to share. Of course it’s mandatory to have pizza in Naples, and we tried a couple of varieties… including deep-fried! Cheesy and delicious, I wouldn’t recommend it for daily consumption – but it was an experience!
Mmm…
After all that, an evening stroll was in order to enjoy the city’s lights by night. We headed to bed pretty early as the next day would see us trekking all over Herculaneum and Pompeii!
