Tuesday 4th June - Naples

Tuesday 4th June

This was the day we were to go to Naples. So we were up early for a 7 a.m. departure. We took Stefania’s car and Bruno drove for a while down the autostrada to Sulmona where Stefania took over as  we had to take the smaller roads over the mountains past Roccaraso and Castel del Sandro to Isernia and on down to the western plain at Caserta which is the home of the Camorra a branch of the mafia known for its ruthlessness. Then we picked up the autostrada A1 from Rome to Naples. We stopped for a bathroom break, coffee and a delicious cornetto filled with apricot jam and continued on to Naples where we parked in an underground parking garage in Piazza San Francesca. 

From here we walked to the Central Station and on to the spacey new construction which covers the Garibaldi Metro station. 

I visited Naples many times on business up until 2010 and during all those years the subway had been under construction and to see the wonderful job they have made of it now was doubly pleasing. 

The Metro is, in places very deep taking three escalators to get t the tracks. The digging for it of course revealed a treasure trove of ancient ruins and artifacts including a whole ship which is being restored and will be placed at one of the stations as an exhibit in future. 

The stations have been designed by different architects and have some spectacular features in murals and ceiling decoration. We looked at a number of stations including Garibaldi, where we started, Universita, Dante and Toledo. We got off at the latter and walked down the street named Toledo which is a main shopping street and on down crowded streets with all sorts of wares on display. Stefania bought us some fried pizza and also a wonderful fritto misto of fresh fish. We passed shops selling tripe products every kind of pastry and ‘fast food’ item.

Then we walked up another narrow street (no matter how narrow the street, it seemed that cars and scooters almost always confronted one, even in one case a large BMW S.U.V). Here there were many souvenir shops including the wonderful miniature animated models of men and women at various kinds of work. Bruno checked out the clothes and shoe stores and also the ladies’ dress shops but Stefania did not seem interested in him buying anything for her.

At every turn there was another beautiful church of building. Groups of tourists guided tours passed by in both directions including a number of school groups.

We arrived at Basilica di Santa Chiara only to find that it was just closing. 

We were able to visit the museum and cloister area which is just breathtakingly beautiful. There is also a museum where they showed a movie about the building and also an area where the excavations uncovered a remarkable ancient thermal bath complex. I will write much more about this astounding building later. 

After visiting the museum,  we decided to stop for lunch at a renowned small restaurant just behind the Basilica called appropriately enough Monastero Ristovino. This small restaurant which the average tourist would pass by without a second glance, serves some of the best traditional local Neapolitan food. It was one of those memorable dining experiences with the owner serving us and discussing the menu which Stefania tailored to our tastes. The chef is the owner’s wife. This combination makes the whole dining experience so different from many other places as the menu is a discussion point, not necessarily just a piece of paper with defined dishes on it. Instead, if you want your food this way or that or you really do want the genuine recommendations of the owner and chef, you really do get them. We had baby octopus in a tomato’s broth with olives and capers, fennel (finoccia) and some antipasto which I cannot describe other than they were superb. This was washed down with a local wine Fina?? 

Refreshed we walked on down small streets filled with shops of every type including an area filled with book shops near the University where Stefania and Bruno had first met and sat and read books together before they were married. In a way, this was a little bit of a pilgrimage for both of them despite Bruno’s dislike of the journey and his anxiety issues. He had omitted to bring his medicine with him and was unable to obtain more without a prescription.

We visited the remarkable church of San Lorenzo which had wonderful stonework showing the way the church had developed from the early days to the baroque period.

More shops lined the streets and we bought a capo di monte wall hanging which we will give to Fra and Gorky when we get home to provide good luck to them for their marriage. I also managed to obtain a CD of the soundtrack of the movie Passione which contains the old songs of Naples which I gave to Bruno.

The time being past 4.30 p.m. we returned to The Basilica di Santa Chiara to see the inside of the building.

Although I will post more details of this place, suffice to say that the city suffered 96 bombing raids such that by 4th August 1943, the building had been reduced to rubble except for some of the walls which were still standing. The roof and other inflammable parts of the original building suffered a fire which lasted for four days. The average person would say that this building is beyond any reasonable re-building effort. Well, in the early 1950’s they started and it is extremely hard to believe what the result has been. It is beyond magnificent. What is more surprising is that when they were carrying out the rebuilding efforts, they found earlier remains of older renditions of buildings on the site including the remarkable thermal baths. This building has now been restored to its former glory and even enhanced by the addition of the revealed older detail previously unknown.

Then it was on to the Metro again to explore further stations on Line 1. The Metro was very crowded with commuters and we were jammed in for a couple of stations until it emptied out at Vanvitelli. This area which is called Vomero is the area where Stefania grew up and where they lived for a couple of years after they married. We sat outside and enjoyed a gelato for a while as Stefania talked fondly of the time she spent in this area which seems up-market and wealthy.

Then we boarded the Metro again for the journey back to Garibaldi Station and the short walk back to the parking garage. We paid for the parking and left the garage for the 3+ hour drive home which Stefania insisted on making alone despite our offers to share the driving.

We arrived home tired but very, very happy with a great day in that wonderful city of Naples. It has a vibrancy that few cities in the world have.