Napoli (Naples)

Although I’ve heard more than a few negative things about Naples, many people will say it is a must-see city – there’s even a saying "vedi napoli e poi mori" (see Naples and then die) which sounds morbid but I think it is supposed to be romantic.



We had a fantastic day there and were fortunate to get almost all of the positive experiences you can have there and only a few of the negative. It was much more tranquil than I’d expected and we had an easy time exploring the streets and looking at the shops. We ate some of the famous Neapolitan pizza (hand-tossed, wood fired oven, fresh sauce and mozzarella di bufala) and then went on to the National Archaeological museum.



The museum was fantastic – with amazing huge ancient statues and wonderful displays of the objects that were discovered in Pompeii. The experience was definitely made better by the fact that we’d visited Pompeii before going there. We were blown away by how much the household objects they had 2000 years ago look like the things we use today. Especially beautiful was a pair of picture frames that held small portraits painted on glass – they look like photos in frames. And ladies – you’ll recognize the medical implements in the picture, some things truly never change…



The most bizarre part of the museum is the “Gabinetto Segretto” which holds all of the “Rated XXX” artifacts. The ancients were much less modest than we are these days and sexually themed decorations were common in their homes and shops. I doubt Brittany Spears would have been nearly as interesting to the ancient romans.



After the museum we took a walk through the city and explored the “urban canyons” of the straight, narrow streets with laundry fluttering overhead. There was a vibrant energy there that Rome does not seem to have. Napoli’s reputation for trouble is also its reputation for being a place apart – its lively streets filled with people.





It was a really special day and one of our better trips we’ve taken while in Italy.