Naples and its surroundings offer more than you expect
A few days in Naples and a drive around the surrounding area is a great idea. You will find a wide variety of attractions packed into a relatively small area. It is really worth it, provided you don't go in high season.
Somewhere around Rome there is a border. It is not a national border, but its significance may be even greater. It separates the north of Italy from the south: two worlds and two civilisations. We often make the mistake of thinking of Italy as a uniform state. The country only came into being as a whole in 1861, and its regions have kept their strong cultural identities. Northern Italy is closer to Germany or France, while the people living in the southern part of the Italian boot can be more reminiscent of those in the North African countries of the Mediterranean.
I associated Naples with mess, rubbish problems, chaotic traffic and the best pizza in all of Italy... and to a large extent that image was confirmed. There is no point wasting time in Naples looking for beautiful squares, well-kept palaces, glitz and elegance. Let's look for its appeal elsewhere. There is, of course, Piazza del Plebiscito, a vast space surrounded by palaces, from where it is a short walk to the shore of the Bay of Naples, where locals sunbathe and feast. There is the cathedral and the old churches clustered along Via Tribunali and the surrounding streets. Let's accept the city as it is: shabby, with narrow streets but full of charm, with residents who behave as if they were a close-knit village community. Let's watch street life, the worn urban fabric and people with tired, weather-beaten faces who have seen a thing or two in their lives.
Quartieri Spagnoli and the Neapolitan babà
In the centre of Naples lies the Spanish Quarter, the Quartieri Spagnoli, and to be honest it seduced me. Cramped alleys, life lived out on the street, washing hanging from the windows and noisy kids on scooters: this is Naples through and through. The history of this part of the city goes back to the 17th century, when quarters were set up here for Spanish troops. Hence the name. Even though you are in the city centre, don't be surprised if, among the tightly packed tenements, you come across a pigeon loft knocked together from a few planks, or a clothes horse with freshly washed underwear set up in the middle of the street. Ground-floor flats have their only contact with the world through doors opening straight onto the street and small windows that let you watch what is going on outside (and inside...). Residents often annex part of the street to create little gardens and micro-terraces. The street is not a separate entity, and the walls of the buildings don't stop family life spilling outside. You get the feeling that everyone knows everyone, with old people sitting on benches deep in conversation. Shady-looking gentlemen in the gateways eye passers-by so that no stranger escapes their attention. Small shrines add colour to the alleys. They are often kitschily lit, set on the corner of a building or at first-floor level and protected by an iron grille or railing. Next to the holy picture there are usually photographs of the residents of that particular building. They look after the shrine, and the shrine looks after them.
In Naples you really must try the Neapolitan babà. One anecdote links the Polish king Stanisław Leszczyński with the origins of this cake. After his abdication, the Polish king devoted himself to culinary experiments. One day he poured rum over a cake resembling our Polish Easter babka, though without the raisins, and so the Neapolitan babà was born. There is even a local song praising this delicacy and stressing that it came "from the Polish land to the Italian one", the reverse of our national anthem, which sings of marching from Italy to Poland.
In Naples it is worth going underground. Several metro stations were handed over to artists from different countries so that they could decorate them according to their own taste. Toledo station in Naples, which links heaven and earth, was chosen as the most beautiful metro station in the world in 2012.
Vesuvius - driving up the volcano and tickets
Vesuvius looks down menacingly on Naples. Today we climb its hairpin bends towards the summit, but without fear. In the past it spread devastation when it erupted, pouring out fields of lava while deadly gas and ash rose from its throat. Conquering Vesuvius takes several stages. First you have to get to the car park (5 EUR). We leave the car on the verge of a narrow road and change to a shuttle minibus (4 EUR return), which takes us 3 km further. Then you have to decide whether to make a bid for the summit. A ticket to the summit area costs 10 EUR. Because of the thick fog surrounding the peak itself, we decided against the final stretch; even the staff at the information point warned that it would fall well short of expectations. That left a walk back down the route our minibus had driven up a few minutes earlier. Here the visibility was better: huge lava slopes overgrown with bushes and trees, and a beautiful view of Naples below.
Pompeii - sightseeing, the Lupanar and ticket prices
The next stop is Pompeii. Knowing that almost everything we know about Roman civilisation comes from the excavations in this city commands respect. I am not someone who gets excited about excavations, but Pompeii is impressive. It is impressive because you see a complete city. You see houses, theatres, tombs, a stadium, baths, streets and squares. It is worth setting aside 3 hours for Pompeii. What is more, the houses are opened and closed to visitors on a rotating basis. When, after a few hours of opening, a villa with particularly well-preserved mosaics or frescoes closes, another one of similar value opens. You can basically walk straight in, with entry guaranteed by the ticket you have bought. But there is one place in excavated Pompeii where queues of tourists always form... The Lupanar, which took its name from wolves, because women of easy virtue were called she-wolves, was quite simply a brothel. Five modest rooms on the ground floor and five upstairs, each decorated with paintings showing the speciality of the individual courtesan. It is these paintings that fire visitors' imaginations. When the excavation of Pompeii began, freeing it from a layer of ash and lava several metres thick, it was decided to hide many of the objects found from the eyes of the public of the time, because too many of them caused outrage.
In the low season, between November and March, Pompeii is open from 9.00 to 15.30, and in the other months the gates close at 18.00. A ticket costs 15 EUR whatever the season. You will need to set aside roughly the same amount for parking. You can also get to Pompeii by train from Naples.
The Amalfi Coast: Sorrento and Punta della Campanella
Heading further south, we reach the Amalfi Coast. All the roads along and across the peninsula are very narrow and winding. Having heard stories about monstrous traffic jams at the height of the season, I was glad I had chosen the turn of September and October for this trip. Even so, traffic was slowed down in many places, with marshals directing vehicles so that the regional buses could get through reasonably smoothly. The northern part of the peninsula is less interesting, but you shouldn't miss Sorrento. It is a sizeable town on a cliff, always swarming with tourists.
A trip to the island of Capri is tempting. Because of a lack of time and comments I had heard that prices on Capri (and on the ferry you have to take both ways) are shockingly high, I decided to give it a miss. Although not entirely. If you keep driving further and further, you end up in Termini. The name alone makes it clear that there is nothing further to look for. But this is exactly where the footpath to Punta della Campanella begins, a spot from which you can see Capri as clear as day. A recently rebuilt stone path leads along a charming mountainside, offering beautiful views. At the end there is basically nothing except a ruined watchtower, but it is a good place for reflection and a small snack, provided you have thought of bringing one.
Marina del Cantone, Positano and Amalfi
Back in Termini, it is worth driving a few kilometres to the quiet Marina del Cantone (on the road to Nerano). A handful of restaurants, sleepy after the season, right on the beach in the bay serve spaghetti, pizza, house wine and other Italian dishes. The Italian cooking there surprised me; I think it was the first time I had eaten pizza with fried potatoes, and seafood spaghetti so fiendishly salty. Apparently it was not the cook's mistake; that is simply how pasta is cooked there. "Salt is very healthy and important for your health," the waiter announced. Time to head for the southern side of the peninsula. Positano, Amalfi and Ravello are besieged by tourists whatever the season. Not far from the shore you can see a huge cruise ship at anchor, from which tourists are ferried ashore in smaller boats. In Positano you can run yourself into the ground. Someone once said that this town was designed "along a vertical axis", as your legs will soon remind you, especially if you park at the very top rather than in the car park at the bottom.
Lovely views, colours, an "Italian" sky and sea, a pebble beach and buildings clinging to the rocks. And then there are the sandals... you can buy simple ones, or ones studded with precious stones. The latter are made to order, and then the sky is the limit on price.
The winding road above the coast leads a line of cars onwards. The larger Amalfi and its intimate sister Atrani have no less charm than Positano. There are no sandal shops there, but there are plenty of buildings whose architecture draws on Arab canons of beauty. The Cathedral of Sant'Andrea, reached by a flight of stone steps, looks especially beautiful.
Ravello - Villa Rufolo and Villa Cimbrone
Beyond Amalfi you have to turn away from the coast a little and climb into the surrounding mountains, where Ravello was founded long ago. The views this town offers over the cliffs and the emerald sea are among the most beautiful in Italy. A must is a visit to one of its famous villas. The better known and more accessible one is Villa Rufolo. Further from the centre and the car park is Villa Cimbrone (entry to each costs 7 EUR). The latter is the result of the work of English landscape architects and Italian nature. Avenues lined with trees and flowers, sculptures and little bridges, and a beautiful viewing terrace above the cliff. It is worth taking the time to admire the vision of those who paid for it and the craftsmanship of those who carried out the work. Unfortunately, you cannot visit the villa itself, apart from the ground floor and the cloisters. The building is now a hotel, with prices starting at 500 EUR...
Just 250 km on the roads of Campania will let you see crazy Naples, once-fearsome Vesuvius, ancient Pompeii, the beautiful nature of the Amalfi peninsula and several small towns where artists sought inspiration and sang the praises of the steep land and the emerald sea. Naples and its surroundings offer a great variety of experiences and are full of attractions. Don't hesitate to spend a few days here before or after the season.
Postscript: if you are thinking of a trip along a coastline, admiring the fascinating boundary between land and sea, consider other beautiful places I have written about on the blog too: New Zealand , northern Spain , Scotland or Cornwall .
