Neapolis, Nápoles, Napoli

 

Naples is the Navel of the Mediterranean. If you were to draw a line from Marseille to Athens and another from Istanbul to Barcelona, they would both cross in Naples. When the Greeks founded it, they named it, without much imagination, Neapolis, the “new city.” Since then, the Neapolitans have dedicated themselves to making it unmistakable from others: a legendary city. Naples rests on the tomb of the siren Parthenope, a symbol of deceptive beauty, and its inhabitants have shaped it as such—a blend of the magnificent and the atrocious. So much so that the city stands on a strip of land between a giant oven, the volcano, and a source of salvation, the sea. Naples is water, fire, and earth; it is the light of the great gulf and the darkness of its narrow alleyways; it is both monumental and secret, an underground city with galleries, passageways, and caves—ancient people even located the entrance to the underworld here.

From its beginnings, it has always been grand and coveted: a jewel of the Greeks, a Roman city, later the capital of the Norman Altavilla dynasty, the French Angevins, and finally Spanish under the rule of the Aragonese, the Habsburgs, and the Bourbons. Yes, Naples was once the most populous city in the Kingdom of Spain! Finally, it became Italian, the great southern capital of young Italy.

Our journey will traverse all the periods of this magical place’s more than two-thousand-year history: the Greek foundations, the Roman era with the tragedy of the eruption in 79 AD, but also the great medieval and modern works commissioned by successive foreign rulers. We will then arrive at contemporary Naples: difficult, but vibrant and fascinating.

“To see Naples and die,” says the stereotype—and rightly so, for it must be seen! Its character, landscape, and culture make it essential.

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Give Naples a little time—a long weekend, for example. Christheguide suggests this:

Friday:
Arrival in Naples and transfer to Capodimonte to visit the museum, the former residence of the Kings of Naples built by Charles VII, which houses the immense Bourbon collection. In the afternoon, a guided walking tour of the historic center (Municipio and Spaccanapoli area: Piazza Municipio, Castelnuovo, Gesù Nuovo, Santa Chiara, San Domenico, Sansevero Chapel, Duomo).

Saturday:
Historical and artistic tour of the "Tribunali and Anticaglia" area in the morning:

• Piazza Bellini (8:30),
• San Pietro a Maiella (8:40-9:00),
• Pontano Chapel (9:00-9:10),
• Santa Maria delle Anime del Purgatorio (9:15-9:45),
• San Paolo Maggiore (10:00-10:30),
• Cloister of San Gregorio Armeno (10:40-11:00),
• San Lorenzo Church and Archaeological Site (11:00-11:50),
• Pio Monte della Misericordia (11:55-12:10),
• Castel Capuano, Santa Caterina a Formello (12:30-12:40),
• San Giovanni a Carbonara (12:50-13:20),
• Santi Apostoli (13:30-14:00).

Afternoon visit to the National Archaeological Museum (15:30-17:15). Optional evening visit to the surprising MADRE contemporary art museum in Naples.

Sunday:

• If the weather is good! A self-guided visit to the island of Capri. Transfer to the island via the SNAV hydrofoil departing from Molo Beverello in Naples (40 minutes).
• If the weather is bad!
  • Option 1: A self-guided visit to Sorrento, easily reached by the Circumvesuviana train.
  • Option 2: Visit the incredible "Girolamini Museum and Art Gallery" (reservation required) and the Royal Palace in Piazza Plebiscito.

In the afternoon, free time to explore the city.

Monday:
In the morning, visit the archaeological excavations of Pompeii and the Vesuvius National Park. Continue with a visit to the Certosa di San Martino, located on the Vomero hill.