Glorious Neapolitan Chaos

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May 13th 2022

Published: July 13th 2022

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Delek Delek

Gulf Of Naples

A spectacular view from the Castel Sant'Elmo, looking towards Mount Vesuvius (top-left).

Naples was sure living up to its reputation - what I had seen so far was dirty, chaotic and intimidating, particularly leaving the central train station. It has been a while since I have experienced such hustle and bustle - perhaps not since I was in Iran - and it was all a little unsettling. Momentarily, I put a guard up that I hadn't used since I was in Latin America. Wow.
Admittedly, my mind was in bit of a muddle at the time, having just put Britta on the airport bus - she wasn’t to join me for the helter-skelter in Naples, as she readily admits that high-octane sightseeing in a busy city is not really for her. Amid the unrest around me and after the wonderful time we had just had, it was a little heart-wrenching to see her go.
So I then did what I had to and went into Bond/Bourne mode in order to navigate myself to my B&B, which was thankfully just a short walk away. I ended up arriving about half an hour before I had agreed to check-in, meaning that I had a slightly annoying and nervous wait on the narrow streets of Naples, but once I settled into my room,

Glorious Neapolitan Chaos

A view up a street in the Spanish Quarter.

I felt like I had entered my sanctuary from the tumult outside.
This might all sound a little melodramatic - I put it down to not experiencing such busy-ness for so long, having hardly left the house for two years - but I felt much like I did when I first arrived in New Delhi, afraid to go back outside.
A chilled-out night and a good night's sleep helped to sort me out though and the next morning, I was ready and excited to embrace the chaos - starting with opening the balcony doors to let in the sights, sounds and smells of Naples, while I enjoyed my breakfast.

I then went head-first into it - and on first impression, it felt like Naples was the densest and most chaotic city in Europe. However, having lived in Germany for the last four years, I felt a little liberated by the Neapolitan laissez-faire approach to following rules and was soon jaywalking without feeling any guilt.
Suddenly, I was really enjoying the realness and grittiness of Naples; every city has its own character and part of Naples’ is its infectious energy and liveliness. Scooters were buzzing through the alleys, inordinate amounts of

Maradona Mural

The late Argentinian footballer is revered like a god here and this is his main shrine.

washing were hanging from apartment balconies and buckets were being lowered by strings from the upper levles of buildings to collect deliveries. Walking through a dodgy alley that I am sure had call girls on it however, reminded me that I still needed to have my wits about me to a certain degree.

The aforementioned infectious energy and liveliness was reflected in the first area I explored, the Centro Storico, also known as Spaccanapoli. All manner of shops selling anything and everything reside here, as well as restaurants, gelaterias and places selling tourist tat. Important churches also live here including the massive Basilica di Santa Chiara and the apparently atmospheric Cappella Sansavero; I wasn’t keen enough to pay the 8€ entrance fees to enter either though. I did go inside the ethereal Chiesa dei Santi Severini e Sossio though, which was free and had paintings and a ceiling fresco about as fine as I have seen in any church.
Also of interest in the Centro Storico is Via San Gregorio Armeno, a cobblestoned alleyway flanked by shops selling nativity crafts and items. It was tourist central though and for some reason, there seemed to be hundreds of local school

Galleria Umberto I

This beautiful old arcade resides close to Piazza del Plebiscito.

groups being led around at the time. Some of the artwork was impressive and there was many a Maradona statue on display - more about him later...

I then went to the lively food market of Via Pignasecca. Here is where you can perhaps find Neapolitan life at its most authentic, with punters leaning on marble-top bars sipping a quick espresso in a caffeteria, fresh fish and seafood on display in all its glory and nonnas perusing the fresh fruit and vegetable stalls for the best tomatoes. It is also where I sampled a cone of fried seafood from Pescheria Azzurra, the most famous fish shop on the street.

Naples is a historic city however and was part of the ancient Greek and Roman Empires. Having served as the capital of the Duchy and Kingdom of Naples for around 1200 years, this history has also left Naples with some rather classy and elegant buildings, not least the Royal Palace Of Naples which sits at one end of the grand square of Piazza del Plebiscito. There are plenty of other elegant palazzi dotted around the city as well. The square is at the end of Via Toledo, Naples’ main

View Of Naples

Captured from the Castel Sant'Elmo, you can clearly see one of the two main thoroughfares in the Centro Storico splitting the city in two; the massive green-roofed Basilica di Santa Chiara is on the right, and in the distance is the Centro Direzionale skyline, which is right next to the central train station.

shopping drag, which connects it to Via Pignasecca.
I then ended up wandering around some parks near Piazza del Plebiscito as well as the city’s main ferry terminal, looking for a public restroom. It was rather exhausting. I still had a whole day to kill the next day before catching my evening flight back to Berlin, so I decided to head back to the B&B and leave some sightseeing for my final day.

Well, Naples is known as the birthplace of pizza and one of the best pizzerias in the city that has been serving pizza for over 150 years just happened to be a couple of minutes walk from my B&B.
Despite having to queue and wait thirty minutes for it, I can say that it was worth the wait…it may well have been the best pizza I have ever had. I honestly don’t know if food tastes better in your mind because of where you are (Indian food in India, Guinness in Dublin, ramen in Tokyo) but I really do find that certain dishes taste the best in the places where they are from and pizza is no exception. Just a simple margherita with tomato sauce, flor di latte mozzarella and

Centro Direzionale

This skyline of glass skyscrapers was built to attract business in 1995.

basil - but it was perfect. And just 5€! Amazing.

The accommodation I have stayed at in both Sorrento and Naples were of the refurbished B&B variety, so there was no 24 hour reception and/or somewhere to leave your luggage. Both places were nice enough, although I perhaps miss that personal touch you get with a hostel or hotel reception. Breakfast was brought to my room in Naples and forced you to wake up in the morning; good for making the most of the day, bad if you want a sleep-in. Checkout times were early too - something I seem to recall from previous visits to Italy.

After leaving my luggage at a luggage storage facility at the train station, I then walked over to the Centro Direzionale. Perhaps not on the tourist radar but on the radar of contemporary architecture fans, the Centro Direzionale is a skyline of glass skyscrapers that I noticed on the train in and out of Naples. Completed in 1995, this planned business district was designed by Japanese architect Kenzo Tange and it very much reminded me of what I saw in Japan. The whole place definitely had a Nakatomi Tower vibe to

Toledo Station

Wonderfully decorated metro station, although I still prefer Moscow's ones.

it! Nowadays, it is pretty run-down but I can imagine how modern it must have felt like at the time. The spaciousness out here definitely contrasts with the density of the older districts.

No visit of mine would be complete without a trip in the metro; actually, it isn’t a must-do for me but I wanted to do Naples’ one because the Toledo station is meant to be quite spectacular. After waiting 14 minutes (!) for a train - at lunchtime on a Friday - I make it there and…well…it is pretty cool and unique but perhaps a little underwhelming. The ones in Moscow are still better in my opinion.

It was then right back into Naples’ narrow streets and the vibrant Spanish Quarter. The alleyways are certainly romantic places to have an outdoor meal at one of the many trattorias but otherwise, most of them are teeming with motorbikes, arguments, street art, shrines and hanging washing.
Football fans however, make a pilgrimage to the Spanish Quarter to see the Maradona mural, especially after he died a couple of years ago. The place is a veritable shrine and the apartment blocks surrounding the mural are all bedecked with

Spanish Quarter

An alley in the Spanish Quarter that would be a romantic place for a meal.

Argentinian flags - I don't think I have ever seen so many Argentinian flags outside of Argentina! Maradona has a god-like status in Naples after taking unfancied SSC Napoli - the local football club - to the Italian league title twice in the late 80s. Many of the locals fell in love with Maradona, the most talented footballer and a flawed human being, whose rags-to-riches story they found inspirational. In many ways, Maradona reflected the city he graced - a diamond in the rough. Napoli and Argentina shirts bearing his name are on sale everywhere and motifs and pictures of him are ubiquitous in the neighbourhood that perhaps mirrors the one he came from in Buenos Aires.

The last sight I had to see was the Castel Sant’Elmo, which lords over the city on Monte San Martino and provides those picture perfect postcard views. And boy, are these views amazing. Looking all the way back towards Sorrento and Mount Vesuvius, all of the sights that I had visited in Naples were visible and it was a great way to round off my time here. As for the fortress itself, it dates from the 1200s…but let’s be honest, it wasn’t the

Pedamentina a San Martino

A scenic stairway that connects the city to Castel Sant'Elmo.

fortress itself that I was visiting the place for - I’ve seen a few fortresses in my time. It is bloody massive though, I’ll give it that!

I then walked back down the hill into town via a scenic pedestrian path that passed many pastel-coloured apartments and houses, which would all have had fantastic views. The stroll allowed me some time to think and at the front of my mind was how lethargic I was feeling and how much less energy I seem to have these days. I had to sit down pretty frequently to rest and my legs were sore. I guess it is age but I also think that the inactivity brought about by pandemic has accelerated this process somewhat. Also, it has been a while since I have clocked up the amount of walking I have done in the last eight days!
I also thought about how my backpacker instincts still kick in when I am travelling around by myself. I guess my years of backpacking have allowed me to more accurately judge what is worth paying for and what is not, but I still have to remind myself sometimes that I am not backpacking anymore!

Caffeteria

Do as the locals do, by popping into an old school cafe for a quick espresso at the bar before continuing on with your day.

That wasn't the end of my Neapolitan experiences though; dropping into a caffeteria to sip an espresso is a quintessential Neapolitan (and indeed an Italian) experience and I found the perfect place to do it on Via Pignasecca, where I had an espresso at a beautiful yet non-descript old wood-panelled bar run by an old guy who looks like he has been doing it for decades and will probably be doing it until he dies - which from the sound of his voice and the amount of cigarettes it looks like he has smoked, might not be that far away. It was an authentic experience however, that really stuck with me and reminded me about where I was - I was in Naples; I was in Italy.

Walking along Via dei Tribunali back to the train station, I thought that I would check into Gino e Toto Sorbillo pizzeria, the most famous pizzeria in Naples. The place always had a queue when I walked past it and I didn't really fancy my chances of getting a table there, but I thought I might as well try for one last Neapolitan pizza. And much to my pleasure and surprise,

Centro Storico

One of the two main(ly tourist) thoroughfares that runs through the neighbourhood also known as "Spaccanapoli".

I managed to get one! I was pretty happy about that.
But was it better than the pizza I had the night before? I think it’s 50/50, but I was hungrier the night before whereas I had just scoffed a gelato cone before this one. Still up there among the best pizzas I have had though.

In general, I had found all the locals here pretty friendly and welcoming.
Although many wouldn't consider him a local, l'd like to share a conversation I had with a Gambian immigrant near the train station, that I feel reflects the friendliness of Neapolitans and which will also highlight an important issue that we have in the world today.
As I found some small shade under which to eat my freshly procured and freshly baked sfogliatelle (a delicious local pastry filled with a sweet cream similar to what you would find in a cannoli) from what is regarded as the best sfogliatella bakery in Naples, a voiced piped up behind me.
"Buon appetito", it said.
I turned around and spotted the guy who had said it. While my first instinct was to try and get out of the conversation, thinking that he would

Sfogliatelle

Delicious local pastry filled with a sweet cream. There is a flaky-pastry one at the top and a more shortbread one below.

try to sell me something, I didn't want to be rude and so I engaged him in conversation. Besides, I had two sfogliatelle to eat.
"Grazie", I replied.
"So where are you from?" he asks in English.
"New Zealand. I'm from New Zealand."
"Wow, that is far away...how long was the trip here?"
"It takes about 27 hours, but I didn't come here from there. I live in Berlin. Much closer."
He seemed knowledgeable and intelligent, which made me feel guilty for instinctively misjudging him. So to make up for my initial prejudice, I decided to keep the conversation going.
"Where are you from mate?" I asked.
"Gambia", he replied.
We then went on to talk about the climate in our home countries, about sfogliatelle and about Naples for about ten minutes. But it was the last thing he said which really struck me.
"Hey man, thanks for chatting with me. Most people would tell me to f*ck off and wouldn't give me the time of day. But you're a good person."
It gave me a warm feeling inside - but that feeling soon turned to sorrow as I realised what he must go through every day as an African

View From Castel Sant'Elmo

View looking towards the southwest from the top of the Castel Sant'Elmo.

trying to make a life in Europe; constantly judged, rejected and looked down upon because of the colour of his skin. The racist rhetoric and policies of Italian politician Matteo Salvini came to mind, as did the economic, political and climate struggles that are prevalent across much of Africa.
"We're both human beings and we both bleed the same bro...everyone deserves to be treated with respect", I tell him.
"Put it there, brother", he replies, as we share a fist bump.

Now, I'm not sharing this anecdote for the purpose of virtue signalling or self-congratulation; but I think that it is important to point out that in a world that seems to be growing ever more hostile and divided, that we (myself included) should not be so quick to judge people and understand that the vast majority of people are inherently good, and are just trying to get by and improve their circumstances; and that everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.
"Hey man, if you ever come back to Naples, look for me around the train station and we can go have a coffee. And I'll show you around. Naples is great place", he tells me.

Ceiling Fresco

Magnificent fresco within the impressive interior of the Chiesa dei Santi Severini e Sossio.

He's certainly right about that - Naples is a great place and I really enjoyed the two days I had exploring it and experiencing the many things it has to offer.
"I will bro, I will", I reply.
Suddenly, Naples' train station doesn't seem as dirty, chaotic and intimidating as it did when I first arrived.

Ciao!
Derek

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