The first time I heard this phrase, it was my Neapolitan housemate Sonia who said it. Of course, she didn’t invent it. Goethe did. The poet had loved living in Naples. Actually, the city taught him to live, and he saw it as a paradise. The city transformed him and changed his life philosophy. “Vedi Napoli e poi muori” (See Naples and die) means that once you have seen Naples, it’s such a wonderful city that you are happy enough and you can die without regret.
Why is Naples so wonderful? It’s difficult to explain. I was told Naples was a bit unsafe. However, from the very first day, I felt at home there. There’s an atmosphere in the city that makes you feel free. I’m not saying that I stopped being cautious or that I never felt like maybe I shouldn’t have gone in that empty street by myself. Still, most of the time I spent in Naples, I felt like I was always discovering a new interesting place.
L’anima di Napoli (Naples’ Soul)
If I had to explain the feeling I got in the city, I’d say that the city has some kind of soul. It’s full of stories, old and recent. At the top of the city, there’s the Castel San Elmo, from where you can see the bay and the Vesuvio. Down in the city, There’s the Castel dell’Ovo (that I didn’t visit) and there’s the Castel Nuovo. A lot of History.
Castel Nuovo
Now, I was particularly interested in the Castel Nuovo, because I studied in Angers. You see, the Castel Nuovo is also called “Angevin Keep” (Maschio Angioino) and looks a lot like Angers’ castle. When Charles I of Anjou defeated the Hohenstaufens in 1266, he transferred the capital from Palermo to Naples.
At the time, the castle was Castel Capuano, but the king decided to build a new one, the Castel Nuovo, close to the sea. It was designed by two French architects, Pierre de Chaulnes and Pierre d’Angicourt. The castle’s construction took three years. However, because of wars and because Charles I died in 1285, he never got to live in his palace.
His son, Charles II, however, moved in after his death. And after him, several kings and queens lived in the Castel Nuovo and embellished it throughout the years.
Stories From All Centuries
A little bit further from Naples, there’s of course Pompei, which is filled with even more ancient history. But Naples’s streets harbor also some recent history and a few good pieces of street art.
The city also has everyday stories, like the fact that in many buildings, there are no elevators, and old ladies often use a bucket and a rope to get their deliveries. When the delivery guy arrives, he rings the bell. Then, the old lady puts money in the bucket and, using the rope, she lets it go down the street from her balcony. The delivery guy takes the money and puts the package in the bucket. Easy Peasy. I’ll admit that I haven’t seen them do it, but I have seen some buckets on the balconies. A guide told us this anecdote during a walking tour, and I loved it.
There’s also a mysterious church in Naples, the Gesù Nuovo Church, with symbols painted all over it. They actually form a music score! Some stories say that the symbols are related to magico-esoteric practices and to alchemy.
I could go on and on. It feels like behind every church and every street, there’s a story, and I think it’s fantastic.
Mangiare a Napoli (Eating In Naples)
First Experience With Neapolitan Food
My Neapolitan housemate, Sonia, certainly prepared me for this aspect of Naples. Indeed, she was an excellent cook, but she was also a bit excessive when it came to quantities.
I remember a dinner. That night, I had just come downstairs to grab some melon, but she put me at the table with two of her friends and invited me to have dinner with them. When I mean them, I mean her two friends, because she said that she had already eaten enough while cooking. Seriously, you should have seen it: there was so much food on the table! Ham, sausage, vegetables, fruits. Finally, we finished what we could from the table. That’s when she brought pasta and potatoes, and more meat. Truly, we were not prepared for that. Then, she had more dishes ready and two desserts. We got a bit scared. That was way too much, there was food for at least 20 people and we were… three. That was a fun evening. And everything was so delicious.
Experiencing Food In Naples
Well, Napoli is a bit like that. Way too much food to offer at a cheap price, and pretty much everything is exquisite! It’s very difficult to resist.
When I arrived in the city, I was hungry and I looked for a snack. (Honestly, given the looks of shops, I would have eaten even if I hadn’t been hungry.) I bought some sort of fluffy pizza: a fried pizza. Very simple, tomato and basil. Very soft. Oh my God, it was so good! And it didn’t cost much at all! After that, I returned several times to that shop. Then, in the evening, I met a group of people and we ate traditional pasta in a restaurant. They even sang “Happy Birthday” to me (that trip was a gift to myself for my birthday).
In Procida, an island close to Naples where I spent a day, I ate some very tasteful seafood pasta. I had a view of the sea, and was seated at a terrace in the middle of colourful houses.
Back in Naples, I ate some perfect arancini. I also bought some delicious limoncello for me and as gifts. On a tour on the Amalfi Coast, I had a spaghetti omelette. I know, it sounds weird. But, trust me, it’s good!
And with a new American friend, I tried a pizza from the restaurant where Julia Roberts eats in Eat, Pray, Love. Amanda, the American girl I met on a tour, absolutely wanted to try it. The queue was very long, so we decided to buy one to take away. The entire pizza cost only 4 euros, and you had the choice between two pizzas: Margherita or Marinara. We each took a Margherita. We waited more than 20 minutes, but truly, it was worth it. I don’t know how they do it, because their pizzas are very simple. Still, they taste like heaven. Fresh basil never felt so amazing! Probably one of the best pizzas I ate in my entire life.
Belli incontri a Napoli (Wonderful Enconters in Naples)
Three New Friends
I think I only met nice people in Naples. On my first day, the walking tour I wanted to do was cancelled. However, I was not the only disappointed tourist. With a guy and a couple, we decided to visit Naples together. We particularly wanted to see the Christmas cribs street (la via dei presepi), where artisans build all kinds of Christmas cribs, full of interesting details. Some are not so pretty, but some are works of art. It’s a question of taste, I suppose. Anyway, the four of us ended up in a bar, and then in a restaurant laughing together, and that was beautiful.
Sveta
At the hostel, a Russian girl, Sveta, heard that I was going to Pompei, so she asked if she could come with me because she didn’t speak much Italian or English and was scared to get lost. We visited Pompei together, speaking some weird mix of sign language, Russian, English and Italian. Somehow, that worked. My Russian was rusty and limited, but I managed to understand some words and that was enough. She was studying mosaic art in Saint Petersburg at the time and knew a lot about mosaics.
Amanda
During a walking tour in Naples, I met Amanda, an American travel blogger. We immediately started chatting. She was telling me that her mum was asking her when she would stop travelling and would get married. I laughed. Later, she asked me how old I thought she was. I said “30”. She was surprised, because most people would say that she was younger. I told her “If your mother tries to get you married, you obviously are around your thirties”. She laughed.
All of that to say that I had a great time in Naples. I didn’t die there, but I would love to go back and to visit more of the Amalfi Coast.
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