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Vesuvius, the supervolcano. The archaeological ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum tour.

About two thousand years ago, an eruption of the Naples volcano put an end to four Roman cities, including the famous Pompeii. The intense emotion that you feel when visiting the area comes from the respect for the immense force of nature, but also from the intimate contact with the civilization of that time.

Even though Naples is a volcanic city – not just in geological terms, but also in terms of its character – you never have to worry too much when visiting its volcano. If Vesuvius were to start erupting – as it has done many times since that year 79 in which it destroyed and buried the Roman cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabia – you could get to safety in time, because this is perhaps the volcano under closest surveillance in the world. There are warning plans, and plans for the potential evacuation of the local populations. But you still have the thrilling feeling at walking on the back of a sort of gigantic live animal, which today is asleep but alive, in a relationship with the omnipotence of nature, which is much greater than us, and which is not easy to describe in words.

Vesuvius

Climbing Vesuvius is not a real adventure. In fact, it’s not even a real climb, because you can get there by bus – in just half an hour from Pompeii, if it’s from the Roman city that your visit to the area begins – and simply walk uphill to the summit. The spectacle of the crater, huge and a little threatening, even now that it is a little quiet, will already be in itself a good reason to convince you, but the real wonder is another one: the panoramic view of theGulf of Naples and of the city on the sea. It’s like dominating the gulf from a low-altitude airplane or a helicopter. Priceless.

A walk – with a view on the gulf – on the top of the volcano, in the heart of the Vesuvius National Park.

The Pompeii ruins’ area in which you find yourself is part of the Vesuvius National Park, which was established about twenty years ago; you have to take into account the cost of an entrance ticket, but on the other hand you have the certainty of finding yourself in a well-kept landscape.

It is marked very clearly where it is best not to venture, and the main path leading to the crater (there are other paths in the park, not all of which are that easy to walk) is comfortable and its boundaries are clearly indicated. Speaking of nature, do you recognize the broom that are at odds with the harsh landscape and give signs of life? Their flowering period – sudden spots of a particular yellow, sharp on the dry ground – is spring-summer.

View of Roman antiquities at Pompeii site. In the background: Vesuvius.

Ruins of Pompeii

Pompeii is today one of the largest excavation sites open to the public in the world, recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. As for its importance, then, it is absolutely unique in having preserved an entire Roman city in its everyday life, which was suddenly interrupted and has remained embalmed in a giant model on an urban scale.
If you want to be methodical, you can start your visit from the museum, immediately becoming moved by the human figures of the inhabitants surprised by the eruption. They look like real people, but they are simply the casts – obtained by archaeologists pouring plaster into certain cavities where the presence of human bones was guessed – of people trapped by the ash rain that erupted from Vesuvius. Over the centuries the ash layer has solidified, the bodies have dissolved, but the cavity formed by their shapes has remained. It seems as if one is able to talk with people from two thousand years ago, and it’s indescribable.

Casts of a group of Pompeian victims of the 79 AD eruption.

Rather than by human solidarity, you are impressed by the historical-artistic side when you visit the homes of ancient Pompeii, such as the House of the Faun, that of the Vettii or that of the Golden Cupids, which take their names from the dominant subjects of their extraordinary frescoes or from their owners. Even before arriving at the houses, you may be walking across the public spaces of the ancient city: the Basilica where justice was served, the Forum where people gathered, the temples where the gods were worshiped and even the Lupanar – which in today’s language we would call the brothel – with its X-rated paintings.

What is impressive everywhere are the three dimensions: forget about the archaeological excavations found elsewhere in Europe, with their remains of reconstructed walls that are maximum one meter high. In Pompeii, the houses are still as tall as in the year 79. Unique is an understatement.

1: Interior of a preserved Roman domus in Pompeii, with rich mosaics on the floor
2: Frescoed wall inside a Pompeii domus

In the majestic stillness of the amphitheater – with the grass in the meadow that now colonizes the steps from where the ancient Pompeians watched the armed fights of gladiators – you could think of the Pink Floyd concertLive at Pompeii. But you cannot remember being there in person, because that show had no audience… It was only a private recording. The leader of the group, David Gilmour, came back here a few years ago to hold a real concert, the only show in the Pompeii amphitheater in the last nineteen centuries. More than rock memories, in any case, it is significant that this one in Pompeii seems to have been the most ancient permanent amphitheater ever built in the Roman age, so important and rich was the city.

View from above of the archaeological excavations of Herculaneum.

Ruins of Herculaneum

Still under the Vesuvius, but about twenty kilometers to the west and much closer to Naples, you can find the Roman excavations of Herculaneum, less extensive but equally impressive, and as integrated into modern-day Ercolano. There would still be plenty to dig around, if in the area of archaeological interest there were not the houses of today’s inhabitants, obviously perfectly legitimately. Here the quality of the three-dimensional perception is even more spectacular than in Pompeii: on the paved roads you can walk like on any other non-archaeological road, the houses of two thousand years ago – particularly notable are the Houses of the Hotel, of the Mosaic Atrium and the Deer – seem to have been built yesterday, and sculptures and frescoes come naturally to greet you, in vivid shapes and colors. Pinch yourself to wake up: you’re not dreaming, and it’s not a Disneyland reconstruction. It’s all true.

Frescoed figures from the excavations of ancient Stabia.

Ruins of Stabia

You can also visit what remains of Stabiae, which, vice versa, is farther south from Pompeii and which has had a different story. The settlement was repopulated not long after the eruption of the year 79, and today the excavation area is isolated in the middle of modern Castellamare di Stabia. Five residences of the ancient Roman city have resurfaced: Villa Arianna and Villa San Marco, Villa Petraro and Villa Carmiano, underground, and the so-called “Second Complex”. Villa San Marco was built in the early imperial era and remodeled in the Claudian age: access, today from the spa area, leads to the three rooms of the “calidarium,” “tepidarium,” and “frigidarium,” from which you go to the porticoed garden with pool. Here it is as if the context was lacking, but the houses, the sophisticated walls, the mosaic floors, and above all the ancient Roman frescoes are of the same quality as those of Pompeii and Ercolano. If you have a taste for detail rather than the whole, then Stabia too is not to be missed.

Visit the magnificent Phlegraean Fields

The gigantic cone of Vesuvius dominates the whole area of Naples, but it is certainly not the only volcanic presence around the city. By public transport you can reach the Phlegraean Fields from Naples, an area just west of the regional capital toward Pozzuoli and the islands of Procida and Ischia, where volcanic activities appear smaller in size, and yet are just as evident, and even more spectacular.

The Vesuvius no longer has – as it had until the eruption of 1944 – a clearly visible plume of continuous smoke toward the sky. Here, however, from the crater of the Solfatara a practically continuous fumarole of sulfur dioxide and boiling mud spouts are still ejected. By the by, it is here that the volcanic shots of the Live at Pompeii video were shot.

View of the fumaroles of the Solfatara di Pozzuoli.

The fumaroles are not geysers, as you would think, but they are very close to them. Respect the warnings and do not enter the fenced areas: sulfur fumes, even if they are not poisonous, can make you dizzy if you get too close. The Solfatara is in fact in a quiescent state, but is still quite active, and is only one of the forty volcanoes that make up the Phlegraean Fields.
In the big, extinct crater of the Astroni, which is now a natural oasis managed by the World Wildlife Fund, you can take guided tours or quiet walks in the greenery around small lakes, instead of around sulfur fumes, and in the area there are also natural thermal springs, like those in Agnano. The famous spas on the island of Ischia also belongs to the volcanic system of the Phlegraean Fields.
The movement of the ground below you is too slow for a human being to be aware of it, but the measurements show a imperceptible continuous up and down of the Phlegraean Fields with respect to sea level. The scientific word for this phenomenon is bradyseism, and this too is a volcanic phenomenon. The temple of Serapis in Pozzuoli, which is more or less two thousand years old, and which is obviously lower than the city around it, is an obvious historical example.

Ruins of Baia

As if to confirm the parallel lives between volcanic activities and ancient civilizations, the archaeological remains of the Roman Baiae, south of Pozzuoli, are part of the Phlegraean Fields. Find the so-called temples of Diana and Venus in today’s village, next to the small port on the Gulf of Naples, and it is not too surprising to find that they were actually spa buildings, so important that only the dome of the Roman Pantheon was larger than these.
Nor does it surprise you – since we are in the area of bradyseism – to learn that the ancient Baia is today submerged, protected as a marine park at a depth of five to seven meters. You can touch it only if you are armed with scuba gear, and go to visit villas and nymphaeum of twenty centuries ago under the guidance of local divers. Another less adventurous choice could be an excursion on a boat with a transparent bottom: it is like looking at the Roman city from a window on the water.

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Day Trips from Napoli: Herculaneum

The town of Herculaneum suffered the same fate as Pompeii. The town was buried under Mount Vesuvius’s volcanic ashes and mud in 79 AD.

Hit before Pompeii, many inhabitants didn’t have time to escape and were engulfed in layers of debris, ashes and mud, dying instantly to be preserved for centuries.

What to see

At the foot of Mount Vesuvius, the city was the volcano’s first victim, and therefore the first wall of lava, ashes, debris and gases covered Herculaneum completely a little after midnight on 25 August. The previous day, it had been plunged in a cloud of debris leaving it without sunlight.

A UNESCO world heritage site, Herculaneum is better preserved than Pompeii. The city’s houses, baths, taverns, temples and figures are undamaged; therefore, visitors will get a real sense of the splendour of this Roman city.

Wealthier than its neighbouring Pompeii, the town is full of beautiful buildings. The different floors of most of the buildings are still intact and it is possible to see the magnificent frescoes and mosaics covering the walls of palaces, public buildings and mansions.

On the far side of the city are the most luxurious villas overlooking the sea, notably the Villa dei Papiri, which was the luxurious retreat of Julius Caesar’s father-in-law.

In Herculaneum, archaeologists have also found the first Roman preserved skeletons from the first century, since prior to this period Romans would cremate the dead. The skeletons are on display in one of the city’s houses.

Beautifully conserved

The town of Herculaneum has been magically conserved all these years. Objects like beds, and doors managed to remain under the layers of ash and mud without decaying.

Although it isn’t as well-known or as large as Pompeii, Herculaneum’s ruins are extremely impressive and gripping. Definitely worth visiting!

Today, the town of Ercolano lies extremely close to the ruins of Herculaneum, creating an interesting contrast.

Getting to Herculaneum

The most common ways of getting to Herculaneum from Napoli are:

  • Train: Visitors need to take a local train to get to Herculaneum. The Circumvesuviana line goes from Napoli (Piazza Garibaldi station) to Herculaneum (Ercolano Scavi station). It takes 20 mins to get there and the prices 2.20€.
  • Car rental: Although this is a good option for families or groups of friends, you must keep in mind the price of petrol, parking and tolls. We would recommend this option only for those thinking of renting a car for additional days to visit other attractions nearby.

Schedule

1 November – 31 March: Every day from 8:30am – 5pm
1 April – 31 October: Every day 8:30am – 7:30pm

Price

Adults: 13€
EU Citizens (18 – 25): 2€
EU Citizens (less than 18) and (over 65): free entrance

More info on official web site http://ercolano.beniculturali.it/

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The 6 most beautiful churches in Naples.

The tour of the churches of Naples would be endless! We have chosen 6, certainly among the most beautiful. Are you ready? Go!

Chiesa del Gesù Nuovo
The church is the final resting place of much-loved local saint Giuseppe Moscati (1880–1927), a doctor who served the city’s poor. Adjacent to the right transept, the Sale di San Giuseppe Moscati (Rooms of St Joseph Moscati) include a recreation of the great man’s study, complete with the armchair in which he died. Scan the walls for ex-voti, gifts offered by the faithful for miracles purportedly received. The church itself received a miracle of sorts on 4 August 1943, when a bomb dropped on the site failed to explode. Its shell is aptly displayed beside the ex-voti. The church flanks the northern side of beautiful Piazza del Gesù Nuovo, a favourite late-night hang-out for students and lefties. At its centre soars Giuseppe Genuino’s lavish Guglia dell’Immacolata, an obelisk built between 1747 and 1750. On 8 December, the Feast of the Immacolata, a firefighter scrambles up to the top to place a wreath on the statue of the Virgin Mary.

Monastero di Santa Chiara
Vast, Gothic and cleverly deceptive, the mighty Basilica di Santa Chiara stands at the heart of this tranquil monastery complex. The church was severely damaged in WWII: what you see today is a 20th-century recreation of Gagliardo Primario’s 14th-century original. Adjoining it are the basilica’s cloisters, adorned with brightly coloured 17th-century majolica tiles and frescoes.

Chiesa di San Giovanni a Carbonara
Sumptuous sculpture and Technicolor frescoes makes this Gothic church worth a detour. Andrea de Firenze, Tuscan sculptors and northern-Italian artists collaborated on the Gothic-Renaissance mausoleum of King Ladislas, soaring 18m behind the main altar. Behind it, the circular Cappella Caracciolo del Sole uplifts with its vivid 15th-century frescoes and Leonardo da Besozzo’s tomb for Giovanni Caracciolo, the ambitious lover of King Ladislas’ sister Queen Joan II of Naples.

Basilica di San Lorenzo Maggiore
The basilica at this richly layered religious complex is deemed one of Naples’ finest medieval buildings. Aside from Ferdinando Sanfelice’s facade, the Cappella al Rosario and the Cappellone di Sant’Antonio, its baroque makeover was stripped away last century to reveal its austere, Gothic elegance. Beneath the basilica is a sprawl of extraordinary Graeco-Roman ruins, accessible on a one-hour guided tour. To better understand the ruins, start your explorations in the Museo dell’Opera di San Lorenzo Maggiore, which includes a model of the area as it appeared in ancient times. The ruins themselves will see you walking past ancient bakeries, wineries, laundries and barrel-vaulted rooms that once formed part of the city’s two-storey macellum (market). Above them, the basilica itself was commenced in 1270 by French architects, who built the apse. Local architects took over the following century, recycling ancient columns in the nave. Catherine of Austria, who died in 1323, is buried here in a beautiful mosaiced tomb. Legend has it that this was where Boccaccio first fell for Mary of Anjou, the inspiration for his character Fiammetta, while the poet Petrarch called the adjoining convent home in 1345.

Chiesa di Sant’Anna dei Lombardi
This magnificent church is testament to the close links that once existed between the Neapolitan Aragonese and the Florentine Medici dynasty. One particular highlight is Guido Mazzoni’s spectacular Pietà. Dating from 1492, the terracotta ensemble is made up of eight life-size terracotta figures surrounding the lifeless body of Christ. Originally the figures were painted, but even without colour they still make quite an impression. Also impressive is baroque painter Francesco Solimena’s arresting depiction of St Christopher. The sacristy is a work of art in itself. The walls are graced with gloriously inlaid wood panels by Giovanni da Verona, while the ceiling bursts with 16th-century frescoes by Giorgio Vasari depicting the Allegories and Symbols of Faith.

Duomo di Napoli
Whether you go for Giovanni Lanfranco’s fresco in the Cappella di San Gennaro (Chapel of St Janarius), the 4th-century mosaics in the baptistry, or the thrice-annual miracle of San Gennaro, do not miss Naples’ cathedral. Kick-started by Charles I of Anjou in 1272 and consecrated in 1315, it was largely destroyed in a 1456 earthquake. It has had copious nips and tucks over the subsequent centuries.
Among these is the gleaming neo-Gothic facade, only completed in 1905. Step inside and you’ll immediately notice the central nave’s gilded coffered ceiling, studded with late-mannerist art. The high sections of the nave and the transept are the work of baroque overachiever Luca Giordano.
Off the right side of the nave, the Cappella di San Gennaro (also known as the Chapel of the Treasury) was designed by Theatine priest and architect Francesco Grimaldi, and completed in 1646. The most sought-after artists of the period worked on the chapel, creating one of Naples’ greatest baroque legacies. Highlights here include Jusepe de Ribera’s gripping canvas St Gennaro Escaping the Furnace Unscathed and Giovanni Lanfranco’s dizzying dome fresco. Hidden away in a strongbox behind the altar is a 14th-century silver bust in which sit the skull of San Gennaro and the two phials that hold his miraculously liquefying blood.
The next chapel eastwards contains an urn with the saint’s bones and a cupboard full of femurs, tibias and fibulas. Below the high altar is the Cappella Carafa, a Renaissance chapel built to house yet more of the saint’s remains.
Off the left aisle lies the 4th-century Basilica di Santa Restituta, the subject of an almost complete makeover after the earthquake of 1688. From it you can access the Battistero di San Giovanni in Fonte. Western Europe’s oldest baptistry, it’s encrusted with fragments of glittering 4th-century mosaics.
The Duomo’s subterranean archaeological zone, which includes fascinating remains of Greek and Roman buildings and roads, remains closed indefinitely.

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Summer in Naples: the ice-cream parlors not to be missed in the city

In the city there are so many places where you can eat a good ice cream but only some offer a truly excellent ice cream. Let’s see together the ice cream parlors not to be missed!

Mennella

Quality finds its best form in Mennella ice cream, 100% natural. Composed of natural preparations, high quality fresh milk, cream obtained with the first flowering of milk, carob seed flour used as a thickener, Mennella ice cream has a natural, fresh and unmistakable taste. Every taste is prepared with fresh ingredients typical of the Italian territory: hazelnuts from Giffoni, almonds from Apulia, apricots from Vesuvius, Sorrento walnuts, lemons from the coast, wild strawberries from Acerno, pistachios from Bronte, dry and fresh seasonal fruit. The bases are prepared in the laboratory of Torre del Greco while the last process, the freezing, is done directly in the presence of the customer.
WHERE: Different sales points in the city.

Fantasia gelati

Fantasia Gelati was founded in 1994 and has distinguished itself over the years as an excellence in the field of artisan gelato production. The company that has been producing ice cream for 20 years in its 1000 square meter production laboratory and tasty specialties has been awarded with numerous awards. A long career distinguishes this company that over the years with dedication and passion has transformed ice cream into a multisensory experience. Starting from the choice of the most genuine and natural ingredients, such as buffalo milk and fresh fruit, up to the preparation of over 60 flavors that are updated with the arrival of each new season.
WHERE: Different sales points in the city.

Leopoldo, Casa Infante

The certainty of tradition, the rich taste of memories of the past, the goodness of the historical tastes of the traditional Italian ice cream parlor. The classics, from creams to fruit flavors. Choose between chocolate goodness, tiramisu, stracciatella, coffee, zuppa inglese and the freshness of fruity tastes: sour cherry, pistachio, berries,… Highest quality and genuine delights. But not only. From the continuous research on the flavor of Casa Infante the original tastes are born. Gifts to the Neapolitan gastronomic tradition make possible specialties like ice cream with babà, pastiera and roccocò! Tasteful intuitions and whimsical combinations to savor new flavors, never tried before: figs and ruhm, almond and honey, salt caramel, …
WHERE: Different sales points in the city.

Il Bilancione

Bilancione ice cream shop was born in Naples on the Posillipo hill in 1977 by the brothers Vincenzo and Pietro Bilancione and is today a reference point for both Neapolitans and tourists from all over the world. It has become a must also for people from the world of sport and entertainment. The real secrets of this success are the continuous search for quality and the professionalism with which customers are welcomed and served, all in a landscape setting among the most beautiful in the world, so that the Bilancione brand is recognized as: “ice cream of Posillipo ”.
WHERE: Via Posillipo, 238.

Soave

In the heart of the Vomero district, we find Soave, the historic ice cream shop located on the main street of the hilly shopping, where you can eat excellent ice cream. Don’t miss the timeless pistachio flavor.
WHERE: Via Alessandro Scarlatti, 130

Gay-Odin

Gay-Odin is not just one of the best chocolate factories in Naples. When you can rely on excellent quality raw materials, why not enjoy them in all possible forms? This is how the surprising ice creams and semifreddo desserts take their inspiration from the flavors of the Gay-Odin chocolates. Acorn forest ice cream, orange chocolate, Sicilian pistachio, Avola almond paste, ginger or hot pepper chocolate are just some of the flavors created by the most famous Neapolitan chocolate.
WHERE: Via Benedetto Croce, 61.

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Naples Travel Tip: The Campania ArteCard

Like a lot of cities and travel destinations, it’s possible to purchase a discount card in Naples that enables you to have free/discounted access to various historical and cultural sites around the city. Sometimes these things are worth it, sometimes they are not.

In Naples however, I would strongly advise picking up a Campania >artecard swiftly after arriving in the city.

You can buy your pass online, on the >artecard app, at an >artecard point and at the ticket office of various tourist sites (at the Archaeological Museum, at Pompeii, etc)

There are variations of the Campania Artecard available and the most suitable will depend on your personal interests and your intended Naples itinerary.

The cards allow free access to some sites, free use of public transportation, and reduced entry at additional sites. Prices start from €12 for those under 25, and €21 for those over 25. Either way, it will save you a fair bit.

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Over 100 Ferrari from all over the world in Campania

More than 100 Ferrari from all over the world will meet in Campania for the eighth edition of the Ferrari Cavalcade.
The event offers Ferrari customers unique driving experiences, along fascinating routes that allow you to fully appreciate the performance of the contemporary cars of the Cavallino.

Over 200 collectors and enthusiasts crews from more than 20 countries around the world, with a large representation of Europe, the United States, the Middle East, and with numerous participants from the Far East, New Zealand and Australia. Numbers that reflect the boundless attraction of the Maranello brand.

This international parterre awaits a journey full of surprises and a variety of landscapes that only the Campania region can offer. At the wheel of their Ferrari, participants will be able to explore the wonderful views of the Amalfi coast and the Campania hinterland, from the Parco del Partenio to the slopes of Vesuvius.

The tour will begin on Tuesday 18th June with a visit to the city of Benevento, where the Ferrari can be admired in Corso Garibaldi from 1 pm. The following day from 1.30 pm the cars will be available on the Salerno seafront, before going along the bends from Amalfi to Sorrento, where they are expected in Corso Italia from 7.00 pm. On June 20th, the Royal Palace of Caserta will be the setting for the Cavalcade, in front of which the models of the Cavallino Rampante will line up around 10:30 am, and the center of Naples, with a stop in Piazza del Plebiscito from 2.30 pm. The fourth last day of the tour, Friday 21st, will be dedicated to one of the jewels of the Gulf, with a parade of cars from Capri to Anacapri at 7:00 pm.

An exceptional program and a great show not only for Ferrari owners but for all citizens and tourists, which binds the most famous car manufacturer in the world to these places symbol of Italian beauty.
“We want to bring the Ferrari brand closer to the beauty of Campania – said Alessandro Cellamare, head of Ferrari events – It will be an opportunity for our customers to see territories they would not have visited. It is not just a Ferrari event, but of the territory. A convoy that moves every day in Campania and that, on average, will cover 800 kilometers every day “.

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Cross Piazza del Plebiscito with your eyes closed.

The purpose of this game is managing to go between the equestrian statues in the center of the square, sculpted by Antonio Canova and depicting Charles III of Bourbon and Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies.

Rules of the game: close your eyes or wear a blindfold. Procedure: starting from the gate of Palazzo Reale, walk straight for about 170 meters. Do not be surprised if, on opening your eyes, you realize not only that you have not managed to cross the space between the two statues, but that you are somewhere else entirely.

According to legend, it is all Queen Margherita’s fault: she is said to have granted a pardon to the prisoners of the Kingdom who passed this test, however, a curse launched by the Queen herself prevented the competitors from being successful.
As a matter of fact, the particular conformation of the square, with its surface of not perfectly linear cobblestones, hinders walking in a straight line, making this a very difficult thing to do in Naples with kids, especially during the night.

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5 most romantic places in Naples

The atmosphere, the landscapes, the dinner at the restaurants on the promenade, Naples is certainly one of the most romantic cities in the world. So let’s see the 5 most romantic places where you can comfortably spend your special moments with your partner, or give your first neapolitan kiss.

Gaiola and Virgilian Park

Gaiola, magical and mysterious. A fabulous natural scenery where a small island rises. In the past it was called “Euplea”, protector of safe navigation, and safe haven.
The origins of Gaiola are really ancient: they date back to Roman times, when it was inhabited by Publio Pollione il Vecchio. From the impressive free beach, along some stairs, you can enter into the protected marine area of the Submarine Park of Gaiola, where from the sand you pass to a less soft and rocky scenery.                                The Virgilian Park was built under the name of Park of Victory or of Beauty. It was called Remembrances Park to commemorate the fallen of the Great War, and later Virgilian Park, in honor of the poet and legendary protector and wizard of Naples, Virgil. It extends over an area of about 92,000 m², 150 meters above sea level, on the promontory of Posillipo hill. You can access from 2 entrances: the main entrance, where you will find a newly built fountain, and from Via Tito Lucrezio Caro. The Virgilian park is characterized by a system of terraces overlooking the Gulf of Naples. You can enjoy different views: the islands of Nisida, Procida, Ischia and Capri, Vesuvius coast, Sorrento Peninsula, Trentaremi Bay with its archaeological site and the historic center of Naples.

Sant’Antonio Terrace

You can get here with the funicular of Mergellina. Just take the first stop “Sant Antonio”, in Via Orazio. Keep walking until Via Minucio Felice. Keep going on this street and prepare yourselves for the inimitable view waiting for you on the terrace, in front of the Church of Sant’Antonio a Posillipo. The ideal place fot taking some pictues, and of course for kisses.

San Martino

San Martino is another amazing place where you can have a complete view from the top of the city. You can arrive here with the Montesanto funicular. Just five minutes by walking and you will have in front of you the Belvedere. San Martino is a little square with a church and a castle, with around some shops, bar and pubs where you can have an aperitif. If you want an even better view, there are 2 possible options… but you’ll have to pay a ticket (unless it’s the first Sunday of the month). You can go up Castel Sant’Elmo or you can venture into the gardens of the Certosa of San Martino.  Anyway, from San Martino you can go down through the Pedamentina, an amazing stairway that takes you directly to the Historical Center.

Lungomare

Just  beyond Piazza del Plebiscito, a couple of minutes by walking, you will find the seaside. A quiet walk, without cars, perfect for romantic moments, with lots of restaurants and clubs.
The best part is just in the middle, with the Castel dell’Ovo. The castle is free entry, and it gives you, from the top, a wonderful look of the city, from the seaside. Outside the castle there is the Borgo Marinari, an ancient port with restaurants and romantic spots. If you want to walk a little bit more you have the Villa Comunale, a seafront park where you can rent rickshaws or bicycles to enjoy a classic Neapolitan sunny day.

The Lover Street

Last but not least, there is a little secret road in Via Toledo, in Via Santa Maria delle Grazie, known as La via degli innamorati (Lover Street). Is a narrow street, full of hearts and writes, that cuts all the old part of the city. It’s usual for the couples stop in front to take a selphie photo or cross it hand by hand.

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Casatiello Napoletano. The King of Easter in Napoli.

There are two things that are synonymous with Easter in Napoli – Pastiera – the ricotta and wheat based pie that is like a cheesecake on steroids and its equally indulgent antithesis – the rustic and savoury Casatiello Napoletano. Think of them as the yin and the yang or the Adam and Eve of the Neapolitan Easter table.

A type of rustico, or a rustic bread, Casatiello is hardy, filling, and oh so satisfying. Something I would think of more as a comfort food for the cold, wet days of winter, here it is nevertheless a symbol of spring.  Made only for the Easter holiday, its brother Tòrtano however is made year round.

Two breads cut from the same dough, the only difference between them – hard-boiled eggs. Perhaps symbolic of creation, I can only guess the addition of eggs to Casatiello render it suitable only for the Easter holiday. Made in a round pan similar to an American bundt pan, the shape is said to symbolize the crown of thorns.

The recipe dates to at least the 1600s and they say, the Napoletani that is, that it is not Casatiello without sugna (or strutto in Italian) – pork fat/lard. Served as part of the antipasti on Easter day, it tastes even better the next day, Pasquetta – Easter Monday.

The first step in any good Casatiello? The ingredients.

Flour, lievito – fresh yeast sold in little cubes, water, salt, pepper, and most importantly, sugna for the dough. Hard boiled eggs and an assortment of salumi and cheese inside.

To make Casatiello with 1 kg flour we recommended “un mezzo chilo di misto,” – a 1/2 kg of assorted salumi and cheese. For our Casatiello we chopped up some ciccioli, capicollo, salame napoletano, and pancetta coppata. Pecorino cheese is typically used but this time we are using a Caciotta di Avellino.

Ingredients

For the dough
1 kg flour plus extra for rolling the dough.
300 ml Water.
1 cake (.6 oz) fresh yeast or one package or 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast.
Warm water.
Salt and pepper.
About 4 tbsp of lard for the dough plus more for coating the dough.

For the filling
1/2 kg assorted salumi and cheese.
6 hard-boiled eggs.

Cooking Method

Pour flour onto a work surface.
Mix in salt and a very generous amount of pepper.
Add yeast (if you are using active dry yeast you will need to dissolve it in about  1/2 cup warm water first).
Add water a little bit at a time, working it in until a soft dough begins to form.
Add the lard and work it completely into the dough.
Continue working the dough, adding water as needed until the dough is just slightly damp and very elastic.
Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise 2 hr or more.

The Casatiello dough after the first rise

Meanwhile chop the salumi and cheese
Boil and chop the eggs and add them to the salumi mixture

After the dough has risen one hour, flour the work surface and roll it out into a large rectangular form.

Spread the salumi mixture across the length of the dough starting near the bottom of the dough.  

Roll the dough up like a cigar, pinch the edges and coat them with lard.

Roll up the Casatiello

Bring the ends together to form a circular shape.

Grease the Casatiello pan with lard, work the dough into the pan and generously coat the top of the dough with lard.

Cover and let rise 3 hours.

Casatiello after the second rise

Bake at 180º C for approximately 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Buon Appetito!

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April 1st and Chocolate Fish in Napoli ~ no joke!

We’re all being careful not to fall for any April Fool’s jokes today – and there’s no escape from the pranksters’ favourite day of the year in Italy. Here, it just has a cuter name: April Fish. That comes from a common joke that involves sticking a drawing of a pesciolino (little fish) onto the back of an unsuspecting victim. Then, everyone else asks if anyone has seen “April’s fish” and makes jokes about that person – when, of course, the victim doesn’t know it’s them.

Chocolatiers deliciously get into the spirit with fish-shaped goodies. Schools of fish of all sizes fill shop windows, the larger ones often filled with smaller treats. To a chocoholic, fish never tasted so good! Since Easter usually falls around the same time, fish feature predominantly in shop windows through that holiday as well.
Here would be a good excuse to buy special chocolates on this day over. Not that we ever really need an excuse for chocolate…

Wherever you are, have fun on April 1st and enjoy some chocolate.