A Tale of Two Cities-- last full day in Napoli

Tuesday March 27 was our last full day in Naples.  It was mainly sunny with a high of 14C.  We had decided to head out to a different part of town for the afternoon.  A number of people had told us to go to Castel Sant' Elmo (St. Elmo's Castle) in the Vomero area, for the view.  We walked down to the funicular that would take us up to the hills of Vomero.

Our street in the centro storico
On the way down Via Tribunale to Via Toledo, there are a number of book sellers and book shops.  Like the bouquinistes in Paris, they sell books and posters from the past.
Booksellers and bookshops
We stopped for a coffee at another Mexico coffeeshop in the Dante Square.  Our free tour guide had said this was his favourite Mexico.  The espresso was excellent.

Alain with his caffe
Outside Mexico in Dante Square

Street off Via Toledo with flowers and hearts
We walked down Via Toledo to the funicular station.  The station is very modern and there are four stops to the top of the line.  It takes about 8 minutes for the trip.

Almost ready to leave the station

Modern funicular
Vomero is a hill-top neighbourhood with wide streets, beautiful apartments and incredible views of the Bay of Naples and the city.  It is a real change from the intensity of the Centro Storico and surrounding areas.

The funicular station in Vomero


Our first stop was the Friggitoria Vomero, which makes some of the city's best fritture (deep-fried snacks), a staple of Naples' street food.  The tempura-like spinach and eggplant were the best.  The snacks are only .25 euros apiece, and just after we got our snacks, the place was invaded by kids getting our of school.

The snack bar and the friers


















Another view
Kids coming in for their snacks
Outside with our food
We were just opposite the funicular when school let out for the day.

Kids in the square
Vomero was like another world away from the noise, crowds and largely dilapidated buildings we had seen in many of the other quarters of the city.

Apartments in middle-class Vomero
Lovely apartments with large balconies

Interesting architecture and wide streets
Interesting glass turrets
More colour
We had a short walk to our destination, the Castel Sant'Elmo  (St. Elmo's Castle).  The Castel was originally a church dedicated to St. Erasmus in the 10th century.  In 1349,  Robert of Anjou turned it into a castle.  Spanish viceroy Don Pedro de Toledo had it further fortified in 1538.  It was used as a military prison until the 1970s.   It is famed for its incredible views.  The entry ticket allows one to walk along the battalions, through the empty castle, and admire the view.  It takes a while to explore.  The castle was not crowded and it was a great respite from the busy city below.

Approaching Castel Sant'Elmo

Cannons near the entrance
A close up of the city below
Bird's eye view of the Bay of Naples harbour

View away from the city centre

Mount Vesuvius in the background
The most fascinating view is of the black line of the Spaccanapoli, the straight and narrow main street that traverses the old historic centre of the city.  The name literally means "Naples splitter."  It forms part of the grid of the original Greco-Roman city of Neapolis.  The official start of the street is named Via Benedetto and it changes name as it moves east.  Via Benedetto is parallel to Via Tribunale, the street we are very close too.  We have walked many times on Via Benedetto which has some of the best pastry and food shops.
The view from St. Elmo-- amazing to see the black line-- the spaccanapoli

View of Castel Nuova and the Galleria, where we were the other day
View away from the city


A bit of a panorama

Alain and I at St. Elmo's Castle

There was some art in the main square at the top of the Castle


Sergio Fermariello- Guerreri 2008
The courtyard
We had some interesting views through windows.


There was alcove with mosaic tiles- a piece by Chiara Coccorese called La Cura, installed in 2017.
In the alcove
We descended from the Castle and sat outside of the Vomero Mexico for a coffee.  It was lovely to sit out in the sun.

Selfie with coffee
We then wandered around Vomero.
Nearby apartments

A large roundabout

We then wandered over to Villa Floridiana, a wonderful park in the middle of Vomero, that houses a ceramic museum (unfortunately closed on Tuesdays).

Entrance to Gardens of Villa Floridiana

Large trees and plantings- very peaceful

Path in park

Heading down on the funicular

Back on the heart street off Via Toledo

After a short rest and some packing, we headed out for a very late dinner.  We didn't have to go far-- La Campagnola, a local favourite, is just at the corner.  Alain and I shared a generous portion of spaghetti with clams and a delicious octopus and tomato stew.  A couple of glasses of local wine and we were full.
Spaghetti and clams

Octopus and tomatoes


We are going to miss the buzz of Naples--- lots to do, see and eat---- the food and coffee are really among the best.  It is incredibly vibrant with so much fascinating history.   We definitely were glad we had spent six days exploring this unique city.

Comments

  1. Flaner de Paris29 March 2018 at 08:04

    Thanks for the walk. The Black line looks very interesting to explore... along with everything else.

    ReplyDelete

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