June 16, 2025: Intro to Naples

Naples (or Napoli to the locals) is over 3,000 years old. The Greeks settled by the sea in the 8th century BC. Neapolis shortened to Napoli means New City.

The Romans were looking for a city along the sea. The Greeks spoke Greek and the Romans spoke Latin, and they both existed simultaneously.

Naples has many parallel and perpendicular streets that are very narrow. This was purposely done to preserve the streets from the Greek time. Cars beep and squeeze through, just narrowly missing pedestrians. Motorcycles beep and race very fast. We feel on edge and are quick to jump out of the way.

Like lasagna, Italy has many societal layers. Greek, Roman, Normans, and Spanish, etc., the Middle Ages, and the Modern Republic of Italy.

Dante Alighieri from the 14th century is considered the father of the Italian language because he chose to write his masterpiece, the Divine Comedy, in the Tuscan dialect spoken in Florence, rather than the then dominant Latin. This decision popularized the vernacular Italian, making it a recognized and respected literary language, and ultimately influenced the development of standard Italian. Some people in Naples also speak another language that differs from Italian. Neapolitan is spoken yet Italian is taught in school.

The oldest pizza restaurant in the world is ANTICA PIZZERIA PORTALBA. It was established in 1738.

There is a certain sign for excellence in pizza, “Vera Pizza Napolitano”. We learned that one must pay for this special seal. Hmmm. It seems biased to me. Pizzas are not sliced here.

Wallet pizzas are folded twice, and workers can take them away. Another specialty is the pizza frita which is a deep fried pizza.

There are over 10,000 pizzerias in Naples. I can believe it. Literally, every other shop is a pizzeria. One tourist asked our guide, “Obviously you don’t eat pizza every day so what else do you eat?  He said, “Of course, we eat pizza every day. For other meals, we eat pasta!!”

There are 500 churches and 69 museums in Naples.

Bellini was born in Catania, Sicily, but he is a famous opera composer throughout Italy. There is a statue of him in the middle of Bellini Square, an evening hangout for the young.

Centuries ago they didn’t have machines to excavate so they had no choice but to fill it with dirt and build on top of it and maybe using some of the materials for rebuilding. Today when we find something, archeologists preserve the findings in a museum and the site is uncovered.

In the early days, opera was very sad and there was lots of blood. This gave rise to the comedic opera. Mozart came to Naples in 1770 and even visited Pompeii which had recently been rediscovered. His visit to the Temple of Isis gave inspiration for the comedic opera, The Magic Flute.

At the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, “O Sole Mio” was played instead of the Italian national anthem because the sheet music for the anthem had not been delivered. This iconic Neapolitan song, written in 1898, became a substitute for the anthem due to its popularity and recognition.

Pulcinella is the mascot of Naples. He is lazy, tells jokes, eats pizza and spaghetti.

The Duomo in Napoli is dedicated to Saint Gennaro. The body of Saint Gennaro is preserved in Naples, where he is honored as the city’s principal patron. The Neapolitans pray to him for protection from fires, earthquakes, plagues, droughts and the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. In every emergency Saint Gennaro is their powerful champion and universal helper.

Saint Gennaro was beheaded by Diocletian in 305 A.D for being a Christian. An old Neapolitan lady collected the blood with a sponge and filled a phial with the precious liquid.

His blood, which is normally solidified, liquefies twice a year on the first of Sunday of May, the feast of the transfer of his relics, and on September 19, the anniversary of his martyrdom. This is a miracle that thousands gather to see and then expect miracles to happen in their lives.

Archeological Museum of Naples

Built in 1777, this building was the Royal Library and the Fine Arts Academy and housed art collections.

Since we will go to Pompeii and Vesuvius tomorrow, we wanted to focus on the wing dedicated to Pompeii artifacts. Here is just a sample:

This highly communicative fresco is inspired by real-life events and provides a bird’s-eye view of an actual event that occurred at Pompeii in 59 AD during the reign of Nero. The amphitheatre of Pompeii was the scene of a bloody brawl that broke out for futile reasons between Pompeian and Nucerian spectators during gladiatorial games.

Note the amphitheatre, with its awning, the external staircases, the gladiatorial games going on inside, the city walls with towers, the gym with the swimming pool, and the large square shaded by trees, below which female figures stand and street vendors sell their wares.

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We saw lots of red horns that are small and large. It is for good luck. However, it is to be bought for another; it brings bad luck if you buy it for yourself. It is an ancient superstition.

Diego Maradona was a famous football (soccer) player from Argentina who played for the Napoli team. We see his face everywhere as well as the #4. Blue is the color of Naples.

One way to combat over tourism is to overcharge the tourists. This can happen with taxis and even grocery stores!!! ALWAYS ask the price FIRST!

I got corn on the cob from a street vendor who was grilling and blow drying, and it cost three euros. They did not have butter but offered to put ketchup or mayonnaise on it!! Must be an Italian thing.