ITALY – NAPLES

February 17 – 19, 2023

Naples was the cheapest flight out of Sharm el Sheikh. I didn’t plan on staying long. But as long as I was here, I may as well make the best of it.

First, let me tell you about my host. During Covid he got very sick and was taken to hospital. They tested him for Covid, but he was negative. Still, to be safe they put an oxygen helmet on him. Whatever was wrong with him, he was in and out of consciousness. The helmet pressed against his carotid artery and nearly choked him. The lack of oxygen caused him to have cardiac arrest. The helmet also cut into the back of his head. He showed me a 10 cm (4 inch) scar on the back of his head and the pictures his family took of it while he was still in hospital. The cardiac arrest caused him to go into a coma for 3 months. He said he could hear everything and he could feel everything but it was like being in a very tight rubber suit. He could not move. Everyday he would try to move a finger. Finally, he regained consciousness and was back home. I summed it up by saying the hospital tried to kill him while saving his life. They never did figure out what was wrong with him in the first place.

The guesthouse had two young students also staying, but long term. They both spoke decent English and were quite pleasant to visit with. One was going to tattoo school. (I guess they have to learn somewhere.) And the other was in IT.

I found Naples to be a rather dirty city. The buildings were old and run down, even though they were not terribly old. I thought I’d spend enough time here to go to Pompeii, and had not really planned on exploring Naples itself. My trusty GPSmyCity app, once again, had me change my mind.

I went to Castel Nuovo, a castle looked like something right out of medieval days. It had huge and imposing round towers which sit on stone embankments with complex designs. The embankments flare outward like a huge pleated foot. I could almost see soldiers shooting arrows up, while the castle guards threw boiling oil down.

The entrance stands between two towers that are 35 meters tall. Passing over the moat and through the arched entrance and through the replica bronze gates (more on that later) I came to the ticket office where I discovered that I could enter for half price because I was a European citizen.

SIDE NOTE: A lot of places in Europe give 30-50% discount if you are a senior. This was the first place that I got a discount for being Polish. A young couple were wanting to get tickets, but did not have Euros and credit card was not accepted. They asked if I could pay for them and they would pay me back in US dollars. Sure, no problem. As I was digging in my purse for their change, they were so happy that they got tickets they told me to keep the change. It was exactly the price of my ticket. Sweet!

Once inside, a guide approached us and asked if we wanted a tour. Sure. It was a rather short tour, but she was full of information and welcomed questions, which she answered expertly. I found out this medieval castle was built in 1279 and was the royal seat for kings until 1815.

She took us to the Hall of the Barons, originally called the Throne Room. It has a stunning vaulted ceiling that is 28 m (92 ft) high. The ceiling formed a star with an oculus in the centre. Around the dome were small windows where guards could watch over the king when he received visitors.

In 1486 the local barons were plotting to kill King Ferrante. He found out and invited them all to this hall for a wedding banquet where he had them all arrested then executed. Another part of the castle had a glass floor with skeletons displayed. I don’t think they were the barons, but it sure made for a good exclamation point to the story.

It is said that King Ferrante had a pet crocodile that he used as his personal executioner. In reality (or legend) a crocodile got into the basement dungeon through a hole in the wall. It was convenient way to make prisoners disappear without too much fuss. The beast was finally killed when they baited it with a horse leg. It was stuffed and hung at the entrance door to the castle, and is the popular source of the assumption that all moats have crocs.

Up on the roof, I was amazed at how big the towers actually were – think of those huge tanks at refineries.

I had a nice view of Mt. Vesuvius across the harbor. Damn, it is close! Remember, it is still considered an active volcano. Someone told me that the mountain used to be cone shaped. The dip seen in the middle is the part that blew off during the destruction of Pompeii.

There was a museum / art gallery that had some beautiful pieces

and the original Bronze Gates.

The bronze gates were commissioned to commemorate King Ferrante’s victory over Giovanni of Anjou and the rebel barons in 1462. The same King Ferrante who tricked another group of barons to their death mentioned earlier. The doors narrate the important details of the war. There is an iron cannon ball embedded in the lower left panel. The doors were taken by Charles VIII of France as part of the spoils of war. The ship was attacked and it is believed that is how the cannon ball hit the doors. The doors were later returned to Naples in 1495.

I wanted to go to the Catacombe de San Gennaro. It looked like a pleasant walk according to GPSmyCity. It was indeed a nice walk. I walked by Porta Capuana, an ancient gate to the city.

Porto Nolana is another ancient city gate, built in the 15th century.

I stopped in Chiesa de Santa Caterina a Formiello, a beautiful church built in 1510.

I also visited Basilica of Santa Maria della Sanità. It was built between 1602-1613.

I walked down narrow streets lined with tall buildings,

up and down numerous staircases,

along streets lined with orange trees,

and through parks.

When I got to the catacombs I found that it was a timed ticket. We had to enter with a guide. Once inside, I understood why. It was an absolute maze of tunnels lined with hundreds of nooks and crannies carved out of the porous stone for bodies. There have been 3000 burials counted, so far, but the entire site has not been unearthed. It was chilly and dark, which added to the creepy ambiance.

The catacombs date back to the 2^nd century and was probably the tomb of a noble. Expansion began in the 4^th century with the burial of St. Agrippinus, the first patron of Naples. A single nave was dug out of the tuff, which still has the bishops chair and an altar.

Some tombs had elaborate paintings. One tomb, in particular, had a fresco that was painted in three layers, after the death of each family member. Obviously, they were very wealthy.

By the time I exited the tour it was getting dark. Google Maps had me returning to my guesthouse a different, and shorter route. Weird. I went through Piazza Dante,

past the University,

and fountains

and past some statues

and churches.

It was a short visit of Naples. Initially, I thought it was going to be a waste of time because of my earlier impression of it being dirty and run down. However, I was happy to be proven wrong. I left Naples with a new admiration.

I was off to Morocco.