[Dec. 2024] After walking through the old town of Naples, southern Italy, we came to Piazza Dante.
This square used to be a marketplace, and is also called the Market Square.
We were planning to take the metro from here, but for some reason the station was closed and we were stuck.
If you live abroad (away from Japan) for a long time, you tend to be relaxed and think, “Well, these things happen,” so we weren’t worried at all, but our guide Ivan seemed nervous.
We couldn’t get a taxi, so we lost a lot of time, but when we looked, the metro service had resumed.
We still don’t know what it was.
We went to the centre of modern Naples.
We walked towards the port, with the famous Castel dell’Ovo on our left.
Then we had lunch at a restaurant called San Carlo, opposite the San Carlo Theatre.
Since we were in Naples, we decided to have pizza, but it wasn’t anything special.
Maybe you really need a specialty restaurant.
Two pizzas and half a litre of red wine cost €28.
Then we walked around Galleria Umberto I, which is very similar to the one in Milan.
It is about 10 years newer than the Galleria in Milan, which was built in the late 19th century, and is wider, brighter, and shorter.
Then we went to Piazza Reale.
Here you can see the Royal Palace, built in the 17th century during the Spanish colonial period, and the Church of San Francesco di Paola, which looks like a smaller version of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
We didn’t go inside anywhere, but after walking around the spacious square, we took the funicular to Vomero Hill.
I don’t know if Ivan timed it, but the sun was just setting here.
The view was amazing!
In addition to seeing Mount Vesuvius, Capri, and Ischia, where we visited in the summer, we could also clearly see the Spaccanapoli, which divides the old town of Naples.
And it was all bathed in the sunset.
This was certainly moving, but Ivan, who loves Naples so much, was probably the most impressed one among us.
According to him, Vomero Hill is the safest and the best environment in the city.
Thanks to him, my impression of Naples has improved a lot.
This time, we only visited a few churches and walked around the city, and did not enter any important buildings that require admission fees, so I would like to revisit it someday.
By the way, the next day my husband went to a barber in Sorrento and heard that Naples became a tourist destination only after the Covid outbreak.
The barber said, “The Neapolitans have finally realised that they can make more money by improving public safety and attracting tourists than by stealing from them.”
