Pizza anyone?

What started as a long weekend to reimagine the Naples of Elena Ferrante’s four Neapolitan novels turned into four days of discovering hidden gems in this vast, bustling, crowded wonderful city. And I ate some pizza. Exceptional pizza. And spaghetti with mussels. And mini octopi, called moscardini, from a small bread bowl.  And fresh baccala’. And pizza.

Despite this being my fourth visit to Naples, the city never disappoints on repeat visits. Plus, there’s a nice new subway. Cheers to you Naples.

My good friend and Naples native Antonio was a superb guide, showing me all the places mentioned in the four Ferrante books (he did his research) as well as proudly showing me the guts of the city: the Spanish quarter and the Pallonetto. These two neighborhoods are colorful and gritty, lively and routine, not to contradict myself. The residents here visit each other on a balcony or on the street, their laundry hanging above. They cast a glance at me as we walked and then went about their business. I did get a funny look from the Pallonetto parking garage attendant who must have been curious as to why an American wanted to see a parking garage. This garage is sort of dug into the hill, the Pizzofalcone. I can say that I’ve not seen anything like that anywhere else.

We arrived in the Pallonetto by way of Piazza Martiri (in the book!) to the chic Via Chiaia (in the book!), and then we took an elevator to Via Solitaria, where the goddess herself, Sophia Loren, used to make movies.

Via Solitaria, where Sophia Loren filmed many scenes in her movies.

Via Supportico d’Astuti, which continues to Via Solitaria

This was Naples.

We took the steps through the Pallonetto, went around a corner, took more steps and then all of a sudden we’re back facing the bay, Antonio’s office building and Via Santa Lucia. I stood in amazement, looking back at the concentration of high-rises, wondering how in the world we got there.

The Pallonetto/Santa Lucia neighborhood. This is a gritty residential neighborhood.

The end of our Pallonetto stroll. We exitied from the alley/street between the two buildings in the middle. Look closely. See the stairs?

I recalled those first few weeks when I lived in Manhattan. You could lose an entire day just walking the streets, absorbing every sight and sound. That’s what walking through the Spanish quarter felt like. We spent two days there. There’s so much going on and yet there’s an order to the chaos.

Yes, orderly chaos. I wonder if there’s an app somewhere to teach people how to drive a car in Naples.  When we were in the car, I could swear I only saw two lanes on our side of the road. Somehow, Antonio always found that invisible third lane and took it. Not a lot of yielding when you drive in Naples. Not a lot of space either. The sides of the “street,” and I use that term loosely, are bordered with cement barriers to mark the pedestrian area. It’s a tad close.

It was also pretty great to be able to walk along the Bay of Naples, with the sea breeze blowing, the sun reflecting off the water, the outline of Capri in the distance. And to your right, the dense urban landscape of this centuries-old city.

Or you face the wide, expansive Piazza del Plebiscito. We hit the world-famous Gambrinus café, next to Plebiscito. I was last here in 2004 with Antonio, his wife Gina and my mom. Like its pizza, the coffee in Naples is a religion, a standard-bearer. When Gina and I got our cups, we stood there and looked at them for a few minutes. We weren’t admiring the designs. We were waiting for the cups to cool off! The coffee is served in cups minutes after said cups are pulled from a sink of steaming water.  So we stood and waited. I ate a sfogliatella, the other jewel of Naples, while the china cooled.  Such is tradition. Such is Naples.

Piazza Plebiscito. The next time you’re here, try this: stand facing those columns, and try to walk in a straight line to the columns from this distance, with your eyes closed. I tried it. I ended up nowhere near the center. Good luck.

Cafe Gambrinus, world-famous, next to Piazza Plebiscito. Don’t pick up your cup right away. The baristas pull them from boiling water, using tongs, before filling with espresso.

I admire the shot of espresso as I wait for the cup to cool off enough so I can drink it. Coffee is a religion in Naples. The cups are pulled from boiling water with tongs just before the espresso goes in. One does not serve coffee in cups at room temperature in Naples.

On our second day in the city, we went underground to see the Bourbon Tunnels, built in 1853 by the king who wanted an escape route from the palace. Neapolitans later used the tunnels as bomb shelters during World War II. It was a fascinating and haunting visit, complete with cars, bicycles and baby carriages left over from those days.

A view inside the tunnel.

Motorcycles left in the tunnel.

There was plenty of debris in the tunnel from the 1940s, 50s and 60s. This sign tells drivers that they have to leave the car open with the keys in it.

The tunnels served as bomb shelters during World War II. Naples has preserved cars, bicycles, baby carriages, among other things, that were part of the life underneath the city.

Scooters in the tunnel.

From there, we hit the Spanish Quarter again, ate some Neapolitan street food, (I had a slice of pizza, with just tomatoes and the crust was as light as anything I’ve eaten) and then we made our way to Spaccanapoli, the street that cuts the city in half. At every vicolo, every turn, I snapped a photo. That’s what you do when you walk through the historic center of a city in Italy.

Ladies and gentlemen: Spaccanapoli. This street cuts the city in half.

This area is full of figurines for Christmas nativity scenes and a whole lot of everything else. *I have this exact photo from 2004 when I was here with my mom.

Souvenirs. ’nuff said.

And more souvenirs.

Magnets. Fun!

Antonio’s friend Giovanni met us later in the day and I was blessed to have another terrific tour guide who knows the history of the city, the architecture and all sorts of secrets to reveal.

We walk into the Basilica of St. George Maggiore. Giovanni points out that there are chapels on only one side of the church because when the street outside, Via Duomo, was widened, the naves on the right side of the church were removed. In the area behind the altar, there is a massive 18^th century fresco by Alessio D’Elia of St. George slaying the dragon. Then the caretaker grabs an equally large wooden pole with a hook on the end, pulls the painting away from the wall and shows us the hidden 17^th century fresco by Aniello Falcone of St. George on horseback as he’s about to slay the dragon. It’s been impeccably preserved.

Then we’re in the middle of a neighborhood and there’s a Banksy work on the wall in the middle of Naples, “Madonna with a Gun.”

Now, about the books. Antonio did not read the Ferrante series and is not as obsessed with them as I am. But he did research and made sure to note as we hit every street or piazza mentioned. His colleague Valeria also read all four and we immediately struck up a conversation about certain parts that were left ambiguous, mostly the ending. There is also the mystery about who Elena Ferrante is (she only gives interviews by e-mail). The best part of that conversation for me was actually having a conversation like that. I really felt like I’d surpassed some threshold being able to converse about something so colloquial in Italian.

So much happened in Piazza Martiri, where the Solara shoe store was located. Today there’s a Ferragamo store there. How’s that for symmetry? I saw Via Mezzaconone where Elena works in a book store and the shopping district of Via Chiaia, where Elena and Lila go one day and see upper class men and women and their fancy clothes.

We drove on Via Rettifilo and Corso Umberto, a wide busy shopping street, where Lila bought her wedding dress. We drove around the Vomero district, up on the hill overlooking the city and the Bay of Naples and I remembered Elena going to her professor’s house here for a party.

We even drove through the Rione Luzzatti, a neighborhood on the outskirts of the city center where, I’ve read, the girls likely grew up.  We drove through a few tunnels which take you to different parts of the city. They reminded me of how the two young girls took a chance one day and decided to run to the other side, into the city, away from their poor neighborhood.

Piazza dei Martiri, a locale in the Ferrante books where the Solara brothers open a shoe store.

Monument in Piazza Martiri

Via Chiaia, a chic shopping street in Naples, also a locale in the Ferrante books.

Side street

Day one in Naples. Walking near Piazza Martiri

Vicoletti Sant’Arpino, which crosses Via Chiaia.

It was fun remembering all those scenes from the four books. I may even read them again, now that I can really imagine the places they go. Maybe I’ll even read them in Italian. That’s my next goal.

I loved visiting Naples. It was a world away from my daily life in Siena, my base for five weeks, and even further away from the Dolomites, both in distance and culture. That’s what I love so much about Italy. You can get on a train for a few hours and land in a place where the people, the cuisine, the art, the way of life is nothing like from where you came.  I think I belong in Italy.

The FOOD

Pizza. Naples. Yes

Also part of the appetizer: moscardini, which are basically mini-octupi. Gina served them out of a roll. They were delicious.

First course: bacala’ crudo, sardines. Yum.

Antonio and his wife Gina, one of the best cooks on the planet, serving up the second course, spaghetti with mussels.

Lunch on Saturday, standing in the street. This slice of pizza was delicious. Trust me.

Yum! Come and get it!

The other side of the store. Who’s hungry?

Traditional Campania cuisine. These are bags of taralli, a crunchy snack with the texture of a pretzel. I’m partial to those with rosemary and olive oil. Can’t eat just one. Impossible.

STREETS, SIGHTS, FRIENDS

Side street, Naples

Side street in the Spanish Quarter

Via Solitaria, the street where Sophia Loren, and many others, filmed scenes for movies.

The staircase inside the Palazzo Medici di Ottaviano, designed by architect Carlo Vanvitelli, on Via Chiaia.

Every side street and vicolo in Naples is a view.

Close-up of the staircase in Palazzo Medici di Ottaviano, on Via Chiaia.

Mt. Vesvius

Lemons for spritzes.

Lorenzo, Antonio and I as we begin the Naples excursion.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Antonio diligently marking the Naples city map to show where we walked. One day we covered about 5 miles.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Lorenzo, Rossella, Angelo – nephews and niece of Antonio and Gina. I last saw them 14 years ago. They’ve “changed” a bit since then. 😉

A Neapolitan espresso maker

In the Spanish Quarter

In the Spanish Quarter

Me and Lorenzo, Antonio’s nephew. He went to an “American” store and bought a giant can of Arizona iced tea and Skittles.

This is Vico del Fico al Purgatario. But it used to be Vico Salvonato, Dei Rota, and Degli Offieri. All in the San Lorenzo neighborhood.

My longtime friends: L to R; Rita, Fausto, Gina, me, Antonio, Rossella and Francesco

Lorenzo, Angela, me, Giovanni after a great weekend in Naples.