What to say about Naples? After having been living in Italy for a couple of months, I felt like I had got the hang of living here. However Naples has thrown that idea completely out the window!
My husband and I decided to ignore the advice of our Calabrian friends and take our car with us to Naples reasoning that it would allow us to explore the Amalfi coast including a stop at the Pompeii ruins. All of which we did and enjoyed immensely. However, it meant we had to take a tricky drive into Naples. A fellow English teacher compared driving in Naples to driving in Rome but 10 times worse. It was pretty hairy! We got in on a Sunday night and followed rigidly our satnav through the industrial district to our B&B on Piazza Garibaldi, named such to commemorate the moment Garibaldi entered Naples on his tour to unite the warring kingdoms of Italy into one nation. Sounds safe enough, right? It’s actually one of the most dangerous parts of what is commonly accepted as being the most dangerous city in Italy!
Neapolitans - fiery, full of life
"You cannot say, because I am from Naples so I like the mixture of drama and comedy all together." Sophia Loren.
We found Neapolitans to be extremely passionate. They don’t share the same benign gentle spirit of the more agricultural Calabrians. They’ll think nothing of screaming to a friend, some 100 yards away from them from their little shops. After the first 20 minutes or so of being in the historical centre, the fear gave way to fascination and eventually admiration. There is a very undefinable quality to Neapolitans, they are full of life. You feel like nothing you could do could crush the Neapolitan spirit not even 100 volcanic eruptions from Mount Vesuvius. Whilst we are standing outside a takeaway waiting for our frittomisto, two people scoot about a mile an hour having a chat in the middle of a road not big enough for a mini to traverse. Then a man delivers a pizza on a scooter one-handed weaving through the mass of people on foot. The people of Naples seem to possess a peculiar cunning.
It is a beautiful country.