That’s Amore

Wow. What a fantastic City destination Naples has proven to be, and I was in full sightseeing mode, much to the children’s disappointment.

Around every corner is a beautiful church or monument or square, adorned with extraordinary artwork and statues, including that of our family namesake – Chiostro di Santa Chiara – all jumbled up in the streets of the Quartieri Spagnoli – the Spanish Quarter, itself a vibrant monument to Maradona!

Our day started with breakfast at Gran Caffè Gambrinus, one of Naples’ most historic coffee shops, where we first became addicted to Napoli’s delicious sfogliatella.

Suitably fuelled, we headed for the gorgeous Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta, marvelled at the interior and lit candles to those missing from our lives 👼.

Wandering around the Quartieri Spagnoli, we lunched at Gordon Ramsey’s favourite Pizzeria (the pizzas lived up to the hype) and headed to the Museo Archeologico Nazionale. The Archeological Museum had the most amazing, and apparently the largest, collection of Roman statues, largely in immaculate condition, creating a wonderful air of tranquility in the vast marble floored rooms.

Day two of our trip was spent at Pompeii, which merits its own post. So our final day started with a visit to the Palazzo Reale du Napoli – gloriously extravagant and carefully restored after being heavily damaged in WWII.

Our final sightseeing stop was a whistle stop tour of Napoli’s Duomo. Again, it merited more time than we were able to spend but I was keen to visit the Galleria d’Italie. Our trip coincided with a rare exhibition of the work of Artemisia Gentileschi – one of the very few female painters of the 17th century – who painted in secret, and to this day, whose artistic works remain under-rated.

The final taste of our trip to Naples saw us taking the fonucular to Piazza Fuga to Castel san Elmo for the very best view of the Bay of Naples: we will most definitely return.