You may have noticed the blue and white streamers, banners, even donuts in previous posts. The Napoli futbol team won the Italian league championship, for the first time in 33 years, while we were on Ischia. We watched some live feeds on YouTube of the celebrations in the city and the place had gone crazy. So we arrived in Napoli to find blue and white everywhere. Even the gutters were still lined with confetti. Of note, images of Diego Maradona were everywhere, as he had led the team to their first ever Serie A championship in 1987 and 1990. In fact, we saw his face more often than any of the current players.
Another oddity was various incarnations of the Confederate flag. Southern Italians sometimes identify with the American South in that they’re not as wealthy as the northern half of the country and feel they are viewed as working class at best. Some of these flags even had the text, in English, “The South Will Rise Again” printed on them. I’d encountered this in Spain way back in 2001 and asked some Europeans what they thought the flag meant. “We’re rebels,” they replied. It wasn’t about racism – not to say that there isn’t any, particularly in Italy, but let’s get lunch instead.
You’re not going to travel to the birthplace of pizza and not eat a pizza, are you? There were long lines for some of the more famous establishments but we were still hauling luggage and just ready to sit down, so we found a less crowded joint a few blocks away from the main tourist drag of Via dei Tribunali and settled in for a pie and a salad. Pretty good, but I’ve had better.
Though I was only in the city for about 20 hours, it charmed me. The Centro Storico reminded me of Rome from 20+ years ago – sure, plenty of tourists, but also lots businesses catering to residents’ needs and Italian still the dominant language. The university in the area contributes a lot to the feeling that you’re not in a theme park, in large part due to the extreme amount of (often left-wing) grafiti.
As in Rome, you can turn a corner and stumble into Ancient Rome, gawk at an Italian Renaissance church, and sit on the edge of a fountain beneath a magnificent sculpture, all in the space of a block. I could spend days just walking around looking at doors.
Naples also has interesting street art that wouldn’t be allowed in the cleaned-up tourist center of Rome.
Sure, the city is a bit grimy. The graffiti is a bit much in some areas and a lot of buildings could use a good wash. But it’s not much more dangerous than Rome, particularly for tourists.
We had made reservations online at a small but well-reviewed restaurant, only to find that the info hadn’t gotten through somehow. A quick google later, we ended up at the door of Antica Cucina Campagnola, coincidentally just before they opened, and had perhaps the best meal of the whole trip. Zucchini flowers stuffed with cheese and fried, some local greens that tasted exactly like turnip greens, taters, an excellent fish, the best meatballs I’ve ever had, and a slice of orange tart.
In the morning, I’d have one last cappuccino and pastry, grab a salami sandwich for the air, and board the plane. JJ stayed behind with her parents for a few extra days, and they, too, thought they’d like to see more of Napoli.
There’s never enough time. But every destination is going to get more crowded, more touristy and more monocultural. Go now.
