Navigating the streets of Napoli

At first, Napoli shocks your senses.  The streets are dirty, often smelly, traffic moves fast through narrow streets while the sounds of the city ring incessantly in your ears.  Navigating the crooked streets is an exercise in awareness, keeping one eye on the uneven stones and the other on vespas driving through crowds of people honking their squeaky little horns.  We arrived in Napoli Centrale station and after a bad experience with our airbnb (note to travelers, DO NOT stay in and around the main train station) we headed across town towards the Spanish Quarter to find our new home for the week.  We got to see the Centro Historico, with its narrow shaded streets of black volcanic stone.

Almost every building is between 3 and 5 stories high limiting your ability to orient yourself and funneling you in one way or another while you often squeeze past oncoming cars or side-step speeding vespas.  Every building has at least two balconies per floor and these balconies are not only a hallmark of Napoli but a central element of their lifestyles.  People can be seen leaning on the rails observing the chaos, chatting with their neighbors, having a cigarette or hoisting buckets of this or that from the street below.  All the balconies are decorated with bedsheets, shirts and underwear hanging out to dry, doors and windows are open and there are no secrets here.

After not too long we arrived in the Spanish Quarter.  Here the streets and balconies are very similar however the network of streets is slightly deeper and more complex while always sloping or stepping up towards the highest point in Naples.  The streets are decorated with string lights, flags and street art.  The smell of both amazing street food and dog shit keeps you guessing while the beauty of the crumbling buildings is both enjoyable and depressing.  After a few days dodging traffic became second nature, the trash in the streets was slightly less offensive and the city began to come alive for us.  We had pasta with the “fruit of the sea,” incredible.  Pizza fresh baked to perfection in stone ovens with ingredients from the Milky Mountains just east of Mt. Vesuvius.  We walked down 2000 year old Roman streets, saw waves crash against a 1,500 year old castle and watched SSC Napoli vs Liverpool in the Stadio de Diego Armando Maradona in the Champions League; no doubt the most exciting game I’ve ever been to.

Just a short drive from Naples we had a chance to visit Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi and Ravello.  These towns were beautiful with their colorful architecture set amongst the heavily forested hills and beautiful stone outcrops.  There are remnants of ancient towers and monasteries that serve as a reminder that you are one of millions to have visited this place and one of millions more to come.  It’s a stunning environment and if you go to Napoli it’s definitely a must see.  If I had to explain Napoli in one sentence I’d say it was like a strong drink, neat, turning your head and burning your throat…whether you keep pouring I guess is up to you.