Must See Naples Sights and Tourist Attractions
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Vesuvius, the Gulf, the history, the monuments, the food, the traditions, the colourful people make this fascinating city unique and difficult to describe in few words: Naples is rich in everything, especially in contradictions. Goethe fell madly in love with it and called it “a Paradise”, although “inhabited by devils”!! One thing is sure: Naples has to be visited at least once in a lifetime. Here they say “vedi Napoli e poi muori”: “See Naples and then die”!
The long street that traverses the historic centre of the city is Spaccanapoli, "Naples splitter". It starts at Piazza del Gesu’ Nuovo and it’s official name is “Via Benedetto Croce”, which moving east, changes to “Via S. Biagio dei Librai”, and crosses Via Duomo (where the Cathedral of Naples is).
The Spanish Quarters (quartieri spagnoli) are the tight-knit labyrinth of alleyways and streets, bordered by Corso Vittorio Emanuele and including the fascinating Via Toledo, which sprung up around 1530 to host the Spanish troops. This area of the city is extremely densely populated and poor, and people will warn you against going there because it’s home to the Camorra, although it can be as safe as any other area of the city.
Piazza del Plebiscito is a 19th Century semicircular square, enclosed on one side by the royal palace (built by Domenico Fontana in the 17th Century) and on the other by the neoclassical façade of the church of San Francesco di Paola. The niches contain statues of the most famous Kings of Naples. In front of the church there are the equestrian statues of Ferdinand I of Bourbon (by Canova), and of Charles III of Bourbon. A huge staircase with twin ramps leads to the richly ornamented apartments and the sumptuously decorated royal chapel.
Nearby is the Teatro di San Carlo, the oldest and biggest Italian opera house, and the Galleria Umberto, shopping centre and place where the locals hang out.
Close to the port in Piazza Municipio stands the massive 13th century castle Maschio Angioino (literally “male” Angioino, also known as “Castel Nuovo”), built by the architects of Charles I of Anjou, to protect the port. Later, Alfons of Aragon erected the Renaissance decorative triumphal arch in white marble.
Robert of Anjou commissioned the Church of Santa Chiara in 1310, which was designated as a Pantheon for the Neapolitan monarchs. The beautiful cloister is decorated completely with majolica tiles in brilliant green, yellow and blue colours. The convent was bombed in 1943 and restored in 1953, and today it is home to the Museo dell’Opera di Santa Chiara.
The most important museum of Naples is the Palazzo Capodimonte, built in 1738 under Charles VII, king of Naples and Sicily, to house the rich art collection he inherited from his mother, Elisabetta Farnese. The first and second floors house the National Gallery, with fabulous paintings from the 13th to the 18th centuries, including, among the others, Raphael, Martini, Titian, Caravaggio, El Greco, and paintings of the Neapolitan School. On the ground floor there is Roman monumental sculpture.
The palace hosts a collection of porcelains and majolicas from the royal residences. The famous Capodimonte Porcelain Factory was created by the Bourbon King Charles in 1743. Around the palace there is a park which once served as the royal hunting preserve.
The Certosa di San Martino, originally a monastery complex built in the 14th century on top of the Vomero hill from which one can enjoy an amazing view of the Gulf, is today a Museum which hosts the finest Nativity scene (presepe) in the world and a display of Spanish and Bourbon era artefacts.
Posillipo is Naples’ most exclusive quarter, built on a hill facing the sea on the west of the city, dividing the bay in front of Naples from the one of Pozzuoli. Its name comes from the ancient Greek "Pausylipon", that means "pause from pain", and it was here that Publius Vedius Pollione erected his sumptuous imperial Roman villa, followed by many aristocrats and artists who chose this place to build their elegant villas. By taking the winding road Via Marechiaro and some stairs, one can reach the famous panorama spot with views of Vesuvius and Sorrento which inspired the famous song “A Marechiaro”, and also hosts excellent restaurants.
Castel dell’Ovo (“egg”) stands on the small island of Megaride, where the Roman poet Lucullus lived, in front of the Santa Lucia district. The Normans started to fortify the castle in the 12th century. According to legend, the magician Virgil hid an enchanted egg here, which, if broken, would have doomed the city to destruction. The structure became a castle under Federico II. It hosts beautiful Gothic-Aragonese galleries, an amazing Hall of Columns, the church of the Saviour, the Maestra and Normandia Towers, and the Museum of Prehistoric Ethnography. Around the castle there is a small 19th century fishing village, which today is frequented because of its many fine restaurants.
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