Welcome to Naples
From Jesse's Journeys in Italy
Population: 1,000,470 (2004)
Official website:
Naples
Wikipedia:
Naples
Map:
MapQuest
Naples: A city of many
faces, colours and stories. It is a city
of extremes; one visitors will either love
or hate. Often, this city is disliked by
many visitors for those exact reasons for
which it is acclaimed by others. Chaos.
People. Noise.
To tell the story of Naples is to tell
the story of Europe, for ever since the
first inhabitants of the Old Continent
came to its shores nearly six millennia
ago, Naples and its bay have played a role
of primary importance in European
history.
All the great powers-from the
Greeks and Romans to the British, French
and Austrians-have aspired to control it;
several of the continent’s more powerful
rulers made it their capital. The history
of Naples however, dates much further than
Greek colonization. Etruscan and Samnites,
native-Italic groups were in the area long
before and it has been confirmed that the
city was inhabited as early as the Stone
Age (3500BC).
Today, Naples is the
most vibrant and exciting city in Italy,
it is also the second most populous city,
home to 1,206,000. It is the most
important port after Genoa and the
intellectual and commercial centre of the
south. The animated and noisy town,
bright with the southern sun, enjoys one
of the more wonderful geographical
situations in the world, spread out
fanwise above its beautiful gulf.
Naples is a unique city
for several reasons. Most importantly, it
bears traces of more than twenty centuries
of continuous habitation by various
civilizations. Its remarkably rich past
is reflected in its art and architecture,
but it is also evident in the very form
and structure of the city.
The city once again is
flourishing. Under the guidance of mayor
Antonio Bassolino, Naples has become a
much safer city. A vast urban renovation
programme has revitalised and enhanced the
beauty of the city centre, buildings have
been restored and repainted, and a
considerable area of the waterfront, as
well as several of the elegant shopping
streets further inland, have become
pedestrianized.
One of the special
things about Naples is that you can walk
from the city centre to its garland of
hills in just a couple of hours-or even
less, if you hop on one of the famous
funicolari (cable cars). On the walks
that follow you can explore the heart of
the city, ascend to the magnificent
museums of Capodimonte and San Martino,
and wander the lush paths of the Posillipo
headland. And there is much more to do as
well, for Naples is almost overwhelming in
its wealth of art, culture and history.
Like London or New
York, Naples has grown haphazardly over
the centuries-which means that the modern
city centre no longer corresponds to the
centre of the Roman and medieval town.
This make Naples more difficult to explore
than say, Florence or Venice, where many
centuries of architectural history are
concentrated in a very small space.
Obtaining a good map of the city is
therefore essential for visitors upon
arrival. It is recommended to choose an
area and concentrate on that, then move to
another. Don’t try to do everything at
once, or you will end up seeing nothing at
all.
Travellers should be
advised that while Napoli is beautiful,
interesting and glorious, the city does
have an underside, particularly evident in
the Spanish Quarter of the city, which is
just off of Via Roma. The maze of streets
narrow streets and dense living
conditions, offer little light in this
area. Travellers who venture off of Via
Roma into this area, may as well consider
their money and anything of value, lost.
Motorcyclists in this area are famous for
robbing tourists and numerous contributors
to VisitsItaly have made it known that
travelling alone of with valuables in this
area, has ended in disaster.
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