aliholli: Naples 28th August 2019

We were just disembarking the ship in Naples when

I FELL INTO THE ARMS OF THE CAPTAIN.

ooops

Naples was brilliant.

It was basically ALL ABOUT THE PIZZA haha!

Well... Naples is the birthplace of such a delicacy.

The world famous Pizza Margherita is dedicated to Queen Margherita of Italy after her visit to Naples in 1889 but more of that later now I've got you salivating. First we had to do the "free" (just give him a tip) walking tour of the Old Town walking where no HopONHopOff bus could go.

No buses but blimey watch out for the SCOOTERS.

Oooosh!

Naples is the city of the seven castles.

The cruise ship terminal sits alongside the impressive Nuovo castle, one of the four remaining castles, and this is where we began our walking tour.

Our first stop was the Galleria Umberto shopping arcade with its huge, magnificent mosaic floor and gorgeous high ceiling.

I couldn't get the whole design in but it included

North, South, East and West.

Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter.

And all 12 signs of the zodiac.

I planked on Capricorn.

On to the square with the first European Opera House (no photo as it was covered in renovation sheets) and where Castel Sant'Elmo and the monastery -the most visible landmarks of the city- can be seen up high on top of Vomero hill.

We would be able to see them several more times on our walking tour.

Like here!

The main square was impressive.

There they are again. What a great vantage point on top of that hill.

A table of fresh fish.

Jesus Church

Gesu Nuovo was originally built as The Palace Sanseverino in the late 1400s for the powerful Sanseverino family. It has a spectactular ashlar facade of smooth stone blocks which are shaped like thousands of little pyramids. Careful examination of these stones reveals little markings on some and there are several theories as to what they might mean. Were they the individual mason's marks? (In order to be paid correctly?) Did they identify the quarry where a stone had been cut?

Or maybe...

Something more exciting??

The latest and most popular theory is that the symbols are letters in the Aramaic language (as spoken by Jesus), each representing a musical note, which, when viewed in sequence, bottom to top, right to left, produces a tune. This is clever but not unusual as the Sanseverino family had similar "facade music" chiseled into some of their other residences in southern Italy. How fab!

In front of the church of Gesu Nuovo stands the tallest and most ornate of three "plague" columns in Naples, the Spire of the Immaculate Virgin.

Guglia dell'Immacolata was built to protect the Virgin Mary from the plague.

Mermaid-symbol of Naples

We had enjoyed a lovely couple of hours dodging scooters and feeling the sense of community of Naples, the high buildings so close together you could nearly reach inside the houses opposite, washing everywhere, scooters even more everywhere...and all the time seeing the palace on the hill.

Here's what the main street looks like from above!

We gave him a tip!

But to be honest Naples was all about pizza.

After all this was where the Pizza Margherita originated.

In 1889,28 years after the unification of Italy, Queen Margherita and King Umberto visited Naples.

Chef Raffaele Esposito and his wife created for them a pizza resembling the colours of the Italian flag, red tomato, white mozzarella and green basil, and they named it after the Queen...Pizza Margherita.

Trip Advisor's highest rated pizzeria is called SORBILLO and ohmydays it was FAB.

This review sums it up pretty well.

Day in, day out, this cult-status pizzeria is besieged by hungry hordes. While debate may rage over whether Gino Sorbillo's pizzas are the best in town, there's no doubt that his giant, wood-fired discs – made using organic flour and tomatoes – will have you licking fingertips and whiskers. Head in superearly or prepare to wait.

It must have been special for us to queue up to eat.

There was really NO NEED...we were on an All-Inclusive cruise holiday with LIMITED TIME...one day... to see Naples... BUT IT HAD TO BE DONE.

It was actually quite exciting queueing up with the hordes in anticipation of what was essentially bread and cheese but it was so worth it. Deliciously thin dough, creamy mozarella and locally grown Re Flascone tomatoes.

FAB.

And we ate the lot.

Well, we needed to walk all that off.

The Toledo metro station had been recommended as a Must See as its floors and walls had been covered in bisazza mosaics in all different shades of blue in a stunning design by Oscar Tusquets Bianca as part of Naples Art Station project giving the feeling of being underwater.

We didn't go anywhere but it was worth a look!