What is the expression? ”Vedi Napoli e poi morire?" Hopefully implying see it and die – happy. Not always on Italy’s “A list” itself these days, Naples is surrounded by some real contenters, for the list like: Pompeii, Vesuvius, Sorrento, Amalfi, Ravello, the Greek ruins at Paestum, Capri, Ischia and other famous Italian spots all as dazzling as the sunlight off her famous bay.
The government sent “fresh out of art school Stew” here to act as an in-house ad agency for a what often seemed like McHale’s Navy Goes to Italy.
The people of Naples have long lived in the shadow of Mt. Vesuvius and maybe from proximity they are as explosive as their mountain mascot. They live large and live loud. They sound noisy, almost angry to us timid cold-blooded northerners, but they are fun loving and friendly. They are just uninhibited, highly animated, highly caffeinated versions of all the other Italians you’ve ever met. And they can cook! They claim to be the home of the Italian pizza.
And what we Americans think of as the classic Italian pizza is probably the Napolean Pizza Margherita. Everyone, at some point in there life, should have one pizza in Naples. I could be accused of eating my share and everyone else’s share, gaining twenty pounds in my first three months there. Then it was “see Napoli and die-t” Eventually it had dawned on me that a pizza, a plate of olives and a beer late every night AFTER my regular dinner, was more of a diet for a Sumo Wrestler Second Class than for an Illustrator Draftsman Second Class.
City Links:
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/europe/naples/
http://www.virtourist.com/europe/Naples/
http://www.virtourist.com/europe/campania/