Blog

By Tom Carmichael, Class of 2007

For many tourists including myself, a trip to Italy is usually a trip to Rome and then north – Florence, Siena, Pisa, and Venice – to name a few of the regular stops. This fall, my wife and I decided to spend a few days in Rome and then head south. Our first stop was Naples. Why Naples? We wanted to visit Herculaneum and Pompeii and read that most of the great treasures of the two buried cities were stashed away in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples. Since I had heard some not-so-nice things about Naples, I suggested a one-day stop. My wife, whose sense of adventure greatly outweighs mine, said two or three days. So off we went.

Palaces

First, brace yourself. We arrived from Rome by train at mid-day. I gave our cab driver the address of our hotel in the middle of the old part of the city. We drove into a warren of dark, narrow, and far-from-clean streets. After about 10 minutes, the driver stopped in front of what looked like the entrance to a maximum-security prison in a questionable neighborhood.

Reluctantly I got out of the car to look around and luckily spotted a small intercom by the tall steel doors. Yes, this was the place. With the sound of a buzz, the tall steel doors swung open to reveal the courtyard of a 17th century palazzo, one floor of which was a small, modern hotel. Like many things in Naples, the exterior and the interior did not match. In Naples, you must be willing to scratch a grimy surface to discover the gem underneath: a prime example being the streets and buildings of Spaccanapoli – the street that bisects the old city. Over the centuries the nobility and rich of southern Italy have jammed their town houses (aka palazzi) into the small confines of central Naples. As a result, the streets, dark and almost tunnel-like, are lined with tall three- and four-story graffiti-covered buildings, many of which are architectural gems. The paving stones are black with the filth of centuries, but the locals who walk them in shoulder-to-shoulder crowds are happy, chatty, and having a great time. Oh, by the way, did you remember to hang out the laundry before you left?

Pizza

After recovering from my initial shock, we decided to have lunch to restore ourselves. We walked a few paces to a small nearby piazza, sat down, and ordered a pizza. As Chicago is to skyscrapers, Naples is to pizza. It is the birthplace. Even though you may be from Chicago, you really have not had pizza until you have eaten one in Naples. The feature that struck me first and foremost was the crust. The crust is thin but not cracker-like. It is light and pliable and very tasty all by itself. Of course, you can pile on cheese, tomatoes, and whatever else you want. But in Naples, they do not pile on too much. They keep it light and fresh.

Piety of a Sort

Naples is crazy for Christmas. Not far from our hotel was a street devoted in its total length to shops that sell Christmas nativity scenes. They conduct a brisk, year-round business in all the materials needed to create your very own custom creche. St. Francis of Assisi may have created the first Christmas creche but the Neapolitans long ago left him fumbling in the manger straw. While Jesus, Mary, and Joseph appear in all Neapolitan creche scenes, they are far from the central attraction. The idea is to re-create street life in 18th century Naples. The scenes, some of which are room-size, are crowded with houses, ruins, animals of all varieties, people dancing, singing, eating, drinking, getting into and out of bed (alone and with others), and even, at times, working. Like the crowds in the streets of today they are having a grand, noisy time with or without Jesus and his mom and dad.

Another more typically pious feature of Naples is one of its most famous paintings, Caravaggio’s Seven Acts of Mercy. During the trip, I was on a personal Caravaggio trail. He lived and worked in several of the cities we visited. The Seven Acts of Mercy hangs in a smallish chapel in the church of Pio Monte della Misericordia, again in the old central city. When the folks at Pio Monte della Misericordia contracted with Caravaggio to paint the seven acts of mercy, they may have been under the impression, understandably, that they were going to get seven paintings. It did not turn out that way. Whether Caravaggio was in a rush or just wanted to do the least for the most, he created a single canvas showing all seven acts, jumbled together. It is a wonderful and intriguing picture, a great work of art with the realism and “stop action” qualities you expect in a Caravaggio. If you have a Catholic education or just grew up going to mass, there is the added fun of standing in front of the picture and trying to identify each of the seven acts. It is not easy. See for yourself.

Palaces, pizza and piety only scratch the never-too-clean surface of Naples. I have not mentioned the treasures of the National Archeological Museum and its “secret room,” the cloister of Santa Chiara and its ceramic tiles, a day trip to nearby Mt. Vesuvius, or a visit to Herculaneum only 30 minutes away. You may want to “see Rome and die” but I recommend a happier alternative: see Naples and have a good time. Buon viaggio!