After many years, last week I returned to Naples, Italy. Our stopover a couple of decades ago didn’t inspire a speedy return. However, there were Caravaggios I had missed, and the more recent excavations at Pompeii intrigued me. So, off I went, with a friend and my daughter, just as the holidays ended and hotel prices fell.
Naples is cleaner, safer and more visitor friendly than ever. While I wouldn’t call it a model of urban hygiene, the city is now getting the trash picked up. The streets are full of locals merrily shopping, conversing and munching on the famous Neapolitan street food (fried things). The most dangerous neighborhood of yore is now bustling with restaurants and souvenir shops. When there are tourist fortunes to be made, petty crime is less of a draw, I was told by a taxi driver.
The Pompeii frescoes in the MANN were my top priority. These finely, delicately painted images of gods, myths and botanical themes decorated virtually all the walls in the homes of wealthy Romans. Excavated from under volcanic mud and ash and two thousand years old!
We saw two of the late Caravaggios sited in Naples, but sadly the third was on loan to the Louvre along with an Artemisia Gentileschi and other treasures from the Capodimonte museum. This one however was glorious:
Arriving in Pompeii on a clear, sunny winter day, with the lethal Mount Vesuvius in view and a complete absence of crowds is a dream come true. For the first hour, we were all alone, following our self-guided tour of must-sees, imagining the vibrancy of the 20,000-person port city in 79 AD and remarking on chariot ruts in the paving stones, the surprising number of street eateries and large sizes of some of the homes. Much was new to me. For example, the House of the Vettii has only been completely open to visitors since 2023.
Of course, there was also the world famous Neapolitan pizza to be experienced. What I discovered is that the specialty has evolved to gourmet levels. Perhaps this has to do with the fact that good Neapolitan pizza can now be found almost everywhere in the world. A stint with a good pizzaiolo tutor, a locally made pizza oven and some firewood, and voila. So now you will find pizzerias in the Michelin food guide where every menu item is a baroque version of the simple — but always unforgettable –Margherita. Always, there’s that miraculous dough.
The biggest surprise, and the most endearing part of Naples for me, however, were the people. Such kindness, generosity and authenticity. Our Pompeii driver bought us Frittalini at his favorite vendor because he was aghast that we hadn’t tried it. At a coffee shop, in addition to selling us an orziera the owner treated us to a macchiato, a caffe ginseng and an orzo so that we could sample his wares. When I stopped to take photos of people, I was welcomed to it.
I’d return just for some more of that! But I imagine in another few years Naples will be even more attractive. The imposing buildings raised by the Bourbon and Savoy kings will be restored, the graffiti painted over, the pizza ever more surprising. And of course, there is that other Caravaggio to see.
kmazz 
Sounds fabulous. And you went with your daughter! Xoxo
B
Thoroughly enjoyed that Kiki – can’t wait to get there!
Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone
Gre
What a wonderful post! I know nothing about Naples and now I have such a lovely picture in my mind. So glad you went and that Francesca was with you too!
Dear Kathleen,
I feel like I’ve taken the tour with you! Thanks so much for all the delicious wares, from your commentary to the pics, landing with the pizza. Stunning, all.
Thank you for sharing your journey with me. I remain ever-grateful.
Stay well and happy,
Jim
Sounds like a very nice turn of events! Thank you for sharing your travel adventures!
Beautiful memories 💞
Sent from my iPhone so please excuse the brevity
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Kathleen, you know I always loved your photography, but sure travel posts make me think you should combine it until and be a travel writer. You almost make me feel I am there with you!
Thank you, Lynn. I wish you were indeed there with me.
Your driver looks like a young Tony Bennett (Benedetto). The Naples I remember from 1970 was trashy, dirty, had petty crime (broke into our car but found nothing to take), but the Pompeii visit, then almost unconstrained for tourists who were not into destruction of world class historical places quite yet, was a highlight I’ll never forget. I love your blogposts and appreciate your fine insights and photography. Merci.
Hi, Nancy! I miss that book club.
What a wonderful trip with your daughter. We were in Pompeii and Herculaneum in February 2019. Like you, very few people. They were working on the restoration of the Vettii frescoes so we’re not yet available to look at. Sounds like another trip is in order to get to know Naples and beyond to the south. Bonne année.
So encouraging to hear that Napoli’s in a better place. I wish they’d start fueling airplanes with non-fossil fuel. I’d shoot over there in a flash.
This sounds like a wonderful trip! I was there with the family in the late 1990s and it was not nearly as charming as you describe it now. In fact, we had to move from a hotel – one our travel agent recommended as safe and clean – because there were blood stains on the sheets and shady characters on the street outside. I guess it is time for second chances.