Spaccanapoli
To experience Naples properly it is advisable to take to the streets and feel the life there. Spaccanapoli, the long, narrow road dividing the city as it runs through the historic city centre from east to west, is a good place to start. Along this road the true Naples reveals itself - full of life, noisy, dirty, chaotic, tense, vibrant, beautiful, elegant. This is a city of extremes (not least between poverty and riches) and Spaccanapoli reveals the ways in which they somehow coexist.
Museo Archeologico Nazionale (National Archeological Museum)
Europe’s most significant archaeological museum is a treasure trove of relics from ancient Greece and Rome. Many of its objects used to belong to the Bourbon family. Some are from excavations at nearby Pompeii and Herculaneum. The museum has a very rich collection of Greek and Roman sculptures. It also has a big collection of ancient erotic artworks.
Piazza Museo 19
Tel: 081 440 166.
Website: www.marketplace.it/museo.nazionale/emuseo_home.htm
Admission charge.
Castel Nuovo
The Castel Nuovo was built in 1279 when Charles d’Anjou (Charles I) transferred the capital of his kingdom from Palermo to Naples. Later damaged in the war between the Angevins and the Aragonese, it was then rebuilt and came to be called the ‘New Castle’. Among its most famous architectural features is the Triumphal Arch in marble, which is a Renaissance masterpiece.
Piazza del Municipio
Tel: 081 795 5877.
Admission charge.
Cappella Sansevero
According to legend, the Cappella di Santa Maria della Pietà dei Sangro, commonly referred to as the Cappella Sansevero, has been the site of many a miracle since the 16th century. Some of the artworks it contains can also be regarded as miracles. Most famous is the Veiled Christ created by the sculptor Giuseppe Sanmartino in 1753. It shows Christ after he was taken off the cross, covered by a light veil, and it is wonderfully realistic both in its detail and design.
Via de Sanctis 19, Spaccanapoli
Tel: 081 551 8470.
Admission charge.
Teatro San Carlo
This opera house is the oldest working theatre in Europe (41 years older than Milano’s Scala and 51 years older than Venice’s Fenice). It was King Charles of Bourbon who had it built, and it was designed by Giovanni Antonio Medrano. Officially opened in 1737, it is a magnificent structure, and its productions are still of the highest order. Opera, ballet and classical music can be enjoyed here. Guided tours of the building are given daily.
Via San Carlo
Tel: 081 797 2111.
Website: www.teatrosancarlo.it
Admission charge.
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Il Duomo (The Cathedral)
Naples’s cathedral was built in the late 13th and early 14th century. It is dedicated to the city’s patron, San Gennaro, whose blood is kept in two vials within the building and is said to liquefy at certain times of the year. Traces of an early Christian basilica can be seen within the cathedral. Its most famous attraction is the Chapel of the Treasure of St Januarius, with its impressive frescoes and altarpieces.
Via del Duomo 147
Tel: 081 449 097.
Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte
Built in 1738 by Charles of Bourbon, the palace of Capodimonte is the greatest of the Bourbon palaces in Naples, situated high above the city centre. Today it is a museum giving access to the palace’s grand ballrooms and an impressive art collection that includes works from the 18th century up until the present day.
Via Miano 2
Tel: 081 749 9111.
Website: http://capodimonte.spmn.remuna.org
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