Naples is located in a very beautiful region. A view of Mount Vesuvius, the sea, and a mild climate — all of this should make the city especially attractive. We chose Naples as our place to stay because it works very well as a base for day trips to places such as:
All of them are relatively close and easy to reach from the city.
However, Naples itself left us with very mixed impressions. One of the main reasons is that the city is often listed among the dirtiest cities in the world, alongside megacities like Delhi or Cairo. We learned this only after the trip, but we were not surprised. Naples is indeed a very dirty city.
Crime in Naples
It probably exists — so many legends do not appear out of nowhere. But one thing is important to mention: during two weeks in the city, no one bothered us and we never experienced anything illegal.
On the one hand, we do not look for such adventures. On the other hand, we often returned to our apartment after dark.
Both the guides and the owner of our apartment told us about an unofficial rule among local criminal groups — not to touch tourists. It is difficult to say whether this is really true. But the fact remains: during two weeks nothing happened to us.
Garbage in Naples
This is a real problem for the city. I will not publish photos of it, although I took many.
In Naples, wherever you look, there are piles of garbage. And this does not depend much on the district. The upper city, expensive hotels by the sea, the Spanish Quarter — garbage can be seen everywhere. There is a lot of it, and it seriously affects the overall impression.
This problem, in my opinion, greatly influenced how we perceived the city. Naples is a port city with a long history and a strong character. But behind the piles of garbage it is very difficult to see the real face of the city.
And yet Naples is beautiful
If you try to abstract yourself from the garbage problem (which was almost impossible for us), Naples is still a very beautiful and memorable city.
The central square Piazza del Plebiscito, together with the Royal Basilica of San Francesco di Paola and the Royal Palace, forms a very strong architectural composition. The view of the sea and Mount Vesuvius from the square completes the picture.
Galleria Umberto I connects several important places in the city. One exit leads to the San Carlo Theatre, another to Via Toledo, the main shopping street of Naples. There are many shops there, as well as Gallerie d’Italia, which is definitely worth visiting.
Other exits from the gallery lead to streets that reach Castel Nuovo, another important historical fortress. And all of this is only the very center of the city.
Religion in Naples
There are a huge number of churches, basilicas, and monasteries in the city. Sometimes you can see another church just a few buildings away. Most of them are small and local. They are interesting in their own way, but for tourists they often do not stand out much.
However, on one of the main tourist streets the scale becomes very different. There you can clearly feel the importance of religion in the life of the city. Among the most notable places are:
- the Santa Chiara complex
- the Obelisk of the Immaculate Virgin
- Chiesa del Gesù Nuovo
- San Domenico Maggiore
This street eventually leads to the Duomo, the main cathedral of the city. It is there that the role of religion in the history and culture of Naples becomes especially clear.
One of the “gods” of Naples
Despite the strong religious culture, one of the true “gods” of Naples is actually a person. Not the most righteous one, sometimes controversial, but absolutely legendary — Diego Maradona.
Graffiti with his image can be seen all over the city. Souvenirs with Maradona are sold almost everywhere. His image can even be seen in small towns around Naples.
Guides often tell the story of the day Diego died. At that time COVID restrictions were still active, and authorities tried to prevent large gatherings. But it was impossible. The whole city went out into the streets to mourn their idol.
For me, as a football fan, this was especially interesting.
Final thoughts on Naples
There is definitely something special about this city. We saw many interesting places and historical sites. But unfortunately, much of this disappears behind the mountains of garbage.
We would gladly visit Pompeii again. But even if we return to this region one day, it is unlikely that we would choose Naples as our base again.