Sunday we (Susan & Tim Wright, Tracey Thompson and I) took the train to Naples to look at the Archeological Museum (especially to see items displayed there from Pompeii), to eat a Naples pizza and to wander through the old town…we did two of the three but also took the funiculare up to the Castel Sant’Elmo which had great views of the city and the bay.
We took the train from Sorrento to Naples (Garibaldi) and then walked through some interesting neighborhoods to the Naples Archaeological Museum which houses much of the frescoes, mosaics, statues and everyday items unearthed from Pompeii and also Herculaneum (a smaller town which was also destroyed by the Mount Vesuvius eruption), and a scale model of Pompeii.
We also saw some of the Farnese Collection, which included cameos and statues dug up in the 1540s from Rome’s Caracalla Baths at the request of Alessandro Farnese’s (who became Pope Paul III). We were unable to view the famous Toro Farnese but did see the famous Farnese Hercules, resting on his club after finishing the 11th labor, returned with the price, the golden apples of the gods (cupped behind his back). The 10-foot statue was extremely famous in its day.
We saw Pompeiian mosaics were once found on the floors and walls of the city’s ritzy villas. In the Secret Room there are erotic frescoes and statues which once decorated bedrooms, meeting rooms, brothels and even shops in Pompeii and Herculaneum…rather ancient dirty jokes. And the frescoes which were painted on walls and even ceilings in Pompeii were vibrant and beautiful. There are also collections of furniture and everyday items.
We hired a guide when we arrived and she spent two hours with us explaining the history of the collections and answering our questions. It was an excellent tour. She also gave us a great tip on where to get Naples pizza, which is famous for being the birthplace of modern pizza. We went to Lombardi Pizzeria about a 10 minute walk from the museum. We were shown upstairs where an Italian family was enjoying a Sunday lunch. Naples pizza is thin and known for its crust, tomatoes and mozzarella. It’s baked quickly in a very hot oven (over 900 degrees) for 60-90 seconds. Tracey and I had some sardines, then everyone had pizza and it was fabulous. I had a cheeseless olive and mushroom pizza and the tomato sauce was chunky and delicious…the sardines were great too.
Then we (I?) decided to go to Castel Sant’Elmo. We walked to the funicular and eventually found out where to buy tickets. There was one machine and a line…but we eventually were successful and took the funicular up, got tickets (2.50 euros after 4pm) to enter the castle, then climbed to the top which had views of the city, Mt Vesuvius and even Capri.
Tracey bolted down as soon as we descended the castle…so we ended up walking down then eventually finding the subway after asking several people for directions…then it was an easy trip to the train station and back to Sorrento. We really enjoyed Naples and could have spent another day or two there (and eaten more pizza!).
