Naples, Italy ~ Day 4

 I was in Naples in June 2000 with a group of WHS students and other adult chaperones. I was not impressed then and feel the same way after the visit in 2024. In 2000 the group spent most of their visit in Pompeii which I really enjoyed. In 2024 the three of us spent most of our time in Herculaneum which I also really enjoyed, so all was not lost on the 2024 visit. The Herculaneum visit will be a post tomorrow as there is just so much to share if you love history as much as I do.

Anyway, here is Naples...

When we get off the cruise ship there are several scenarios to get to the town we are visiting. Sometimes we are docked at an industrial dock and are not allowed to walk anywhere so shuttle buses and tour buses are in place to move us to another location, often for a fee. Sometimes, the pier is a safe walk into the community with no shops or security detainments. And sometimes, like our stop in Naples, we walked through a building lined with shopping enticements before getting to the streets or sidewalks leading into the community. 

No, I did not buy any limoncello in bottles of this shape and there were a number of these bottles in the shops throughout the town! (And we would know that because we have a shopper in the family.) 

even the welcome sign needs some attention

This sculpture greeted us before we left the pier. Normally I don't pay much attention to the sculptures other than to take a photo. This one deserved a second look. **

This was the explanation of the sculpture. It meant something to me because of the results of the recent US election. I hope you can enlarge the photo to read the sign. *

I remember this first view of Naples from the 2000 visit. It is immediate. It is huge. It is original. 

Castel Nuovo or Maschio Angioino

 Its scenic location and imposing size makes the castle, first erected in 1279, one of the main architectural landmarks of the city. It was a royal seat for kings of Naples, Aragon and Spain until 1815. ~ Wikipedia

art work on the plaza on our walk to the train station

another piece of art work near the train station

a group of nuns going for a train ride

Some of the nuns were dressed in all black, some had white wimples, some did not wear any head covering and one was not wearing a habit.

The graffiti on this train car is not typical of train cars in other European countries, and we have ridden them in England, France, Spain, Germany and Belgium. The graffiti is just one of the signs of the littering and garbage we noticed in Naples more so than in the other cities we visited on this cruise and in our past European travels.

This was the trash at a bench at the train station in Ercolano when we rode the 5 miles to explore Herculaneum. We found very few trash containers or recycling containers in the public areas, especially in Italy. In Barcelona and the previous communities we visited, store owners were sweeping the sidewalks in front of their businesses, washing the sidewalks and windows in the mornings. Oh, and so many smokers and cigarette butts on the sidewalks.  Okay. End of rant.

We did see this electric car being charged in Ercolano as we headed DOWN the sidewalk to Herculaneum. 

Laundry hanging from balcony windows was a very common sight throughout our travels in all the communities on this cruise.

We enjoyed a pizza in Ercolano before heading back to Naples. OFD remembered eating at a little Mom & Pop place on her previous visit saying it was the best pizza ever. She thought this was the place. It was good, but at that point in time I had not eaten enough pizza in Italy to claim it was the best. 

We had to change trains to get back to the station nearest the harbor and our cruise ship. OFD left us on our own as she had two museums she wanted to visit plus a Christmas shop and another shop. Leaving us on our own to get back to the ship was a very brave act on her part!

Between the two of us, we remembered our train stop and were able to manage the maze of tunnels, stairs and escalators to find the correct exit. I knew we were in the right place when I could see the Napoli sign on the plaza. 

Herculaneum tomorrow!

* the United States of the World said: Brings together countries, international institutions, cities, universities and civil society organizations in order to share knowledge to fight social injustices, wars, pandemics, waste of resources, climate change. The main goal is to establish freedom and equality implementing the fundamental rights of the human person.

The "Totem for Peace" by sculptor Mario Molina was chosen and adopted as the symbol of the "United States of the World".

** The "Totem of Peace", the work of the Turin sculptor Mario Molinari, is the symbol of the "United States of the World" and represents the Peace: it was chosen in 1997 by 3,000 representatives of 181 countries and since then the "United States of the World" with the "Fondazione Mediterraneo" are spreading this universal symbol by setting up the network of "Cities for Peace".

The sculptor Mario Molinari was an artist of clear fame, sensitive to the themes of peace and dialogue between cultures, as evidenced by his numerous works and his life.
The cultural project of the "Totem of Peace" is carried out in the world by Michele Capasso: dedicated, since 1987, to the construction of dialogue as a tool for the mediation of conflicts, he combines his international experience of social and intercultural planning and planning with the professional one of architect and engineer.  Fondazione Mediterraneo