Naples is one of my favorite cities in the world, though I’ve only spent a total of five days there. I love its old neighborhoods with their streets so full of life and ambient conversations that I wanted to learn to speak Italian on the spot. I didn’t, of course, because I was too busy walking and gawking.
In the five days I spent in Naples, I never took public transport or a taxi. I walked everywhere – but mostly into neighborhoods that still retain the atmosphere and life of old Naples. If you wander through some of these neighborhoods, you’ll discover a city of soiled beauty and vibrant streets offering the great street food of the city and truly astonishing street art.
But for me, the biggest attraction of these districts are the people that fill its streets. They tend to speak the Neapolitan dialect rather than Italian, sell their wares in neighborhood shops and markets and spend much of their time talking with friends, relatives and even foreigners.
Naples is a gritty city with rough edges and an unfortunate history of Mafia violence and corruption. The city has not been freed of that influence, and there are still some neighborhoods to avoid, such as Scampia, Secondigliano (which is home for several Camorra clans), and the Fuorigrotta-Bagnoli district.
But Naples still has plenty of old districts in which it is safe to vagare, or wander. Interestingly, the Italian language has no fewer than 12 verbs for wandering (my favorite: vagabondare). If you’re worried, you should know that there is less crime today in Naples than in other popular Italian cities, such as Rome, Milan and Florence.
The Neighborhoods (I Quartieri)
The Spanish Quarters (Quartieri Spagnoli)
Once declared off-limits to tourists, the Quartieri Spagnoli is today a popular – and safe – place to visit. Located near the historic center (which you are, of course, going to see), it consists of a maze of ancient alleys lined with shops, taverns and restaurants.
This is still – but for how much longer? – a large slice of authentic Naples. The best way to experience it is to give yourself up to the sounds of the locals and look, for example, into the ground-floor homes, known as bassi, that are typical of the neighborhood. There are also old courtyards to admire and street markets to check out.
What to Eat
Fried pizza, or pizza fritta, is a local specialty and usually about €4 . The basic version consists of dough filled with fresh tomatoes and mozzarella. But there are other, more elaborate versions, such as with ricotta and pepper or pork cracklings. It’s cooked in hot oil, so always make sure that the oil is clean and not too smoky. For an inexpensive delight, try it at the Antica Pizzeria di Matteo. But stick your nose into any of the local eateries and take a chance on any of the local specialties.
What to See
The neighborhood is a virtual museum of street art. There are murals that depict the history of Naples up to the present. And on the Via Portacarrese, rebaptized as the Vicolo di Totò, there are contemporary works honoring renowned local performers, such as the interestingly named comedian and actor Totò.
And be sure not to miss the giant wall murals honoring the late, great Argentine footballer Diego Armando Maradona, the all-time leading scorer for the Napoli Serie A team, who is quite literally venerated as a god in the city.
Also check out the Pignasecca market, where you can buy fish, fruit, vegetables as well as local desserts and clothing and gorge yourself on local street food. You’ll find it in the Montecalvario section of the Quartieri Spagnoli.
Rione Sanità
Until not long ago, Rione Sanità was off-limits to tourists and wary locals because it was poor, rundown and Mafia-infested. As a result, little has changed there in the way residents live their lives. It’s still poor, it’s still primarily working class, it’s still rundown – but it is slowly changing.
Street life is lively, of course, and features a lot of small markets, senior citizens having lively discussion on their doorsteps and kids roaring past on their scooters. During morning and evening rush hours, you’ll have to slalom your way through the crowded streets.
The locals will be happy to see you and may even offer you something from their wares, just to taste. In this district, you are not only somewhere else, but also in another time, a time when conversation was still the currency of daily life.
Where to Eat
The Casa del caffè; the street.
What to See
The National Archaeological Museum (Museo Archeologico Nazionale), with artifacts from Pompeii and Herculaneum.
The Catacombs of San Gennaro and San Gaudioso and the smaller ones of San Severo – a real trip!
The Palazzo dello Spagnuolo with its amazing stairwell.
Giant works of astonishing street art (yes, here too); look for works by the Argentine artist Francisco Bosoletti.
The Street of Streets
Naples has three Roman roads called decumani. The best known is the Spaccanapoli, which runs through the historic center and roughly divides the city in two (the name means ‘Naples splitter’), from the Via Benedetto Croce and along the Via San Biagio dei Librai and Via Vicaria Vecchia.
The Spaccanapoli is crammed with fascinating shops and runs through neighborhoods that haven’t changed in hundreds of years. So there are lots of ancient courtyards to admire and side streets to explore.
What else to see: the Sansevero Chapel, the San Lorenzo Maggiore Basilica and the Palazzo Venezia.
Must see: Naples Underground (Napoli Sotterranea) – Entrance fee of €12
Absolute Must-See:
The Veiled Christ in the Sansevero Chapel Museum, located in the historic center, is the most mind-blowing piece of sculpture I have ever seen – and I’ve seen a lot of carved stone. It is a life-sized marble statue of the dead Christ covered with a transparent shroud that was carved from the same block as the statue. My mouth fell open and stayed that way long enough to catch some flies.
Absolute Must-See 2:
Naples is home to three of Caravaggio’s great paintings, but they are all housed in a different venue: The Flagellation of Christ is at the National Museum of Capodimonte. The Seven Works of Mercy can be found on the Pious Mount of Mercy. The Martyrdom of Sant’Orsola from 1610 is at the Palazzo Piacentini. He is considered by many one of the greatest artists who ever lived. By all means, take the time to see on or all three of his works.
Eating in Naples
If you don’t know it already, one big reason you are going to Naples is to eat. The city prides itself both on being Italian and on being different from other Italian regions and other Italians. And one of the main characteristics of this difference is the food.
Take pizza, for example. Neapolitan pizza is unlike pizza in other Italian cities. The best Neapolitan pizza has only four ingredients other than the crust: fresh basil, fresh mozzarella, tomato and extra virgin olive oil. And the crust is thinner at the bottom and thicker and softer on the outside than regular pizza.
The city’s street food is also unique. It also has its own pasta sauce, a kind of marinara made from tomatoes, garlic, crushed red pepper and basil. Yummo!
I know I keep thundering on in these pages about walking through a city and letting yourself be surprised by what you find. To misquote the Rolling Stones, “You don’t always get what you want, but if you walk a lot, you just might find, you’ll get what you need,” including a wonderful dining experience you didn’t expect.
During my stay in Naples, my friends and I couldn’t get a reservation for pizza and didn’t want to wait on a line. So we walked around and soon found a small, sad-looking place, a very humble delicatessen with four tables in the back, three of which were vacant.
A boy of about ten came to take our order and, mistakenly thinking we were all non-Italians, asked us proudly, in decent English, what we wanted. We wanted to drink wine and eat, we told him.
“We have spaghetti with Vesuvio tomatoes,” he informed us.
I asked him if he had anything else for a main course. He shook his head.
“What about red wine?” an Italian in my group asked.
“Only the house wine,” he said.
We shrugged. We were hungry and tired. It had been an exhausting day. Long story short, the house wine was better than decent and the spaghetti with Vesuvio tomatoes (grown in the rich soil on the slopes of the volcano) was terrific.
Our successful meal wasn’t entirely a matter of luck. Before we decided to sit at a table, we looked at the middle-aged couple running the shop. They looked serious and eager to please. And the shop was clean and well-kept. Also, it’s Italy, where it seems to be illegal to serve a bad meal. And the Neapolitans are proud of their identity and take special pride in their cuisine. They wouldn’t dare serve a bad meal.
I still remember that modest meal as one of the highlights of that trip. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the name of that place – if it even had one.
Pizza, Pizza, Pizza
You can’t visit Naples without eating its pizza. I believe that’s the law. If you want to eat real Neapolitan pizza (and you definitely want to), reserve a table well ahead – if the pizzeria you wish to frequent accepts reservations. Many of them don’t.
But they do accept long lines in front of their doors, which they see as proof of their popularity and which, they assume, will make them even more popular. If you don’t mind waiting an hour or more for pizza, then by all means do. If you don’t, just wander around and take a chance.
There are so many great pizzerias in Naples that I’m reluctant to cite one. Do your own research or just wait until you get hungry and find yourself in front of a pizzeria that entices you because of the smiling staff and diners, the aroma, the long (or short) line or because you’re hungry and too tired to walk another step.
Street Food Banquet
Someone told me that Naples has more street-food vendors than there are stars in the sky. I don’t know; there are a lot of stars. But the point is that you can walk the streets of the city all day long and never go hungry.
And, remember, walking is good for you. It reduces stress, is good for your heart, boosts bone health, improves mental health and lowers your blood sugar, to name just a few of its many benefits to your well-being.
And walking is the only way for you to enjoy the many delights of the city’s wonderful street food. I don’t really need to tell you – do I? – that relying on street food to cover your daily calorie requirements will also save you money.
The street menu
The cuoppo is a paper cone stuffed with a variety of fillings, such as potato croquettes, vegetables, zucchini flowers, mozzarella bocconcini, and fluffy balls of dough, or zeppoline, all fried in a light batter.
The “sea” cuoppo generally contains fried anchovies and salt cod, zeppoline di mare, breaded and fried calamari rings and octopus (moscardini).
In Naples, pizza is also a street food; the Neapolitans fold it and carry it with them. Pizza a portafoglio (or ‘wallet pizza’) is just a slice of takeaway pizza that is served folded so you can eat it while walking around Rione Sanità, say. NB: Make sure it is not too hot when you take your first bite, or you will have pieces of charred flesh hanging from the roof of your mouth.
The crocchè di patate (potato croquettes) are made with potatoes and mashed in egg and breadcrumbs.
Panini Napoletani, or pagnottiello, is made of dough filled with cheese, pancetta and salami. They’re usually served in a cuoppo.
Pasta frittata is, yes, fried pasta. You might have guessed by now that the Neapolitans love frying. The small version is called and is often served in a cuoppo. You can also eat it on its own.
The best way to navigate this rich menu of street cuisine is to try everything. That will force you to keep walking to avoid getting fat from all the meats and fried food. If that’s too much frying for you, stick to pizza and try the Novità Street Food sandwich shop in the historic center.
Final Message: Walk!
Naples is the walking city per eccellenza and where, by walking, you get more than just a taste, but an entire meal, of the colors and sounds of the authentic Neapolitan working-class neighborhoods.
Sure, there are many other attractions to see in Naples, the volcano, for example, and Pompeii is only 15 miles (24km) south of the city. But if you want to know and feel what makes Naples the extraordinary city it is, visit at least one of the old neighborhoods I described above. You won’t regret or forget it.