Napoli

I am thinking back to a more relaxed period of my life, roughly 4 months ago when I was still on exchange in Italy. Napoli was my last stop and maybe I have been everywhere too far inland that the sight and sound of the sea was enough to make me fall in love with it. I was a little apprehensive about making a trip there as scattered comments on the net seemed to paint Napoli in not the best of lights. It turned out to be one of my favourite cities in Italy. The air is salted with the scent of the sea and there seems to be a slightly more genuine feel in the atmosphere. 

The city often acts as more of a gateway to attractions nearby such as Pompeii, Almafi Coast, and other islands nearby. It is therefore less of a tourist attraction in itself. That may well be one of the reasons I took such a liking to Napoli, the various buildings with their colours and ornamented appearance accompanied me as I walked through the streets - not alone, as is advised. 

There is a street that tourists are often point towards to - via San Gregario Armeno where artisan crafts are made right there and then (some) by locals. With tourism a huge business the world round, it is often difficult to decipher true local souvenirs apart from factory scale produce. Here in Napoli, it is the real deal. Along the street, you will undoubtedly come across chilli like looking wooden ornaments. They are a horn (corno) said to be a good luck charm and ward off the evil eye, thus being called a portafortuna. Another popular item you will find is Pulcinella, a masked character who appears in old theater and puppet shows, know as a prankster.

Going to Napoli without eating pizza could be classify a sin. After all, it is to them that the world owes the creation of pizza to. Needless to say, it was obvious that I was going to have a pizza pilgrimage to one of the most well known pizzeria's in the world - Da Michele. They serve only two types of pizza, margherita and marinara, and claim that their recipe goes back five generations. To avoid the crowd, try going before rush hour, which would be around 12. With ingredients so fresh and mastery of the art of making pizza, I doubt I'll ever be able to eat a pizza in the same way again. For this and this alone I would make sure that I go back to Napoli.