Naples
May 30 - 31
High: 70
Low: 69
Partly to mostly cloudy, rain on Friday
Final stop: Naples. We stayed in the heart of the city, in a hotel that had been a palace back in the day. It was right on Via Toledo, a major shopping area that leads to the historic center.
These lodgings were the most unexpected of the tour. You enter by passing through a small door in the enormous main door and then enter a courtyard that clearly was the hub of the palace. The rooms had extraordinarily high ceilings, and you knew you were in a palace in them. This was absolutely unique, and we loved it.
After getting checked into our hotel, a local guide walked us around the city and shared some of the history of Naples with us. That went a long way towards explaining why there were palaces everywhere! It is actually a sad story, because Naples had been a major kingdom before it joined a unified Italy in the mid 19th century and it ended up getting relegated as minor city as part of the larger country. That said, we found it to be a vibrant city with a lot to see.
After the tour, Bea took us to across town to have lunch at a Neapolitan pizzeria. There we discovered just how well the Rick Steves tour guides take care of us. One of our members couldn't eat gluten and we assumed they wouldn't be able to eat anything there. But lo-and-behold, Bea had it covered and some of the pizza was gluten free!
Sansevero Chapel Museum &
Naples' National Archeological Museum
On the last day of the trip we went to Cappella Sansevero, a chapel built in 1590, which houses some amazing, intricate sculptures. The most famous sculpture in the chapel is the Veiled Christ, created by Giuseppe Sanmartino in 1753. It depicts Christ lying on a tomb, covered by a delicate veil that is so skillfully carved that it seems to flow and cling to the body. It is hard to believe it could be carved out of stone. Unfortunately, they didn't allow photos to be taken, but you can go to their website to see the beautiful sculptures that live there.
Farnese Hercules
Drunken Satyr, Herculaneum
This was followed by a visit to Naples' National Archeological Museum, which is considered one of the most important archeological museums in the world. It has a extensive collection of artifacts from Pompeii, as well as the Farnese Collection, which includes a number of significant classical sculptures. I found that the ancient, intricate tile mosaics were my favorite discovery there.
Mosaic from the Villa of Fauna, Pompei
Farnese Bull
Vagrant Musicians, Pompeii
Roman bowl
For our final night of the trip Bea took us all out to a rooftop bar for cocktails before we all headed over for dinner at a small, charming trattoria. There was a lot of laughter and cameraderie to close out a truly extraordinary trip. We feel really fortunate to have been able to see Italy with a group of folks who embodied Rick's ethos of exploring destinations with curiosity, respect, and a desire to experience places authentically. This was our first, but will not be our last, Rick Steves tour!
