Naples is the most densely populated - and supposedly one of the most corrupt - cities in Europe. The guidebooks post warnings, fellow travelers spin tales of woe and even the public address system at the station remind passengers to be cautious of pickpockets. So we imagined a derelict train station with crews of urban Napolitano pirates waiting to fleece the unwary as they left the train from Rome.
But the modern Stazione Garibaldi puts Rome's Termini to shame. It is modern and sparkling and safe. No gangs waited as we walked from the Railn Italia tracks to the Circumvesuviana line for the hour-long train ride to Sorrento where we are spending the next few days. Still it's wise to keep your eyes open and your valuables safe, in Naples or anywhere else.
We like Naples even more when we returned today. Yes, it is crowded, but it has a great vibe, friendly and helpful people and the world's best pizza. The National Archeological Museum houses the Farnese Collection, once the private art collection of the future Pope Paul III, who commissioned Michelangelo to paint "The Last Judgement." In addition to some fantastic marbles including the "Farnese Bull" and a giant "Hercules," the Museum has several rooms of frescoes, bronzes and mosaics from Pompeii. The Pompeiians really knew how to live, they just didn't know when to leave. I had laugh at a group of high school kids blushing and giggling at the collection of Roman erotic art. One girls was using her hands to compare the size of a satyr's and a human's penis on one of the sculptures. Kids!
Naples, we've been told, is the birthplace of pizza. And it has some great espresso, too. I can take or leave the java but the pizza at Trianon, one of the oldest pizza joints, is out of this world! Try the Margarita, red sauce, white mozzerella and green basil, the colors of Italy's flag. Yummy!
We decided to stay in Sorrento, perched on the cliffs overlooking the Bay of Naples. Sorrento means "siren," a reference to the Odyssey,when Ulysses thwarted the Sirens off the coast. It is the kind of place you wouldn't mind living in, where you can look across the bay at snow-covered Mt. Vesuvius, where you can shop till you drop, where you can pick a juicy orange from a tree on the main street. It is also on the train line to Herculaneum and Pompeii, our next destinations.
