5 experiences to live in the Parthenopean city

Drinking coffee facing Vesuvius at Borgo Marinari

Nestled behind the famous Castel dell’Ovo, the oldest castle in Naples, this charming marina will not have escaped the attention of tourists who take selfies on the narrow isthmus connecting the small town to the Plebiscito district. If the crowds are dense at the end of the morning, you just have to come a little earlier to enjoy this picture-postcard village almost alone, in the company of a few fishermen who have come to repair their nets in the port of Santa Lucia. The Borgo Marinari is home to many restaurants, some of which face Vesuvius, which stands majestically on the other side of the bay. This is the case of the terrace of the Transatlantico, where you can enjoy a seafood platter or simply drink an espresso. From €2.

transatlanticonapoli.com

Sunbathing in a hidden garden

Behind its high walls, the garden of King Ladislav I has long gone unnoticed. It is located next to the Church of San Giovanni in Carbonara, a Renaissance marvel with its double staircase and its chapel covered in sumptuous frescoes. Reopened to the public in 2023 after years of abandonment, its enclosed medieval garden, almost 5,000 m²is conducive to silence, as if the monks of the old monastery were still present. Used in the Middle Ages for the cultivation of medicinal and aromatic herbs, it still shelters many orange and lemon trees. Walking along its paths in spring, a scent of zagara fills the air. A few locals take advantage of the benches to read in peace. Leaving the garden, Neapolitan life resumes its rights. Boys play an impromptu football match on the square below the church. Shouts of joy and insults fly. In Naples, football is much more than a sport, it is a real liturgy, which is practiced in the street.

King Ladislaus Park – Via Cardinale Seripando, 80139 Naples.

Discover the real popular Naples

Built on the slopes of an ancient canyon, adjacent to old Naples, the Sanità district was for a long time a haunt for Camorrists. This network of narrow streets is no longer sulphurous today, but it has remained very authentic, with its tagged walls, its laundry hanging from the windows and its swarms of Vespas. Sanità, whose name ironically evokes health, has been a burial area since the dawn of time. Its inhabitants coexist with the human bones of the catacombs of San Gaudioso, an early Christian necropolis, and with the Fontanelles ossuary, populated with thousands of skulls that some Neapolitans “adopt” to make them reach paradise… But Sanità is above all a district full of life with its Market of the Virginsits spectacular palaces like the Palazzo San Felice and its lovely little trattorias like Concettina ai Tre Santi where pizza is an accessible gastronomic experience. From €12.

concettinaaitresanti.com

Admire contemporary works in an ancient cloister

A few minutes from Naples Central Station, in the deprived Porta Capuana district, the abandoned cloister of the church of Santa Caterina a Formiello has been transformed into a cultural foundation, called “Made in Cloister”, hosting projects of contemporary art, design, music, crafts and gastronomy… The site surprises with its mix of Renaissance architecture (we admire magnificent frescoes) and the steel structures of the wool spinning mill set up in the cloister in the 19th century. Since the site opened in 2012, many artists have created projects for the Foundation, from Laurie Anderson to Mimmo Paladino, Liu Jihanua, Tadashi Kawamata, Peter Halley… In addition to its sharp and eclectic programming, the great strength of Made in Cloister is that it is a project of urban regeneration and social inclusion through art. It is also possible to come and have a drink and nibble on Neapolitan-style tapas in the old refectory, transformed into a designer bar. Entrance from €5.

madeincloister.com

Bathing in Roman ruins at Posillipo

On a hill northwest of the Bay of Naples, this seaside residential area is the most exclusive in the city. Admiring the view of the Gulf of Naples, it is easy to see why the wealthy ancient Romans chose this hill, whose name Posillipo derives from the Greek Pausilypon (“where sorrows end”). Several companies offer boat trips (prefer a goiter traditional) towards the fishing village of Marechiaro, the heart of Posillipo and a mecca of the Neapolitan Dolce Vita in the 1960s. Its magnificent Liberty villas built above tuff caves seem to emerge from the waves. At the tip of Posillipo, the submerged park of Gaiola is located on the site of an ancient Roman villa now below sea level, where protected flora and fauna flourish in crystal-clear water. The spectacular site can be discovered by kayak and snorkeling by reservation only.

summer.areamarinaprotettagaiola.it

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