Visit Naples Italy

The city of Naples is obviously a port town. Many times you will probably want to travel to the surrounding islands such as Capri and Ischia as well as the city of Sorrento. For many the only way to do this is by use of a ferry. So then how do you find information about the various ferry services? You come to my website.

In order to get a ferry you have two choices Molo Beverello and Mergellina which are the two ports that offer ferry service. In the summer months you can usually just show up and board a ferry as there are frequent trips due to the amount of tourists in the area. Otherwise you will need to pick up a ferry route timetable at either one of these ports.

There really is two types of transport around Naples, fast or slow. The fast type of transport is the hydrofoil that is supposed to give a smooth ride to all the islands. The second type is the slow moving car ferry that can cause many to become seasick because they are not really made for supreme comfort.

Listed below are some of the ferry services that operate out of the two ports that I have mentioned before. Most of the websites can be a bit out of date and it may be best to contact someone direct in order to get the most up to date information.

• Alilauro
• Caremar
• SNAV
• MedMar

That should get you on your way in finding the best route to go to where ever you want in the bay of Naples.

Like Herculaneum the city of Pompeii is tied to the whims of Mount Vesuvius. It is because of the violent destructive nature of this volcano that we are even aware of this town.

Pompeii was larger then some of the other surrounding cities and was used for many nobles as a place to get away from it all. So because of the grand nature of some the cities residents the palaces and homes were grander then those of the cities surrounding it. That just makes this place even more interesting to visit for the history buff. You can not only see how the common Roman lived but how the nobles spent their leisure time as well.

Having visited this city I can tell you that it is a bit of a workout to walk around. The cobbled stones of the streets make the journey difficult for even some of the fittest of travelers. The steep inclines are not recommended for elderly or disabled persons as well. However I am sure that you can visit this place if you are both elderly and disabled you just need to plan ahead a bit.

So many people want to visit this city and due to the lack of funding for the city this site was declare in 2001 as a imperiled world heritage site. But that is simply because visiting this city is one of the most unique experiences you can imagine. Viewing the city with Vesuvius in the background can give anyone the chills. This is compounded by the many ruins of the everyday citizen that is scattered in this city.

If you are not a history buff like many who visit the city you may catch that bug by the time you leave. This place makes history come alive in a way that you really do not experience anywhere else. It is well worth the visit and time to go there.

The town of Herculaneum is now known today due to the explosion of the volcano Vesuvius. If not for that explosion that city perhaps would not have received so much fame and attention. Perfectly preserved in its destruction the city gives a great insight into how the Romans lived at that time period.

Herculaneum was a smaller city then Pompeii consisting of only 5,000 residents at the time of its destruction. Due to this the city is obviously not as large nor as grand. However this is a great city to truly understand how a common Roman lived in ancient days.

Some of the best ruins in Italy are at this site. This is primarily due to the interest that was shown for the city of Pompeii. The best ruin in the city is that of the Terme Suburbane or the suburban baths. That just makes sense as the ruin is mostly underground and would have suffered only damage from the earthquakes as opposed to the plume of ash and pumice that rained on the city.

While the city is not replete with many grand homes and palaces there were some large sea front homes that are very opulent for the city standards. Most likely these ruins are from the ruling class of the city and that is why they are so well laid out with gardens and terraces.

You can even find examples of an ancient fast food shop or thermopolia where some simple soups and salads were served to residents passing by. As I said this is a great place to find out how the ancient Romans truly lived and worked as this was a common town for many of the residents of the time.

The Villa dei Papri so named after all of the scrolls found in it was most likely the library of the town. It was hoped when this place was discovered that long lost works by the famous artists of the time like Aristotle, Plato and other Greek and Roman masters. This place was the inspiration for John Paul Getty’s museum in Malibu, California so you can see that this town still wields it influence even in its destruction.

This is one of the smaller and more interesting side trips you can take if you are based out of Naples. It is certainly worth looking into how ancient people lived as you can see that their lifestyle is not that different from ours today.

Rumor has it that a full 25 percent of all restaurant in Italy are pizzerias. I am not sure of the accuracy of that statement but it would make sense as this is the country where Pizza was invented. Now Naples is the city that can claim to have invented the Pizza. The first pizzeria may very well have been Antica Pizzeria Port d’Alba which was founded in 1830.

The very first pizzas like most great foods today were the food that the poor invented. Since the poor of Venice invented this these pizzas were very simple with only garlic and olive oil as toppings made from a very hot wood fired oven. In fact the idea of a pizzeria is kind of a new concept to most natives of Italy as this food staple first started on food stands sold on street corners all throughout the city.

You would be doing yourself a great injustice if you ever find yourself in Naples and not order a Margherita pizza. This originally started from the now famous pizza maker Raffaele Esposito when he was asked to make a pizza for the then King and Queen of Italy. This pizza is very simple containing only a tomato sauce, mozzarella and basil. The reason why he used these three ingredients was that they were the three colors of the Italian flag and in its simplest form represented true Italy.

If  you want to visit the pizzeria where this pizza was invented you are in luck because it is still around and is now known as Pizzeria Brandi. At this moment you could consider that place a bit of a tourist trap but it should be worth the visit just to say that you have ate in the pizzeria where the pizza was invented. There are other well known and notable pizzerias as well such as Da Michele, Di Matteo, Trianon da Ciro as well as Cafasso.

Pizza is now a well represented dish all throughout the world but I believe that Naples truly captures what this dish is all about and does not tamper with perfection. Fortunately since this is such a popular thing to eat in Italy it should not be a problem to find some good pizza joints near your hotel. Hopefully you will be staying somewhere near the above mentioned restaurants so you will not have to travel very far.