Napoli

Our English class students always hear how much we do not like Napoli.  We have been there many times, but each time it has been an unpleasant experience.  So they said they wanted to give us a personal tour of the beautiful parts of Napoli, so that we won't be so anti-Napoli.  Wednesday, Anziano Scherbel and I and 5 of our advanced English students hopped on a train and traveled to Napoli.  The day was sunny and perfect for a walk around one of the oldest cities in the world.  We got to see the new metro station that was beautifully designed.  When we came down the escalator there was a mirrored wall that had pictures of people waiting in line, etched in the glass.  They looked real. This was a really clever way to decorate at a train station.  This is the glass wall pictured below.

Here we are in the background taking a picture of our group.  The people pictured in the foreground are a part of the mirror display.  All life-like, but they are etched in the glass.

There were beautiful skylights as we traveled on the escalators. 

 Here is a picture of Fedrica, who came with us.  She was our guide.  She has two degrees.  One in art history, and the other in history.

Each level of the metro station was decorated with incredible wall murals and brilliant colors.

We could have stayed for hours, taking pictures, just of the metro station.

For our first stop, after the metro station, we visited the Galleria Umberto. This is a public shopping gallery with a beautiful high glass ceiling and marble floors throughout.  It was built in 1890 and named after King Umberto I, who was the king of Italy at that time.  It was one of the first shopping malls ever built.

Paul is taking a picture of the highest part of the glass roof, located in the very central part of the mall.

         This is the exterior entrance to the mall.

Next, we visited the Royal Palace which is called Palazzo Reale.  It was built in the 17th century for Filipp III King of Spain, who never even bothered to visit, let alone reside here.

               All along the front there are statues representing all the kings of Naples.

In front of the palace is a big open square and directly across that is the Church of San Francesco di Paula. There is a huge duomo that was modeled after the Pantheon in Rome.  The front resembles St. Peter's Basilica in The Vatican. 

After visiting the palace, we walked down to the Meditteranean Sea, which was just a couple hundred yards from the royal palace.  We walked along the sea side walk, a few kilometers and came to the Castel dell'Ovo, which means the castle of the egg.  It's the oldest standing fortification in Naples.  It was originally built by the Greeks in the 6th century BC, and was used for many different purposes until it was built pretty much like it looks now in the 13th century AD. It was free to visit and wander all around inside.  It has a great view of Vesuvius.  Originally it was  built upon an island and that later became a peninsula and now it is part of the main land, but it is right on the bay. The castle's name comes from a legend of the Roman poet, Virgil, who had a reputation in medieval times as a great sorcerer.  It is believed that he put a magical egg into the foundation of the castle to support the fortification. It was belived that if the egg ever broke, then the castle would fall into ruins.  Apparently, the egg is still intact, as the castle still stands today.

          Looking through the Castle's window, down on sunbathers on the rocks below!

We were sure to have a famous Napoliatano pizza.  We all loved our pizza!

               Naples is chaotic yet very unique.  The missionaries who serve there love it. We were happy to see some of the history and beauty of Naples.  Now we have a greater appreciation for it than before.  (Note the graffiti Atlas drawn on the red no enter street sign)

              We had a delightful day!