Naples: ALL the Pizza!

Everyone I’d talked to did not like Naples. They found it crowded and gritty and grungy, and warned me as such.

It was crowded. And gritty. And grungy. And I don’t know why, but I LOVED Naples.

It was probably the food.

Holly and I had a couple of days in Naples before she left (two days thanks to me accidentally thinking she left a day earlier than she really did!), so after Sorrento we were ready to explore the city.

We decided to go to the archaeology museum, which we’d heard was good.

It was AMAZING. I was so impressed with the museum, and it’s a lot like the Louvre – if you’re going to explore it fully, you’re going to need a LONG time. Holly and I spent probably 4+ hours there, and we barely touched the surface. In fact, we almost left without realizing the mosaics of Pompeii and Herculaneum were there!

The ancient artifacts in the museum were truly breathtaking.

They had a whole collection of writing and inscribed tablets that were interesting to read. We could see some frescoes of elections from Pompeii and Herculaneum – with the paint still intact for who the painter wanted people to vote for! And there were numerous marble tablets and others just covered in writing with laws, memorials, and more. It was so cool.

Then we went to the ancient statuary. Holy crap the amount of ancient statuary they have in the museum! It was statue after statue after statue. It was really well laid-out and organized, and the signage was plentiful and informative. After what was essentially the warehouse of the Egyptian museum, I’ve come to really appreciate good signage!

They also have a whole Egyptian collection, and after going to Egypt, that was interesting too. I will say that after Egypt itself, I think any Egyptian collection is destined to look like a bit of a downer to me. Tough life, right here. The cool think about the Egyptian collection in Naples is that it even included some fakes. Because Egyptian collections were so popular in Italy for a while, fakes abounded. So they have quite ancient fakes, and have them signed as such! It’s cool to see the imitations.

Then they have a collection of mosaics from Pompeii and Herculaneum. I’m so glad we didn’t miss those. We didn’t really realize or know what was in the whole museum, so we didn’t beeline for the mosaics. But we did see people lining up for something, and decided to see what it was.

I was surprised by the mosaics because of how intricate they were! I think I’m used to mosaics where each of the pieces is maybe an inch square, or even half an inch square. The mosaics from Pompeii and Herculaneum were made up of pieces that might have been 2mm square. And they comprised GIANT mosaics.

Then, of course, there was the room with a lock. Whatever could be in there? It was actually the mosaics from a brothel found intact. And the mosaics depicted, essentially, a menu of offerings that the buyer could choose from! No wonder they were saying that kids needed parent’s permission to see it!

Finally, we went all the way to the top of the stairs and ended up in the giant hall that was absolutely breathtaking. It was giant, and there were painted frescoes on the entire ceiling. It was just awe-inspiring.

The whole museum was just incredible, and if you’re ever in Naples, it’s absolutely worth the time. Holly and I went before we went to Pompeii, and I’d recommend that too – it was a good primer on the history, and then it was cool to see the houses in Pompeii that the mosaics came out of.

After Holly left, I had a few days in Naples to myself, and I have to say – I mostly entertained myself by eating and walking! The food in Naples was incredible. Holly and I went to one pizza place where they made our pizza into the shape of a star – and filled each of the “points” with ricotta!

One night, I got fried pizza. It’s so cool – they make it right in front of you! And seriously – the Texas State Fair needs to get on this one. The pizza fries up to be big, and the cheese is so gooey and perfect!

And then, of course, I took myself on a gelato tasting around town! Naples had some seriously good gelato! My favorite came from a place called Il Menella, and they have their own cows for the milk. And each of the cones is made fresh in store each day – so it’s more like a cookie! It was SO good. Naples is where I discovered Almond gelato, and that is probably my favorite “normal” flavor. It’s just so perfect.

I think I gained a solid six pounds in Naples! So worth it for all the deliciousness!

{{Side Note: This is officially my ONE HUNDREDTH blog post! Holy crap! And for those of you who know I’m home (yay!), the blog did not move as quickly as I did… so there’ll be trip posts through just after Thanksgiving! And for the record… I did not get behind on them. They’re written and programmed for your enjoyment at 7am every weekday!}}