Walking Tour of Naples, Italy

After returning from Pompeii, a few of us decided to venture out on a little walking tour of our own in the city of Naples.  The seaport where we docked was so close to the city, so it wasn't very far to go to find wonderful new adventures!

We could see the Castle Nuovo (which means "New Castle") from our ship, and we really wanted to go inside. 

The beautiful Naples Harbor as seen from our ship.

 Along the walk, we passed this beautiful fountain . . .

little outdoor cafes . . .

a park full of pigeons . . .

 the Naples Police Station . . .

and cobble-stoned streets lined with motor scooters.  That seems to be the favorite form of transportation in so many of these European cities.

But by far the grandest shopping mall one could ever see is entered through this archway.  It was built between 1887-1891 and named for Umberto I, King of Italy at the time of construction. 

This great glass arching dome is 184 feet tall and is probably the largest in the world.

The floor is a beautiful mosaic of the Zodiac which looks like spokes out from the middle of the arcade.

It has been designed to have the public space and shopping areas on the bottom floor with private space in the apartments on the third floor.

After enjoying walking through the beautiful mall, we went back out to take a look at the narrow streets and little shops along them.

 

Of course, there were larger shopping streets with major brand name shops.  However, one of the most interesting parts of the walking tour happened right in front of my eyes out on the street!  See the guys who have spread their "wares" out on the blankets on the sidewalk.  You can see them looking down the street.  A "lookout" has told them that danger is coming!

In less than two seconds those blankets were wrapped around the "goods" which are knock-offs and illegal to sell on the street, and the salesmen quickly exited . . .

Yikes!!!  I was caught taking the picture!  I thought surely he was going to grab my camera because I might give the picture to the police!  Just as quickly as they disappeared, I put my camera under my sweater and I moved along!  George and I then saw the police car casually riding down the street.  You know they know these guys are everywhere selling, but as long as the police don't see it happening themselves, they don't bother they guys with the big white bags of merchandise.  (Same thing happens in the United States.  We saw it happen in New York City, too!)

Who needs a poster of this model when I have such a GQ husband myself!

On our way back to the ship, we were able to visit the Castel Nuovo with its five towers.

This is really a storybook castle, built in 1282, but it has been re-done several times. 

The moat around it is huge!

The triumphal arch into the castel is made of marble.

This artwork is right inside the arch.  Other fantastic artwork is housed in a museum inside.

It, also, houses a chapel.

 

Cannonballs were always on hand because the city was hit so many times through the ages.

Here is an example of where the castel was hit.  Pretty strong fortress to last this many years!

I'm so glad we took the walking tour and discovered a little of Naples ourselves.  It was definitely a fun city with its beautiful harbor and interesting shops and history!  We went back to the ship and headed out for Rome!