Spotlight on Naples

The city of Naples lies in a beautiful bay on the western coast of Italy, in the Campagnia region, around 120 miles south of Rome. It’s the 3rd largest city in Italy and a busy port..

History buffs will love Naples. The Museum of Archaeology is the most important of archaeology museums in Italy, with many relics from the nearby Roman town of Pompeii, which was destroyed by the eruption of the Mount Vesuvius volcano.

You can visit the ruins of Pompeii and try to imagine how it must have felt to have a deluge of lava descend upon you.

You can go underground at Sotterranea to walk through the many tunnels that formed the aqueduct system built by the Romans to carry water around the city.

If you’d like to get some insight into the city, ex-convicts are working as tour guides to get them back into gainful employment.

The St Gennaro Festival takes place in Naples three times a year (May, September and December) in honour of the city’s patron saint. Two phials of the saint’s blood are carried in a procession around the city.

In the past Palermo, on the island of Sicily, was the capital of the Naples region.  However the capital was changed to the city of Naples in the13th century when Castello Nuovo (new castle) was constructed on the sea front.

Wonderful food is one of the highlights of a visit to Naples. It’s said that pizza originated in this city. You should try Spaghetti alle Vongole (clams), a local speciality.

If you have time to venture outside the city, Positano has a beautiful beach.

The island of Capri is a lovely day trip, especially if you include a boat excursion around the island to explore the small coves.

Image credits: averain, arancidamoeba, armando46, gastev, jamescanby, danielaineurope, worldflickr, dinesarasota

Karen Bryan is the founding editor of the UK based, multi author Europe a la Carte Blog which features Europe travel tips about the best places to visit in Europe.