It's a bit of a running joke with us that whatever historic site, museum, restaurant or chandlery we chose to visit on a given day, there is a strong chance it will be "Close-ed". In Italy, that's invariably pronounced with two distinct syllables. And so it is with the Torre del Greco train station near the port, making it a bit difficult for us to get into downtown Naples. Fortunately, we have the option to take the Circumvesuviana, a train system that connects Naples and its suburbs and extends all the way to Sorrento. Armed with directions from Google maps, we head out on foot for the Circumvesuviana station, about 2km away.
After 5 minutes of walking, we finally discover a completely different face of Torre del Greco that exists beyond the "war zone". In the attractive town square, an inscription on an old campanile tells us that it had survived the 1794 eruption of Vesuvius, during which the town was buried 10 meters deep in lava.
We pass up-scale clothing, jewelry and accessory shops, restaurants, fruit and vegetable stands, bakeries and gelato shops. We groan a bit, wishing that we had discovered all this before Lyn and Kevin left. Travelling by car does have some disadvantages.
The ride into Naples takes about half an hour, and when we emerge from the station we are in familiar territory near Piazza Garibaldi. Armed with maps from the tourist office at the station, we make our way to Pio Monte Della Misericordia, where Caravaggio's "Seven Works of Mercy" hangs over the altar. Set in the streets of Naples, the painting shows people engaged in the seven works of mercy of the Christian faith: Feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, shelter the homeless, cloth the naked, visit the sick, visit the imprisoned and bury the dead. It was painted in 1607 during Caravaggio's first stay in Naples, where he had fled from Rome after killing a man in a street fight. No photos allowed, the one below is taken from a book of Caravaggio paintings that Nancy gave me for my birthday last year.
This is a rare instance where a masterpiece remains hanging in the location for which it was created. The painting was commissioned by the founders of the Pio Monte della Misericordia to represent the charitable mission of the organization. It incorporates Caravaggio's characteristic use of light and shadow, a technique known as chiaroscuro. The seven young aristocrats who had founded the Pio Monte were obviously willing to allow for some "artistic license", since the figure on the far right shows a woman feeding an imprisoned man from her breast, thus combining two acts of mercy. The church also has other important works of art, including Caracciolo's masterpiece, the Liberation of St. Peter. Other beautiful works of art are displayed in a gallery on the first floor, where a balcony provides views of the altar and the Seven Works of Mercy below. I'm a bit startled when I enter the Assembly Room and find two people shouting at each other. Then I see the scripts in their hands and realize they are rehearsing a theatre piece.
From the Pio Monte we hustle on to pizzeria Gino Sorbillo, and this time we are in luck, it is not Close-ed as it had been when we tried to eat there with Lyn and Kevin two days before. The pizza is "il vero pizza Napoletana", the real thing. It is delicious, although we are still debating whether or not it is superior to the pizza served at "Tre per caso" in Marina di Ragusa, known to the English-speaking cruisers as "The Blue Door". Since Gino Sorbillo doesn't serve coffee, we have cappuccino in an outdoor café down the street before making our way to the Museo Archeologico Nazionale. A visit to this incredible museum is our main goal for the day and this alone is a good reason to come to Naples. Even the building, which was once the seat of Naples' university, is impressive.
I won't attempt to describe the huge collection, other than to say that it includes treasures from the ruins of Pompeii, Herculaneum and Boscoreale, as well as the extensive Farnese collection that Charles of Bourbon inherited from his mother, Elizabeth Farnese. The photos below are just a few highlights.
The famous Farnese bull depicting the gruesome death of Dirce, who according to Greek mythology was tied to a bull and dragged over rocks:
Here is the Halifax Hercules posing with the Farnese Hercules:
I loved these statues of athletes:
And a breathtakingly lovely blue vase found in a Pompeii tomb.
After having visited Pompeii, it's especially interesting to see the items brought here from the ruins. Below is the original faun statue from the House of the Faun, the Alexander mosaic and other mosaics taken from the same house.
This fresco is reminiscent of Botticelli's Birth of Venus, but is 1500 years older.
Many of the frescoes and mosaics from Herculaneum and Boscoreale are even more vivid, giving insight into the advanced civilization and culture that existed here two thousand years ago.
The ancients had a naughty side too. The "secret room", kept under lock and key until recent times, has a collection of erotic statues and frescoes (including some from Pompeii's brothel) that Hugh Hefner would envy. The most unforgettable is a sculpture depicting the god Pan amorously embracing a goat. I won't post any photos or say anything more, other than don't take your children or your mother there!
Before heading back to the train station, we take a break in the lively Piazza Bellini, where university students gather drinking Aperol spritzes and playing table football (Foosball). Our last stop of the day is the church of Santa Caterina, where a mass is taking place and we sit at the back for a few moments to listen to the music.
It is almost dark when we arrive back in Torre del Greco, and it is too late to start cooking. We have dinner in the restaurant at the Circolo Nautico. After sharing a large plate of seafood antipasti, we're relieved that the chef Maria does not expect us to have a second course, but we do accept her suggestion of desert: tiny cones of gelato dipped in chocolate. The Google translation of a Naples tourism website sums it up perfectly: Naples has many opportunities for the greedy!