{"id":14737,"date":"2018-04-11T10:00:04","date_gmt":"2018-04-11T08:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dovevado.net\/napoli-sacro-profano-centro-storico-mezza-giornata\/"},"modified":"2020-09-09T12:23:47","modified_gmt":"2020-09-09T10:23:47","slug":"napoli-sacro-profano-centro-storico-mezza-giornata","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dovevado.net\/en\/napoli-sacro-profano-centro-storico-mezza-giornata\/","title":{"rendered":"Naples between sacred and profane. The historic centre in half a day"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

My journey begins in Viareggio, I get on the Intercity train that will take me from the Versilia “capital” to Naples. With my mind free of all preconceptions but full of the desire to discover and learn, I can only think: “<\/span>Welcome to Naples! The Italian city with more stereotypes and clich\u00e9s! Home of pizza, Tot\u00f2, coffee and Pastiera. Famous for the camorra, the “trash”, the traffic, the contempt for rules, the black market and many other things. Commonplaces are wasted. But is it really going to be like that or are they just legends? <\/span><\/i>“<\/span><\/p>\n\n

The station of Naples is like all big stations: chaotic, crowded, noisy. The soldiers wander around and street vendors approach waiting customers. Among them, a couple of ladies sell lucky red croissants (a clich\u00e9, I know) and lighters. I expected sock sellers, and instead nothing (a “non-clich, too bad, because I would have needed them). <\/span><\/p>\n\n

After a few minutes my friend Rosaria, with a Neapolitan but Caserta adopted blood, arrives and takes me to discover the historical centre of Naples, the real one, which goes from <\/span> dei Tribunali street<\/b> to <\/span>dell’Ovo castle<\/b>.<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n

dei Tribunali street <\/b>The way of pizza, cribs and spritzers<\/span><\/i><\/h2>\n\n

Rosaria drags me among the people, she moves fast, she knows these cobbled streets well. She tells me that it was the viceroy Don Pedro of Toledo who transported the five tribunals to Capuano castle, from where the street starts (dei Tribunali street, precisely) which ends in Bellini square, where we go next, she adds. <\/span><\/p>\n\n

From time to time you have to stop and wait for me. I am too distracted to keep up with him, I get lost looking at the cloths hanging from balcony to balcony connecting the buildings, the coloured geraniums at the windows, the women screaming and gesticulating and the smell of pizza and fried food invading my nostrils. Rosaria shows me in succession gothic, renaissance and baroque buildings that leave me speechless. The value is inestimable!<\/span><\/p>\n\n

But it’s not only the outside that fascinates me, inside, in fact, they contain and guard treasures. Like for example a Caravaggio in the chapel of the Pio Monte della Misericordia (which unfortunately I didn’t see because I didn’t know! Damn me!)<\/span><\/p>\n\n

At a certain point of dei Tribunali street I find Duomo street (spoiler), where there is just (surprise) the <\/span>cathedral of San Gennaro<\/b>, inside which the bones and blood of the martyr are kept. I honestly thought that everything was exposed and clearly visible, instead it is safe in the reliquary. Blood is particularly important because (they say) three times a year it changes from solid to liquid: a miracle, precisely. Anyway, I was disappointed because I imagined the ampoules of blood and the bones put in a pile… and instead nothing!<\/span><\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n

<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Diversely sacred but equally important is the “<\/span>Virgin with a gun<\/b>” a gift from <\/span>Banksy<\/a> <\/b>to the city of Naples. This graffito, now kept under a shrine in Gerolomini square, seems to be the only recognised work in Italy, although the artist had made another one in Benedetto Croce street, now lost.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

This perhaps explains why a street-art work, which should remain free, has been enclosed in a glass cage. You who see this picture may not know it, but the “<\/span>“>stress<\/span><\/i>” is not limited to the golden plaque: it is also illuminated at night! In short, it seems that the Neapolitans weren’t satisfied with the thousands of little altars (Padre Pio, Jesus, Our Lady, and company) on the street corners: not even Our Lady of Bansky was spared.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

And then, all of a sudden, I started to see cribs, huts,our ladies, miniatures of little men working crafts of yesteryear… I ended up in <\/span> San Gregorio Armeno street<\/b>, which contains the famous crib art workshops! Here too my ignorance made me look like a barbarian: I thought, in fact, that cribs were only displayed at Christmas time. <\/span><\/p>\n\n

Alas, never has a mistake been more sensational: cribs don’t take breaks or holidays! So they will also be there on August 15th! Apart from the astonishment of the cribs in the historical centre, one thing that amused me is that in the Neapolitan cribs not only the classic and canonical figures are depicted, but also important characters. For example, I managed to find Dalla, Renato Zero, Malgioglio and various politicians. I don’t know who would want Trump or Berlusconi in their crib, de gustibus…<\/span><\/p>\n\n