The Heart of Naples

A casual visitor to Naples would be struck by the following things:

- the noise, primarily of traffic, but also, everyone talking at the top of their voices, loud music and so on
- the omnipresence of graffiti - it is everywhere, including unfortunately on some of the city's ancient monuments
- young people gathering gregariously in the evenings in every piazza and common area to hang out and in many cases to 'make out'!
- a higher proportion of homeless and street people than in many western cities
- a reputation for petty crime (pick pocketing)
- a modern civilisation living amongst antiquity and history

All of this makes up a high octane, gritty experience for the visitor, which may cause many to think "I don't need this!".

Unfortunately, those people might miss out on the wonderful flip side of Naples because of this. Here are some examples we experienced:

The local people have an uncomplicated, open and welcoming nature that is missing in some of our societies.

We were taken out for a coffee by one of our suppliers and our host parked in a taxi rank, just outside the railway station. It was not long before a taxi driver arrived and leant out the window to ask him to move. Our host immediately moved his vehicle to another illegal park on a roundabout with the hazard lights flashing and left it there for over an hour. However, the taxi driver came up to him and apologised for the inconvenience caused by asking him to move!

We went to a bar and asked the owner for his recommendation for the best pizza restaurant nearby. He gladly gave us directions and we set off, but could not locate it. We went back and as soon as he saw us, he stopped an indepth conversation with another customer and greeted us warmly. When we asked for the directions again, he broke out of his conversation and began to explain. Meanwhile, another of his local patrons joined in, got up and walked to the street and explained in great detail how to obtain one of the Neapolitan pizza's Naples is famous for. He smiled warmly and wished us well. We felt like we were among old friends!

On our last day, we found a cafe that served what we were looking for for lunch. Inside was an old Neapolitan man, whose job it seemed was to be a waiter and comedian. He brought in a plate of pasta for another guest and waved it under the noses of the other patrons so they could smell how good it was! He kissed a guy adjacent to us on the head and then came over and told me how lucky I was to have Kathy. He had an irrepressible twinkle in his eye, so that everyone responded to him. We were still there when it was time for him to go home for his siesta, so he wished us all 'arrivederci' and farewelled us all individually. We were sitting by the street window, and soon there was a tapping on the window and we turned to see his mischevous face grinning and waving goodbye to us!! Only in Naples!!

Furthermore, without exception, three of the four suppliers we dealt with shared with us their views about social issues facing Naples, including the influx of illegal immigrants from Africa. They expressed these views with a compassion and heart that you would not expect if you just experienced the Naples I described above. "These people" (the illegals as they call them) "are not bad people, but they are hungry....." Without exception, we felt a connection with the Neapolitan people that we were dealing with that was more than just a business relationship. That is what doing business is all about in Naples. People sharing their passion.

Also on the flip side, we did not experience any of the petty crime and after a few days felt quite safe almost everywhere we visited. We found that as we relaxed a bit (still being reasonably careful), we really began to enjoy Naples, mainly because of the openness and warmth of the people and also, the amazing ancient nature of the city that is still expressing its vibrance in spite of tough times.

I must say, that as you go around Naples, you can see that it was a glorious and wealthy place probably just over 100 years ago and for much of the previous two millenia. Sadly, that wealth and prosperity is not broadly spread any more.

We'll be back if at all possible!