NAPLES, ITALY - THE BIRTHPLACE OF PIZZA

The population of the city of Naples, Italy is listed as 989,598 however, the wider metropolitan area boasts a population of approximately 4.4 million, the second most populated area in Italy after Milan. 

Who doesn't love pizza?  Naples boasts of being the birthplace of the modern pizza.  Said to have originated in Naples as a meal for the poor, Ferdinand IV made it popular with the upper classes.  The Pizza Margherita was actually named after Queen Margherita of Savoy after a visit to the city.  

Cooked traditionally in a wood-burning oven the ingredients of the pizza Napoletana have been strictly regulated by law since 2004, and must include wheat flour type "00" with the addition of flour type "0" yeast, natural mineral water, peeled tomatoes or fresh cherry tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, sea salt and extra virgin olive oil. 

Pizza Margherita

The piazza or main city square of the city is the Piazza del Plebiscito.

Piazza del Plebiscito

Naples has two other major public squares: the Piazza Dante and the Piazza dei Martiri.

Piazza Dante

Piazza dei Martiri

Located next to Piazza del Plebiscito you will also find the Theater di San Carlo, the oldest opera house in Italy.

Theater di San Carlo

Naples is located on the Gulf of Naples, on the west coast of southern Italy,  rising from sea level to an elevation of 450 meters (1,480 feet).

Naples' historic city center is the largest in Europe and in 1995 was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. 

Naples has a total of 1,000 churches, 448 of which have historical significance, making it one of the most Catholic cities in the world in terms of the number of places of worship.

The Roman ruins of Pompeii  which was destroyed in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, are visible from Naples. 

The Norwegian Epic docked in Naples on Tuesday, May 14, 2019.  I was joined on this short three night cruise by daughter Tamie, daughter-in-law Trista and a family friend Heather.  Our time in Naples was brief, just 10 short hours.

Norwegian Epic

For a complete review of the Norwegian Epic check out my blog article by clicking here. 

The port of Naples is located right in the center of Naples, serving over 6 million local passengers annually, plus a further 1 million cruise ship passengers.

Before arriving into Naples I pre-purchased tickets for the Naples Hop On Hop Off bus at a cost of $26.22 per person.  

HOHO bus

HOHO Route map

We disembarked the Norwegian Epic at 8:30am and made our way to the HOHO bus that we easily located at the port exit.  The sign on the bus said “Blue Line B Route”. Once the bus had filled we started making our way to Stop 1: Largo Castello/Piazza Municipio.  What should have taken 5 minutes took 30.  Traffic was a nightmare. 

Stop 1 is also the main stop and transfer point to the “Red Line A Route”.  Once we parked we discovered we had 30 minutes until the scheduled 9:30am departure.  Coffee seemed to be in order and we managed to find Caffetteria Cuore just around the corner from the bus stop.   Trista claims it is the best coffee she has ever had.  Now that we are back home she is trying to replicate it but with little success. 

HOHO Stop 1 Largo Castello / Piazza Municipio

Entrance to Caffetteria Cuore

Placing our coffee order

Trista with her "Best coffee I have ever had."

The Blue Line bus left promptly at 9:30am, taking 90 minutes to complete the loop.  This route includes the more scenic outlying areas affording some spectacular views, including Mount Vesuvius and Pompeii. 

Horse Carriages for hire at Stop 1

View of Mount Vesuvius and Pompeii from Naples

Arriving back at Stop 1 we switched to the Red Line.  This route focused more on the city area. 

We got off at stop #9 Via Foria.  With Naples being the birthplace of pizza it was time to find a local restaurant and experience some for ourselves.   We selected Mamm e figl Restaurant.

Four of us enjoyed pizza and wine and our total bill came to $33 USD.  After a relaxing lunch we boarding the HOHO bus back to Stop 1.  From here you can either walk back to the port or take a taxi. We were back in our cabin before 4:30pm.  The Norwegian Epic was scheduled to sail from Naples at 7pm.  Naples is certainly a place I will visit again.