The Hustle And Bustle Of The Greco-Italian City And An Admiral Sighting

The Admiral, The Guy Behind Him Is Actually 6'5" For Reference (Lie)

A View Down One Of The Main Roads In Pompeii, As Well As Up The Sleeve Of My Shirt

A Section Of The Fresco In The Villa Of Mysteries

Upon arriving in Europe, there were only two days of our entire trip that had not been entirely mapped out. We knew that we wanted to stay on Elba Island, an island off the coast of Florence, at the behest of my brother Patrick. We had not been able to find a place to stay within our price range while still in the States, and we had the same luck whilst in Europe. As such, we decided that a trip a little further into the south of Italy would be possible after a few reservation adjustments. We were able to accomplish this, and so our travels took us to the fine city of Napoli (New City in Greek). Naples is extremely famous for two things. The first is pizza, and the second for being the most chaotic city in the entire boot of Italy. First the pizza. On our first night we were able to snag a table at Pizzeria Sorbillo, which is noted as being one of the finest, if not THE finest pizzerias in the whole of Naples. There are magazine articles adorning the walls, as well as local art placed in intermittent niches. There is also the supported claim that it was Gino Sorbillo’s ancestry that invented the calzone. Either way, the pizza was like nothing we have ever had before. The crust itself was so good that it could easily be eaten and enjoyed on its own. But when you add toppings like proscuitto, mushroom, corn, mozzarella and cream sauce, it is nearly impossible to not grin in delight with every bite. Also, the pizza was misshapen and billowing over the sides of the plate, which was the perfect aesthetic. Paying only 6 euro for something this amazing seemed like a crime on our part…but we did so happily and ended up eating there more than once. Now for the chaos and the city itself. In doing research, I learned that the mafia presence in Naples is actually still quite strong, so much so that just a year ago the sanitation service (run by the mafia, very HBO) stopped picking up the garbage. Instead, the people took the garbage to various yards outside of town where mounds of garbage began to form and were eventually burnt. This did not lend to a pleasant smelling city, adding more credence to the whole boot thing. While walking to our hostel, it was very apparent that the actual sanitation folk were back on the job. Picture two of the most stereotypical looking mobster types with greased back hair donning garbage man attire, leaning out of the truck and shouting to shop owners sitting on chairs at their storefronts. It was almost too perfect, and at that point we both agreed that it was our goal to not look cross at anyone as stepping on the wrong toes, no matter how trivial, could lead to a very messy situation, though I have seen many a mob flick, so I figure I could pull out some of my vicarious experience to diffuse any situation. As for the chaos, lets just say that traffic lights go relatively ignored, scooters have what equates to the typical pedestrian right of way, while pedestrians are forced to keep their head on a swivel at ALL times. The sound of scooter horns in a surrounding area can easily be recorded to form some sort of eccentric background music. We actually sat on a busy street corner while eating gelato, mesmerized by the insanity of it all: mother’s speeding by on scooters with helmet-less toddlers, cars and scooters continuously speeding through intersections despite an obvious red light, some weird guy helping people park their cars on all four corners of a busy cross street, possibly a made man, but just as easily an entrepreneur who decided he was sick and tired of cleaning windows. Couple this with casual conversations that sounded like two people trying to talk over a jackhammer that wasn’t there and you will get somewhat of an idea as to the ambience that surrounds Napoli. This definitely has what reads like a negative tone, but I assure you, it is not meant to be that way. We got a kick out of everything that was going on and really felt like we were in the “old country” that all of the aged wise mobsters talk about in Goodfellas and The Godfather.

Our first day was actually spent 40 minutes outside of the Naples visiting the ancient city of Pompeii. The city was essentially buried by the effects of a violent eruption from the still active Mount Vesuvius (Or Mount ‘Suvius if you are a White Men Can’t Jump Fan). The sight has since been excavated; exposing most of the original structures as well as many clues as to how the town operated. There are various temples to pagan gods, amphitheaters, standard housing, houses of the rich, a gladiator stadium, and of course a brothel with a painted menu lining the walls above the rooms, and of that I will speak no more. One of the coolest things we saw on the day though was not a what, but rather a who. While we were making our way through one of the structures, we turned a corner to one of the “highlight” sights, when all of the sudden I saw a very tall gentleman that I immediately recognized as David Robinson, most know who that is, but he is an NBA great that retired a few years ago. I turned to Kaylin and started saying “that’s David Robinson, that’s David Robinson, that’s The Admiral”, to which she replied, “the Admiral of what?” No one was really bothering him, so I didn’t want to be the guy to cause any heads to turn, so we didn’t really meet him or get a picture with him, but I did take some mildly creepy pictures of him when he wasn’t looking. In hindsight I should have just introduced myself it because it was a ridiculously random occurrence, and he probably would have remembered me for the rest of his life, but it was pretty cool either way. Our last stop in Pompeii was the Villa Of Mysteries. The main draw in this house on the outskirts of the town is an enormous three-paneled fresco that looks as though it could have been painted only a few hundred years ago, rather than its dated age of about 2,500. As a side note, Kaylin and I both had no idea how intense fresco painting was, we both admitted that we just thought the artist painted onto a wall. Although I’m sure this is not news to some, they actually paint onto fresh plaster. If they paint the plaster when it is too wet, the plaster will mix into the paint and turn into a soupy mess. If the artist waits until the plaster is too dry, the fresco will merely be superficial and will flake off and fade over time. There is a perfect time to apply the paint that will allow it to act almost like the ink in a tattoo. Rather than being on the wall, it will actually seep into the wall and become a part of it while maintaining a vivid and clear look. It is for this reason that only master artists were to be commissioned for such works. Leonardo Da Vinci’s Last Supper is a fresco, and is in absolutely horrible shape because he waited to long, which is a testament that even master artists have struggled with the medium. That evening we enjoyed pizza at the pizzeria President Clinton visited during a tour of Italy in 1992. It was very good, but not quite to the level of Pizzeria Sorbillo.

The next day was spent seeing a few of the sights within the Naples city limits. We visited the extravagant Duomo of St. Januarius, which contains the remains and two vials of blood from the church’s namesake. Apparently, every Tuesday morning there is a display wherein the vials of dry blood actually liquefy in front of the church faithful. Next, we visited the Napoli Sottoraneo, which is a series of underground tunnels dug by the Greeks to mine for tufa rock, and then used by the Neapolitans as a series of aqueducts. The temperature in the aqueducts is a steady 58 degrees, which was a welcome escape from the humid 86 degrees we were immersed in on the surface. The tour was very informative and detailed, and there was actually a point during the tour where we had to carry candles and squeeze our way sideways through 300 feet of extremely narrow paths. We spent the rest of the day walking through some of the historic streets before finishing up once again at Pizzeria Sorbillo. Because our reservation in Rome was not until later the next day, we decided to spend a little more time in Naples. We woke up early and headed towards the Bay of Napoli. In doing so, we were able to steal a look at two of the three royal castles, a historic opera house that is considered to have the finest acoustics in all of Italy, and the gorgeous and expansive Church of San Francesco di Paola in Piazza Plebiscito. With that we hopped onto our train to Rome, with the knowledge that it would be our final destination weighing heavily on our shoulders.

Mark and Kaylin