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Show The Salt Lake Tribune Sundaj Juty T5 15. 1964 Italy The Bay of Naples remains a romantic coastline by Whats truly amazing is that its the See Naples and Die still there panorama. In some lights it even looks like the colored engravings that adorned American parlors some years past. The sweep of land from the northern slope of Cape Posillipo along the city and around to Vesuvius remains one of the most romantic coastlines in the world. According to the best of legends, Naples began with a sirens song. The siren Partenope, unable to lure Ulysses with her music, drowned herself and her sorrow on the Bay of Naples. She was washed ashore where today via Partenope meets the harbor of Santa Lucia, site of the first Greek settlement at Neapolis in 600 B C. The songs that lure diners at Santa Lucias popular dockside restaurants are more cheerful now, especially when they accompany spaghetti with clam sauce. The tiny sweet clams of Naples are the tastiest anywhere because theyre more voracious says the waiter with a smile. Roman Emperors Its easy to see why the Roman emperors, after conquering the Greeks, built their summer villas along this coast. Tiberius was so happy with the climate and natural beauty that he ruled the vast Roman Empire from tiny Capri across the bay. Since then Naples has been overrun with Byzantines, French, Austrians, Spanish (the Bourbons left in I860, with Garibaldis encouragement), and has intermittently suffered volcanic eruptions from pictur- folklore d a, flag. The nearby piazza Gesu esque Vesuvius and shattering earthquakes. In this century, the Second World War brought severe bombardments, effects of which are evident. It helps to bear this in mind when confronting the citys many n sections, and also that Naples was founded about 2000 years before Plymouth. Whatever Naples fortunes, Vesuvius famous profile in the soft twilight still inspires songs of longing for Santa Lucia, and the citys amazing artistic wealth has kept it in the ranks of the great cultural centers. Besides its own considerable treasures, Naples is an ideal place from which to explore Pompeii and Hercur laneum (about a train ride from Naples); Capri and Ischia, with frequent hydi ofoil and ferry service; the crater of Vesuvius; the breathtaking splendor of the Amalfi Drive with the cliffside villages of Positano, Amalfi and Ravello and Sorrento. Near Positano, the elegant hotel San more like a private villa Pietro is the perfect stop afthan a hotel ter Naples. But first, allow at least three days to see Naples, Thats not long enough, but will permit a surface view. Try to arrive Monday night, for most museums are closed Monday and its a good day. First thing in the morning, go to the Certosa Museum inside the Baroque San Martino Monastery. Not only does a splendid view of the city unfold below, but youll see a fascinating collection of Neapolitan run-dow- half-hou- Barbara Coeyman Hults lives in New York, N.Y. costumes, porcelain, maps, naval history, and Christmas creches with thousands of finely carved figures (rooms 34 and 35). The majestic and touchingly human are always side by side in Naples. Port Alba Gate From here you might walk to Piazza Dante. Take the Port Alba Gate to the left of Dantes statue (he looks fine amid palm trees and traffic) and enter into Spaccanoli, the oldest quarter of the city. (Yes, of course you watch your wallet and camera, as in any major city, or even minor.) Inside the Gate is the Port of Alba pizza restaurant, where six generations of the Vincenzo family have produced superb pizza from wood-firebrick ovens. Students buy small pizzas from the stand outside, but you can go upstairs to a more relaxing restaurant if your prefer. The Margh-erit- a is the big seller fresh mozzar-relltomatoes and a leaf of basil the red, white and green of the Italian Nuovo, with its massive church and spire, has a fine tourist office, with color-code- d maps to help guide you through the maze of streets to the wealth of Baroque, Rococo, Renaissance and Medieval churches that seem to be on every block. And what blocks! Spaccanapoli is an exuberant mixture of all the dramatic elements of Neapolitan character, gestures ranging from high Baroque to the Gothic shrug of an eyelid. The spiral staircase of an elegant old palace is lined with washing the days laundry and bright window flowers enliven almost every street. Baroque Churches and some eerie Barbara Coeyman Hults corpses downstairs with their circulatory system preserved like wire mesh, SantAngelo a Nilo, with Donatello's fine relief. At the Duomo, the patron saint of Naples, San Gennaro, performs a miracle each spring and fall when his blood liquifies, letting us know hes still around for listening to petitions (as he did this past May) The gourmands will find a patron saint in San Giovanni a Carbonara one hopes he reached sainthood by inventing spaghetti Carbonara rather than the usual hideous tortures. Santa Luci harbor seems always to be celebrating, and the restaurant, La Bersaliera, though touristy, is a wonderful place to enjoy lunch or dinner, with boats bobbing, someone singing, fresh air and fragrant aromas from the kitchen. y A Night Cap To cap the night, try a Vodka Imperial at the nearby Casanova Bar in the Hotel Excelsior. Its in fresh fruit for about 12 hours. Potent velvet. If the San Carlo Opera House is presenting anything whatsoever, go. Though the opera season is in winter, vodka-marinate- other performances are often scheduled and in its gold grandeur and celebrated acoustics The King's opulent box seems to await his return, though Umberto II recently died in exile, denied even a last look at his beloved Naples The San Carlo is open for tours during the morning Across the street is the majestic cast-iro- n and glass Galleria Umberto, the cupola about 180 feet high. The Royal Palace on Piazza del Plebiscite has a truly regal staircase and Gobelin tapestries, but the Piazza it overlooks is a parking lot. , Endless discussions go on about beautifying Naples and the obvious economic benefits to all sectors of the population that increased tourism would bring The new mayor is full of energy and hope, and so perhaps more institutions will follow the Bank of Naples' example and endow galldhes and museum collections. Long-terplanning has not taken hold in Naples, nor has general The verb arrangiarsi is the verb of Naples, "making do somehow. (The advantages of all this to todays tourist is lower prices and a basically untouristy city, where one year-roun- red-velv- can still discover treasures unknown to most other travelers ) High above the city is another royal palace, Capodimonte Now a museum, it exhibits fine works of Titian, Raphael, Goya, Caravaggio, Botticelli and other masters. It's a good place to learn to recognize Luca Giordano's work, for his frescoes appear all over Naples If the porcelain collection in the iOyal apartment is open, do see it, as it's rarely open. There's an room made of procelain but apparently only a papal bull will unseal it Most of Naples palaces were built with the idea that trouble was ahead The Castel Nuovo (1279-82- ) with its massive sandcastle towers seemed volprimed for the first cannon-bal- l ley, less so for lords and ladies dancing However, Boccaccio spent quite a bit of time there, and his accounts are anything but military. The Decameron is a reflection of Naples court life. s. Along The Waterfront Have an anusing, moderately priced dinner at La Cantinella, along the waterfront. A bird greets you as you enter and it looks a bit hokey but the food is marvelous, with seafood superfresh and well prepared Before you leave for a day's visit to Pompeii, spend at least a morning at the National Museum, whose archeological collection rivals any in the world Bronze statues and colored marble figures, excavated from Pompeii, Cuma, and other sites are presented in a museum of more than 100 rooms. (Many are closed, however ) Seeing Pompeiis excavated work before visiting the site gives a clearer perspective when you get there Sunset over the Posillipo coast is one of Naples' greatest charms, and it can be enjoyed for a bus ride. Take the No 140 bus from Piazza Gesu Nuovo (or ask your concierge where it stops and where to get tickets) and ride to the end of the line. The return trip is why youre going Sit on the left and watch the sunset over the loveliest part of the bay, with villas and pines and cypress and flowers lining the shore. At Cape Posillipo, dining at Giuseppone a Mare is a treat, for the food and lovely surroundings by the sea Toward the city, the Marechiaro section is always lovely at night, with outdoor markets and many Impressive Baroque churches share the street with outdoor markets dozens of varieties of fish and eels and clams and octopus and and vegetables, fruits vegetables and flowers. The richest pastry south of Vienna and great ice cream are as Neapolitan as the pizza. And bookstores are everywhere antiquarian, popular, textbooks new and used. The famous Christmas creche shops are open mainly near Christmas; in summer you may find a few on via San Gregorio Armeno (creche is presepio in Italian). The careful eye is always rewarded: a lovely shrine with light and flower on a shabby corner, a pretty square with a saint pointing to heaven. Passersby warned me to watch my pocketbook, from other careful eyes. A man in the midst of selling a fine volume of antique maps abandoned his customer to give me bits of history. An elderly woman in black argued with the flower seller that the rose I was buying (for myself! where but in Naples?) was not perfect an insisted that he sort through the whole pile till he found one without any wilt. He did. A few of Spaccanapolis treasures: the brilliantly tiled Medieval cloister of Santa Chiara; the rooms St. Thomas Aquinass lived in at Santa Domenico Maggiore; the Sansevero Chapel Pieta looks where the marble-veile- d soft as silk, with marble lacework The Gulf of Naples is considered one of the most romantic coastlines in the world. Sunsets are spectacular. Travel notes How to Save Money on your Family Vacation to Disneyland and other Attractions Point Salines Airport, the Grenadan airport whose development led to the confrontation on the Caribbean island, is scheduled to open in late October, the first anniversary of the U.S. rescue mission or invasion, depending on whose political dictionary you use. U.S.-Cub- U.S. and Canadian funds are being used to complete the airport, which officials once feared might serve c warplanes. It now is being touted by Grenada for its ability to handle jumbo jets filled with tourists. 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Nov. 4 and Fob. 1 7 Departures AXi. 8 on I from atutsif WCUIPfti J from V5U World's largest cruise ship. See Miami, St. Thomas, Nassau & NCI's Private R.T. AM AM FVOM ILC 'Price based on two adults and two children under 12, staying for three nights. Ask about pricing for other options sundial travel, inc. 404 E. 4500 So. (801) SLC, Utah 84107 263-381- 3 Falls. Grenada already has reaped some tourist benefits from the publicity generated by the invasion-rescu- e mission: More cruise ships are spending time in St. Georges Harbor. The highlight of the islands summer attractions will be Carnival and the Pageant and Parade of Bands in August. A couple of Tokyo taxi associations e have published a Tokyo Taxi Guide that explains the taxi fare system in the sprawling city and includes a map showing distances between some popular tourist destinaone-pag- tions. The guide also has a place in it where an English-speakin- g member of your hotel staff can write, in Japanese, the name of your hotel and your taxi-tri- p destinations for the benefit of your driver. Among the positive pieces of information in the guide are Tips are unnecessary" and "You can ride a Tokyo taxi without worry. The guide is being distributed within Tokyo at airports, railway stations, hotel lobbies and other tourist-oriente- d locations. ? ) |