Author Archives: Andrew

Food tour of Rome, Italy

Similar to our experience in Istanbul, organised food tours in Rome are expensive but their itineraries are well documented so we pieced together a few of the highly recommended ones and made our own. We knew we’d be missing out on the introductions, stories and explanations, but the food isn’t too unfamiliar to our British palates as, say, Vietnamese..

Breakfast – Cappuccino and Cornetto

After heading to the Testaccio area of Rome (Metro: Piramide), where most of the foody tours seems to operate, we joined the locals in Cafe Barberini to start our day with a working Italian breakfast of a cappuccino and a cornetto.

A typical Italian working breakfast of cornetto, a croissant filled with Nutella or custard, washed down with either a cappuccino if you have time, or a caffe (espresso shot) if you’re running late

Cafe Barberini is also known for its hand-made chocolates, so of course we had to try one. Or two..

Handmade chocolates, Cafe Barberini, Rome, Italy

Cafe Barberini is also a chocolateria. It was difficult to choose just one, but as this isn’t the first time we’ve eaten our way through a city we knew we had to pace ourselves..
Julie chose a tiramisu in a chocolate cup (left), and I picked a cream and fondant-filled white chocolate number topped with flakes of coconut

Tasting – Volpetti’s Delicatessen

Just a few doors down from Cafe Barberini is the family owned Volpetti delicatessen.

Volpetti's delicatessen, Testaccio, Rome, Italy

Volpetti’s delicatessen, we could spend hours in here, and hundreds of Euros too.. and we wouldn’t regret a cent!

Inside, it’s a mouthwatering Aladdin’s cave of tastiness, as much a feast for the eyes as for the palate. Every conceivable surface is overflowing with delicacies. It’s absolutely wonderful.

A close up of the cured meats and charcuterie section. Yum!

We could have bought two of everything. The owner’s son – a large man in typical whites and every bit the stereotype of a jolly butcher – offered us a taste of the sweetest, most mouthwateringly flavourful prosciutto we’ve ever tasted. The kind of ham that would convert vegetarians on the spot. Then another slightly smoked variety that I preferred. Who am I kidding, I’d have bought both!

When we eventually tore ourselves from temptation, we reflected that it was fortunate we weren’t staying nearby, otherwise we’d completely blow our budget as we wouldn’t be able to resist popping in every day.

Interlude – Testaccio Market

You may have realised by now that we love markets – we have 15 posts about them!

Fruit and Veg stall, Testaccio Market, Rome, Italy

A typical fruit and veg stall in Testaccio market. We love the fresh produce in Italy – it tastes as good as it looks!

Originally located in Testaccio Piazza, this local market recently moved to a redeveloped block a few streets away. Most of the stall owners moved, some didn’t, and some new ones opened, though we understand it was quite the controversy at the time. It looked like almost all of the units were occupied though not all were open, but we enjoyed the variety. As usual for all markets in Italy, we found plenty of vegetable stalls, but also butchers, fishmongers, bakers, general dealers, two street-food and sandwich shops and a couple of household goods and clothing shops too.

Brunch – Pizza

Now we’re talking!

Pizza by the slice, Pizza Volpetti, Rome, Italy

Pizza in Rome is quite different to Naples. It’s pre-baked in long strips like a Roman circus (the shape of a chariot racecourse) and then cut width-wise into slices, usually with scissors

I keep trying it, but the pizza in Rome just isn’t as nice at the pizza in Naples. Oh well, the search continues :o)

Our pizzas being prepared. Julie chose a Rome specialty of sliced potato, and I went with the classic cheese and cherry tomato. They also had a Pizza Bianca (front) which just looked like plain pizza bread

Interlude – Through the keyhole

One of the top-rated attractions in Rome isn’t closed on Mondays, doesn’t have entry fees, and has but a few minutes queueing time if any..

Priorato dei Cavalieri di Malta, Rome, Italy

The grand but otherwise innocuous looking door of the Villa del Priorato dei Cavalieri di Malta. Still the reserve of the more off-the-beaten-path tours of Rome as it’s a little out of the way..

What’s all the fuss about? Why do private cars and taxis pull up, handfuls of people empty out and then peer through the keyhole of the Knights of Malta’s door?

Peering through the keyhole, Rome, Italy

Even though we knew what to expect, it was worth the little uphill climb for the view..

View through the keyhole, Priorato dei Cavalieri di Malta, Rome, Italy

It’s the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica! Perfectly framed by a tree-lined path. Nice, huh?!

Snack – Trapizzino®

Sometimes there are inventions that as soon as you see it or it’s explained to you, you just think “that’s genius”. Trapizzino is one such culinary bathtub eureka moment – a fusion of freshly baked pizza dough corners filled with classic Roman stews put to use like sandwich fillings.

The Trapizzino® – anything that starts with pizza is alright in my book, but then filling it with stew and topping it with cheese – genius!

There were about 8 or 9 fillings available, including many Roman staples that involve offal or sweetbreads of some kind. Hmmm, where have I heard ‘sweetbreads’ before? We opted for the safe-sounding aubergine and parmigiana and it was very tasty indeed.

Lunch – Pasta

Testaccio sits on the Tiber river that runs through Rome, and has a long history of river trade. For reasons historians don’t yet understand, clay amphorae or vessels that were once full of olive oil were disposed of as part of this trade and formed an artificial hill near the riverbank. They weren’t just thrown down or randomly discarded – although most lay broken, they were neatly stacked and today the hill is encircled by bars, clubs and pasta restaurants.

Another destination of the organised food tours is Flavio al Velavevodetto, famous as much for its excellent traditional Roman pasta dishes as for the backdrop of Testaccio Hill

Suppli', Flavio al Velavevodetto, Rome, Italy

We were happy to see suppli’ on the starters as we’d been looking out for it all day. It’s the Roman version of the Sicilian arancini – a filled rice-ball coated in breadcrumbs and deep fried. Fortunately it wasn’t as big as the Sicilian ones as we were starting to feel the pinch of our waistlines..

Tonarelli cacio e pepe, Flavio al Velavevodetto, Rome, Italy

Julie ordered tonarelli “cacio e pepe” – pecorino cheese and black pepper

Rigatone alla matriciana, Flavio al Velavevodetto, Rome, Italy

And I ordered the rigatoni alla matriciana, a classic Lazio pasta sauce made from guanciale (cured pork cheek), pecorino cheese, and tomato

While we found somewhere to put it all, we wished we’d ordered half-portions or got one to share as we were stuffed!

Interlude – Protestant Cemetery

Time for another break, and just inside the old city walls is the Protestant Cemetery, also known as the Non-Catholic Cemetery in Rome. From their website..

Rome’s Non-Catholic Cemetery contains possibly the highest density of famous and important graves anywhere in the world. It is the final resting-place of the poets Shelley and Keats, of many painters, sculptors and authors, a number of scholars, several diplomats, Goethe‘s only son, and Antonio Gramsci, a founding father of European Communism, to name only a few.

The grave of John Keats (left) which doesn’t actually bear his name, just the inscription “Young English Poet … Here Lies One Whose Name was writ in Water”

It’s a narrow, walled, claustrophobic cemetery pushed up against the old city walls. We were surprised how many different nationalities we spotted – it seemed like anyone who happened to die in Rome (and wasn’t Catholic) ended up here. We spotted the graves of an Indian ambassador to Italy, a Japanese man who passed away recently, and the grand-daughter of the King of Afghanistan among many others.

Besides the historically famous, there were quite a few graves with elaborate headstones or statues, such as the one for Emelyn Story, whose husband was a sculptor..

Angel of Grief by W.W. Story (1819-95) for his wife, Emelyn and himself

When the perimeter of the city walls were extended, they incorporated this marble-clad pyramid as one-half of a city gate, which, fittingly is also a grave – that of Gaius Cestius. Constructed in 18-12 B.C., far outside the centre of Rome it was lost to undergrowth, shrubs and trees.

Pyramid tomb of Gaius Cestius, Rome, Italy

The tomb of Gaius Cestius. Sadly it’s not open to the public, but it’s amazing that the marble cladding is still intact given the materials pilfering that befell much of ancient Rome

Dessert – Gelato

The final course – there’s always room for ice-cream! Giolitti’s is a particularly noteworthy gelateria, as all of the ice-cream is properly made (i.e. not whisked up from powders) and we’d read that they’ll refuse your combination of flavours if they’re deemed to be un-complementary!

Wearing 3 layers of clothing, we felt it was appropriate ice-cream weather. I chose coffee and pistachio, and Julie chose chocolate and cherry. We were also offered a healthy dollop of fresh whipped cream too

We agreed that the cherry and pistachio were the best flavours, and our combinations passed the test! Phew!

Supper – Prosciutto and Gorgonzola

When we got back to our apartment we needed a few hours to recover, kind of like that feeling you get after a really good family Christmas lunch. Similarly, later that evening we just wanted a little, light something to eat for dinner – then we remembered the prosciutto!

The amazing prosciutto and gorgonzola we bought from Mr Volpetti earlier – a delightful note to end on

I’m still wondering what I can ditch from my pack to make room for a whole leg of Parma ham..

St. Peter’s Basilica and St Peter’s Square, Vatican City State

6 Replies

We’ve always wanted to visit the Vatican City. Perhaps because it’s an entirely separate country within a country, the smallest internationally recognised independent state by area and by population, and the centre and focus of the Catholic faith, synonymous with the Pope and with the white smoke of conclave.

St Peter's Square and St Peter's Basilica, The Vatican City

Looking into the Vatican City from Italy across St. Peter’s Square

Or perhaps it’s because of the grandness of the Baroque architectural approach that one cannot help to be enticed. The giant oval cobblestoned plaza of St Peter’s Square simply invites. When we stood there we felt safe, surrounded by the giant Tuscan colonnades that block the peripheral vision of distractions, focussing the eye and attention on the staircase to St Peter’s Basilica. Such was Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s intent – the 4-column-deep colonnades certainly give the feeling of being embraced by “the maternal arms of Mother Church” as he described them.

Northern Tuscan colonnade, St Peter's Square, Vatican City

The northern colonnade. Another of Bernini’s touches are the two spots in the square where the rows of columns that are 4 deep appear as one

Before it was the site of St Peter’s Basilica, the area outside the early walls of Rome was known as vaticanus ager or “Vatican territory” and was a poor, destitute area. During Caligula’s short 4-year reign as Roman Emperor he started construction of a chariot race course which was finished by his nephew Claudius, but took the name of the subsequent Emperor, Circus of Nero. It was Caligula who had the Egyptian obelisk moved from Alexandria to Rome to be the centrepiece and central marker of the race course, and which now sits in the centre of St Peter’s Square.

The Egyptian obelisk, St. Peter's Square, Vatican City

The Egyptian obelisk stands in the centre of St Peter’s Square. It was moved to this spot in 1586, and the square was designed and built around it 100 years later by Gian Lorenzo Bernini

It was during Nero’s brutal games and persecution of early Christians at this circus, next to this Egyptian obelisk that St. Peter was crucified. As we learnt in Pompeii, it was the custom that bodies were buried along the roads outside the towns and cities, and the remains of St. Peter were buried to the north of the circus, on the side of the Vatican hill.

Nearly 250 years later, Rome and Christianity united under the first Christian Emperor Constantine the Great. As well as ordering the construction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem where it is believed Jesus was crucified, and the construction of the first St Peter’s Basilica on the site of Peter’s remains, Constantine also built a new imperial residence in Byzantium and renamed the city after himself.. Constantinople. It was to become the capital of the Empire for over a thousand years, and today we know it as Istanbul.

Maderno's façade of St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City

The façade of St. Peter’s Basilica designed by Carlo Maderno, appointed chief architect by Pope Paul V in 1602 to complete the designs and work of the new St. Peter’s Basilica started by Pope Julius II in the 16th century

We’d read the queues to get into St Peter’s Basilica quickly go from a few minutes to an hour or more, so we saved the square for later and made straight for the entrance. 15 minutes later we were standing in the amazing façade where we also picked up an audioguide.

Façade of St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City

Inside the very impressive Façade of St. Peter’s Basilica. It was built specifically to allow the Pope to address the congregation in St. Peter’s Square from a window above the main entrance archway. The doors into St. Peter’s Basilica are all different

After listening to the enthusiastic audio introduction, we stepped inside what is regarded as the greatest building of its age..

Looking down the nave of St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City

Looking down the nave of St. Peter’s Basilica, the most important church in Catholicism

Wow. Our first impressions were every definition and application of splendid – gold and white, marble everywhere, and everything in amazing condition, especially considering its age and the number of visitors it receives. The building itself is a masterwork, both inside and out, and is similarly adorned with priceless works of art in celebration of the faith. Specifically, there were 3 main works we were keen to see up close. The first, Michelangelo’s Pietà..

Michelangelo's Pieta, St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City

Like the museums of the Vatican, St. Peter’s Basilica contains some of the world’s most acclaimed art such as Michelangelo’s Pietà

Statue of St. Peter, St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City

The second major work of art is this bronze statue of Saint Peter holding the keys of heaven by Arnolfo di Cambio

The foot of the statue of St. Peter, St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City

.. apparently, rubbing or kissing the feett of St. Peter will curry favour and assist your entry into Heaven, but you’ll have to hurry – there’s not much left of them!

Bernini's bronze baldachin, St Peter's Basilica, Vatican City

Finally, the 30m (98ft) bronze baldachin or canopy designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini sits over the high altar and the location of St. Peter’s remains. It is believed to be the largest piece of bronze work in the world

As the basilica started to fill up with coach parties and tour groups, we headed down the steps at the foot of the giant statue of St. Andrew into the peaceful grotto below. In this solemn space where 91 previous pontiffs rest in peace, we also saw some of the foundations of the original Constantine basilica. The remains of St. Peter himself are in a separate tomb below this one which it is possible to visit but needs to be booked well in advance.

The exit of the catacombs set us neatly at the entrance to the ~500 steps to climb the famous dome atop St. Peter’s Basilica. The first 170 or so are optional as there’s a lift that gets you to the roof, but we opted for the stairs all the way. After the roof, we entered the base of the dome and weren’t expecting the view inside St Peter’s..

Dome gallery, St Peter's Basilica, Vatican City

Entering the base of the dome was an unexpected treat as we thought we’d just get to see it from the floor or to see the outside from the roof

Dome of St Peter's Basilica, Vatican City

The incredibly detailed dome of St Peter’s is also the tallest dome in the world. That fact surprised us as it didn’t feel as tall to us compared to standing on the floor in Haghia Sophia in Istanbul

On exiting the dome we thought we’d just get a view of the square from the roof, but there was more! The stairs started up between the dome’s walls and quickly gained a slant..

The further we ascended, the more the walls curved and leaned with the shape of the dome. And yes, I am standing upright!

Of the changes to the plans for St. Peter’s Basilica that occurred during the 120 years it took to complete, the giant dome influenced by both the Pantheon and the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower in Florence remained true to Donato Bramante’s initial vision. And the view is certainly worth the climb as you get to stand on the very top!

View of St. Peter's Square from the top of the dome, St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City

The view from the top of St. Peter’s Basilica of the roof and St Peter’s Square is easily worth the climb – wow!

After taking far too many photos of the Vatican from the 360° viewpoint of the dome, we descended back to the roof where we found a gift shop, a Vatican post box and a small cafe, so we stopped for a quick coffee while writing out some postcards for friends and family back home – posted from the roof of the most important church in all of Christendom!

The dome of St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City

The dome of St. Peter’s Basilica as viewed from the roof – we were just up there!

Posting on the roof of St Peter's Basilica, Vatican City

Us sending postcards from the roof of St. Peter’s Basilica!

Reggia di Caserta, Naples, Italy

2 Replies

The Reggia di Caserta or Royal Palace of Caserta is the largest royal residence in the world. Started in 1752 by Charles VII of Naples, he abdicated just 7 years later to become becoming King Charles III of Spain before it was finished.

The Royal Palace of Caserta. Largely inspired by the Palace of Versailles in Paris in terms of looks and choice of location away from the hustle and bustle

We thought we’d make the most of the nice morning and walked straight through the palace to start with the huge gardens..

View of the gardens, Royal Palace of Caserta, Naples, Italy

The view of the extensive gardens from the ground floor of the palace. Lovely!

Fountain of the dolphins on the cascade, Royal Palace of Caserta, Naples, Italy!

The first of the waterfalls on the cascade that flows towards the palace is the Fountain of Dolphins. Its scale and lavishness reminded us of Peterhof palace in St. Petersburg, Russia

Fountain of Aeolus on the cascade, Royal Palace of Caserta, Naples, Italy

The largest of the fountains on the cascade – the Fountain of Aeolus, who was the ruler of the winds according to Greek mythology

Cascade, Royal Palace of Caserta, Naples, Italy

The sections of water are separated by long rectangular lawns that end at fountains or pools. It’s a really nice effect and beginning of the waterfall on the side of the hill also reminded us of Alnwick Gardens near home

At the final fountain we found the entrance to Il Giardino Inglese – the English Garden!

Ruins in the English Garden, Royal Palace of Caserta, Naples, Italy

Our favourite part of the English Garden was this deliberate ruin on an island in the middle of the lake

After a spot of lunch and a look around the garden’s greenhouse, we headed back down the formal cascade to check out the state and royal rooms of the palace.

Cappella Palatina, Royal Palace of Caserta, Naples, Italy

At the top of the grand entrance staircase is the Palatina Chapel. The chapel was badly damaged and the artwork was lost due to bombing in World War II, and has been reconstructed

Sala Alabardieri, Royal Palace of Caserta, Naples, Italy

The first of the grand rooms on the tour route is the Sale Alabardier, or room of the halberdier (men armed with a halberd). Sumptuous!

Throne Room, Royal Palace of Caserta, Naples, Italy

After the Sala Alabardieri, we walked through another 6 large state rooms, each as exquisitely decorated, before reaching the largest and most stately – the Throne Room. The Royal Palace of Caserta exceeds the Palace of Versailles in number of rooms decorated with frescoes

The tour route then goes through some of the more private royal apartment rooms such as bedrooms, bathrooms, studies and the library, before ending with a couple of armoury rooms and the royal nativity which is even bigger than the ones we saw on Via San Gregorio Armeno, the “Nativity Street”.

The Royal Nativity Scene, Royal Palace of Caserta, Naples, Italy

The massive nativity scene reminded us of Via San Gregorio Armeno in the centre of Naples, otherwise known as “Nativity Street”

The Palace of Caserta deservedly holds UNESCO World Heritage status. We loved wandering through the gardens reminiscing about home and the other places we’ve visited on our trip that it reminded us of. It’s also worth a final mention that you’ve probably seen it already, especially if you’re a fan of Star Wars, and it also doubles for The Vatican in the movie Angels and Demons!

Art in Naples, Italy

Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte

The Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte on a very grey, wet day. Fortunately the rain held off until we were safely inside

Located in the grand Palace of Capodimonte, the National Museum of the same name hosts special exhibitions as well as an extensive permanent collection displayed in exquisitely decorated rooms, which reminded us of the style, if not the scope, of the Hermitage in St Petersberg.

Royal Apartments, Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte, Naples, Italy

The Royal Apartments includes 18th century furniture, such as this table with numbered squares of different marble on the top, like a samples book for kitchen tops!

Started in 1738 by King Charles VII, then King of Naples and Sicily, initial plans for a hunting lodge were extended in favour of a larger Royal Palace to house his growing entourage and also somewhere to put the recently inherited Farnese Art Collection after the death of his mother, Elisabetta Farnese. We saw some of the large marble statues of the same Farnese Art Collection when we visited the the Archeological Museum.

Triptych with scenes from the Passion, Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte, Naples, Italy

The National Collection takes up most of the palace, and comprises art that ranges from the 13th to the 18th centuries. Among the rooms dedicated to religious art this one stood out as it’s from England! “Triptych with scenes from the Passion”, 2nd half of the 15th century

The Flagellation of Christ by Caravaggio, 1607, Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte, Naples, Italy

We continued our trail of Caravaggio from Malta with a highlight of the museum’s permanent collection – “The Flagellation of Christ” by Caravaggio, painted in Naples in 1607

Royal rooms, Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte, Naples, Italy

One of the many grand royal rooms gave us a break from painting and statue fatigue, this one is the ballroom and we thought it appropriate to waltz through it. Without music

Julie admiring works of the permanent collection, Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte, Naples, Italy

Julie admiring works of the permanent collection. We also enjoyed the huge collection of banquet porcelain and the 3 rooms of armour and weaponry

Rainy day at the Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte, Naples, Italy

A good day to be inside.. we saw flashes of lightning and heard huge crashes of thunder during our visit. We waited in the cafe for a lighter spell before heading home!

Pio Monte della Misericordia

View of the Pio Monte della Misericordia church from the little choir on the first floor, with Caravaggio’s “The Seven Works of Mercy” in pride of place above the altar

The Pio Monte della Misericordia, loosely translated as the “Pious Mount of Mercy”, is a charitable brotherhood founded in August 1601 by seven young nobles, who met every Friday at the Hospital for Incurables and ministered to the sick. Through their own donations of time, money and encouragement, they built a reputation and with a little help established an institution and commissioned a small church.

"The Seven Works of Mercy" by Caravaggio, Pio Monte della Misericordia, Naples, Italy

Close up of “The Seven Works of Mercy” by Caravaggio. He was originally commissioned to produce seven separate paintings, but presented a single painting depicting all 7 works instead. They are: Bury the dead; Visit the imprisoned, and feed the hungry; Shelter the homeless; Clothe the naked; Visit the sick; and Refresh the thirsty

Today the small circular church and attached museum is famous for the altarpiece that was commissioned for it entitled “The Seven Works of Mercy” by Caravaggio. We’d picked up Caravaggio’s trail in Malta where he’d fled after an altercation in Italy, and so we felt like we were retracing his steps as he returned to Italy through Sicily.

Brotherhood meeting table, Pio Monte della Misericordia, Naples, Italy

This is the table the brotherhood met at every week to discuss the activities of the association. Today it’s housed in the museum rooms surrounding the church

An interesting part of the museum’s collection is a room filled with an artists example’s of compositional elements such as depictions of saints in various postures. It hadn’t really occurred to us that when commissioning artworks the painter might have such a ‘catalogue’ to call upon to help the commissioner decide. The museum’s information also explained that the artist would often produce rough sketches of the overall composition before starting work on the final painting.

Compositional artworks, Pio Monte della Misericordia, Naples, Italy

The contents of Francesco de Mura’s studio were donated to the brotherhood, and included these compositional artworks used to help clients decide on elements of their commissioned paintings. The four smaller paintings of the same subject have clearly visible numbers painted in the bottom corners

Cappella Sansevero

Inside the Chapel of Sansevero, Naples, Italy

Behind a large but otherwise unimposing doorway in a Neapolitan back street is the delightful Chapel of Sansevero. Photo source: Museo Sansevero

Originally built in 1590 as a family chapel and later converted to a burial chapel, the Cappella Sansevero or Chapel of Sansevero was given its final elaborate decor by the 7th Prince of San Severo, Raimondo di Sangro who asked his ancestors not to alter it in his will.

Known as an inventor, soldier, writer, scientist, alchemist and freemason, Raimondo was a prolific experimenter and re-designed the family chapel adorning it with astounding works of art such as the sculptures of his mother and father that take pride of place either side of the alter.

Sansevero Statues, Cappella Sansevero, Naples, Italy

Raimondo di Sangro commissioned many works to embellish the family chapel, such as these figures which continue the theme of virtues but also represent his parents. Photo source: Museo Sansevero

However, the most famous piece he commissioned is by Giuseppe Sanmartino called The Veiled Christ. A masterpiece of marble sculpture that depicts the body of Christ under a fine veil..

The Veiled Christ by Giuseppe Sanmartino, Cappella Sansevero, Naples, Italy

The Veiled Christ by Giuseppe Sanmartino is a masterwork of sculpture. It’s not without controversy though, as Raimondo di Sangro had a reputation for trickery and not revealing the workings of his experiments. It is believed that the material or process used for The Veiled Christ is of his invention and it has an uncharacteristically high gloss sheen to it. He destroyed a lot of his records before he died so we will never know for sure. Regardless, it is beautiful to behold. Photo source: Museo Sansevero

Besides the amazing works of sculpture, another marble marvel caught our imagination. The original floor of the chapel consisted of a repeating geometric pattern with a dividing white marble line that was apparently unbroken. Said to represent the path to enlightenment, it was sadly broken beyond repair by an earthquake and only fragments of the floor remain.

The original floor of the Cappella Sansevero, Naples, Italy

The original flooring of the main chapel was this grand 3-dimensional grey marble. Photo source: Museo Sansevero

Via San Gregorio Armeno – “Nativity Street”

The narrow, busy Via San Gregorio Armeno, otherwise known as Nativity Street because almost every shopfront is a model factory

Not a museum as such, the street near Cappella Sansevero has long been home to workshops that make models primarily for elaborate nativity scenes. The street has a long history of modelling, as it was home to a statue of Ceres in the Classic era which was worshipped by leaving small clay figures that were produced in the vicinity.

Large Nativity Model, Via San Gregorio Armeno, Naples, Italy

One of the biggest nativity scenes we saw was this one at the back of a shop that showed off all of the models they make – each figure is about 1 ½ inches tall

Today, most of the models are still made of clay and it was a nice change from the traditional arts of sculptures and paintings to see a sort of living art on display.

Nativity Street model collage, Via San Gregorio Armeno, Naples, Italy

We liked the variation of the model subjects as they weren’t just limited to the Christian nativity. Clockwise from top-left: Joseph; Camel-mounted wise man; box of un-painted figures and body parts; One model maker had a stand of celebrities, here are our very own Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (let’s just ignore the hair colour of baby George that points towards the father being Prince Harry rather than Prince William..)

Museo d’Arte contemporanea DonnaREgina (MADRE)

The not-so-easy-to-find MADRE Museum of Contemporary Art is worth the hunt

We’ve visited quite a few modern art museums on our travels thus far, and we thought the Museo MADRE would be a nice change from the wonderful old architecture and baroque masterpieces. That is if we could find it! Our tourist map showed it on the main Via Foria and we saw the banners but couldn’t find the entrance anywhere nearby, so we stopped to ask someone who read the address on said banners and gestured that it was the parallel street south of Via Foria!

Line of Chance by Richard Long, Museo MADRE, Naples, Italy

The first piece we liked was ‘Line of Chance’ by Richard Long, a thick border line painted near the ceiling then covered in mud which is left splattered down the walls. We liked that the space had been used by schoolchildren and there were a couple of small hand prints on the walls near the sinks

Spirits by Rebecca Horn, Museo MADRE, Naples, Italy

One of my favourites was this installation of skulls, lights and moving mirrors called ‘Spirits’ by Rebecca Horn. Imagine three sides of the room with these at varying eye-height, the light and partial reflections slowly moving. Wonderfully weird! Photo source: Museo MADRE

Dark Brother by Anish Kapoor, Museo MADRE, Naples, Italy

Another piece that stood out was this one called ‘Dark Brother’ by Anish Kapoor. It’s an optical illusion that appears to be both a black hole in the ground, and a painted black rectangle. We tried looking at it from different angles behind the glass barrier but we couldn’t discern which it was. The museum staff member took a bit of delight watching us trying to work it out, and it reminded us of James Turrell’s work on Naoshima, Japan. Photo source: Museo MADRE

Gallerie d’Italia, Palazzo Zevallos Stigliano

The sumptuous central foyer of the Gallerie d’Italia, Palazzo Zevallos Stigliano. The art museum is on the second floor to the right

The Palazzo Zevallos Stigliano is 1 of 3 Gallerie d’Italia operated by the Cultural Project of the banking group Intesa Sanpaolo, the 2nd largest banking group in Italy. The beautiful baroque palace on via Toledo, the main shopping high street in Naples, is home to a small but important art collection that includes another of Caravaggio’s works..

The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula by Caravaggio, Gallerie d’Italia, Palazzo Zevallos Stigliano, Naples, Italy

The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula by Caravaggio, thought to be the last picture he painted before he died en-route to Rome

Thought to be his last work, The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula depicts the moment Ursula, having refused the Hun king’s marriage request is dispatched by an arrow from his bow.

Gallery, Gallerie d’Italia, Palazzo Zevallos Stigliano, Naples, Italy

We really liked the small, intimate and lavishly decorated gallery rooms that didn’t leave us overwhelmed

Other highlights of this small but well-laid out museum where the Judith beheads Holophernes by Louis Finson, one of the first flemish Caravaggisti (to paint in the style of Caravaggio), and a small exhibition of Vincenzo Gemito whose work we saw in a special exhibition at the Capodimonte – the first museum we visited in Naples!

Special exhibit of Vincenzo Gemito, Gallerie d’Italia, Palazzo Zevallos Stigliano, Naples, Italy

The exhibit of Vincenzo Gemito was one of our favourites, even though we’d seen a lot of his work in the Capodimonte earlier in our stay

The best pizza is in Naples, Italy

two year trip

Andrew and Julie's Travelling Adventures