Regionale 21410 to Napoli centrale
I thought that the trains of the Ferrovia Alifana to Piedimonte Matese stop in Caserta on their way. I wanted to take these local trains from Caserta via Cancello to Napoli but …. I cannot find the station. There is no indication of any kind on the display of the station in Caserta and no signs guide you to where it is supposed to leave. Even now, when I look on Free Railroad Map, I wonder where these trains stop in Caserta.
Train to Napoli in the station of Caserta
The ordinary train is one of the ubiquitous rail cars. It leaves Caserta station in western direction and approaches Napoli via Aversa and a number of other intermediate stops. The train is short but sufficient even for the number of additional passengers getting on at the intermediate stations.
High speed trains in Napoli Centrale
Traditionally the reputation of Napoli is bad. I was there once in 1985 for a couple of days only. It was in spring. It was dirty and the locals were gathered around garbage they burned in the streets to warm their hands. Traffic was ruthless, chaotic and without any rules. The crime rate was high. Although we did not have any bad experiences ourselves there were warnings of pickpockets and robbery. Motorcyclists were snatching bags from pedestrians or backpacks and pockets of trousers or jackets were sliced open to steal the content. Few tourists were seen in the street and the phenomena of street cafes and al fresco dining at curb side were unseen. Corruption was widespread and the municipal authorities were controlled by the local mafia, the Camorra.
Waiting for a train
Maybe that was the reason that Napoli for a long time was one of the world’s most underestimated tourist destinations. The location at the bay of Napoli with the narrow alleys of the old town leading up gentle slopes to hilltop fortresses, mansions and monasteries already is beautiful. From there the view of the bay with Vesuvius and the Amalfi peninsula in the background is probably one of the most spectacular in Italy. The town itself is full of architectural witnesses of a long history starting with the settlers of Magna Graecia and followed by the Romans. Afterwards, Napoli was Italy’s biggest town for a big part of the last millenium. In 1854, for example, it had a population of 384000, more than Milan and Rome combined. The various rulers of Renaissance and Baroque states left a rich legacy of architecture. The rulers took care that the town housed a selection of musea which owned some of the important sights of Italian art history. And as if this would not be enough, the surroundings offer unique sights such as the archaeological excavations of Herculaneum and Pompeji, the volcanic phenomenona of the Phlegraean Fields and the Vesuvius and the spectacular Amalfi coast.
Where will it be?
Like Roma Termini, the terminus of Napoli Centrale is a huge hub with layers of commerce as soon as you have left the platform. But the first thing I notice is a book store which stretches across three floors of the modern station building and also offers a big selection of foreign language books.
The underground shopping passage at Piazza Garibaldi
Outside the station Piazza Guiseppe Garibaldi has been refurbished. Escalators and wide staircases for the consumer king drop into a vast opening covered with a fancy roof to allow access to an underground shopping passage. The square itself has a big pleasant pedestrian zone with plenty of busy street cafes. Shops catering for tourists sell souvenirs, many related to Napoli’s greatest passion, the soccer team.
The abyss of the Napolitan street
However, to get to my hotel I have to leave the station at the south side. This is where the entrance gate for the long distance busses is. The sidewalk is blocked with a barrier, the pavement is patchy and irregular, garbage is floating around everywhere and obscure characters sit in shady corners. The traffic is ceaseless and I am not sure whether they will stop at a zebra crossing. In addition, even if a car notices you and has the grace to stop there is a high probability that a scooter or motorcycle will pass with an acrobatic turn.
Street seller
To the west, Corso Umberto I and its side streets behind Piazza Garibaldi teem with life. Shops have spread out onto the pavement and between the parked cars. In between the shops, merchants of small businesses display their goods on makeshift tables or on a bedsheet on the ground. The basic vendors just offers a selection of lighters, a handfull of batteries or a power bank. And everywhere the colors blue and white of the soccer team and portraits of their main hero, the legendary Diego Maradonna, who led them to their first two league titles in 1987 and 1990. They won the Italian championship again in 2023.
Napolitan courtyard
The tall houses turn the streets into gorges. Like elsewhere in Italy laundry is suspended on lines in front of the windows. A woman on a balcony pulls up her groceries on a rope. Every available space seems to be used here. If the space is too small to park a car it is filled with scooters.
Strolling through Napoli
The closer I get to the old center around the Duomo, the narrower the alleys get and the amount of tourists increases. The businesses become more like caves with the owners sitting next to the entrances staring in their phones. You would think that it is too cramped for motorized traffic here. There is hardly enough space for the pedestrians. Nevertheless some intrepid motorcycle or scooter tries his luck and even an odd car is stuck between the sweating bodies.
Buildings from different eras
Many of the shops exhibit presepe napoletano to lure the passer-by into their caves. These typical Neapolitan Nativity Scenes blend the Holy Family into the vibrant everyday life of Naples in the 18th century. Ancient Roman ruins, crumbling palaces, or lively Neapolitan alleyways intricately constructed from cork and wood are populated by market vendors, pizza bakers, musicians, beggars, and drunks. There seems to be a competition who has the most interesting Scarabattola, which is the Neapolitan word for the display case or wall enclosure housing these scenes.
Caverneous souvenir shop in Napoli
Scarabattolas
Most popular: the pope or soccer heroes
Religion and faith still are firmly rooted in the population here. There are plenty of churches and chapels which offer daily services. At the street corners images of the holy Madonna watch the bustle in the street from above. I flee from the hectic into the quiet of a cloister.
San Lorenzo Maggiore
The church of San Lorenzo Maggiore was at the exact center of the historic Roman-Greek settlement, the site of the Roman Forum. It was common to fill in old buildings with rubble and then use that for the foundations of new buildings. Therefore it is usually interesting to carry out excavations under the floor of churches to reveals the layers of these previous older buildings.
Roman market area under the church
In the case of San Lorenzo, about half of an original Roman market has been found in three layers. The ancient sales counters are clearly distinguishable. There are nine different workshops, each with two rooms. The remains of a bakery and dyeing works can be distinguished. On the lowest level the remains of the aqueduct for the distribution of water and the sewers are preserved. In some spots the water still flows through the old ditches.
The cloister of San Lorenzo Maggiore
Already in the 6th century bishop Giovanni commissioned a basilica above the former Forum. In the 13th century, when Napels was owned by the Angevins, it was remodeled in the French Gothic style. In 1234 the Franciscans replaced the Minor monks and found their first monastery in Naples. The cloister gives access to the gothic Capitol hall from the 14th century, the meeting place of the monks. The beautiful, vaulted ceiling was covered with colorful decorations in 1608.
The Capitol hall
Through another small antichamber the cloister gives access to the Sixto V room, the refectory, the dining hall of the monks. The size indicates how big the monastery was and how many monks had to be fed here. The room was so big that in the 15th century it was used as the meeting room of the Neapolitan parliament.
The Sixto V room, the refectory
Later the vaulted ceiling was decorated by the same artist as the Capitol hall. The frescoes represent the christian virtues and the kingdom’s provinces in the 16th century.
Frescoes representing the christian virtues
The gothic basilica is closed. A long lunch break is common in the south. The many cafes and restaurants under the ancient arches of the arcades are filled with tourists consuming their mandatory Aperol Spritz. Sometimes an open gate offers a surprising view into a courtyard, architectural jewels who did not find a lover yet and are degraded to cramped parking lots.
Courtyard
In the medieval times each guild had its proper zone or street. In many ancient parts of Naples this is unchanged up to now. There even is one alley which is only occupied by book-sellers. The books are presented on tables in the open.
Street of the book sellers
In the time when transport still relied mainly on horses or carriers the parts of Napoli on the surrounding hills were not easy to reach. Like in Valparaiso in Chile or in Genoa this led to the construction of a number of funiculars. The first, opened in 1880, went up the Vesuvius. Unfortunately it does not exist any more. The remaining four climb to scenic points for the iconic view of the town, the bay and Vesuvius in the background.
Via Montesanto which leads to the Montesante elevator
The funicular of Montesanto’s steeply climbing track is visible from far away when you find your way along the straight gorge of Montesanto street from Piazza Bellini. In a bit more than 4 minutes this funicular climbs up 830 m with an average gradient of 20.84 % to Morghen with an intermediate stop at Corso Vittorio Emanuele. From there it is only a short walk to Castel Sant Elmo, the enormous fortress watching over the town and port.
Via Montesanto with the funicular in the background
The funicular was opened in 1891. The station, externally beautiful in a classical style with columns and an upstairs terrace but internally modern, also gives access to the Metro and the Cumana and Circumflegrea railways. It is correspondingly difficult to find the way to the funicular.
Entrance to Montesanto station
When I finally discover the entrance it turns out that it was recently, on May 15, 2026, taken out of service to allow for the start of its twenty-year general overhaul which is supposed to be finished after 9 month in February 2027. Maybe they will also construct an intermediate station at Sant Elmo which has been discussed for 130 years. I hope the maintenance does not take 20 years….
Quartiere Spagnoli in Napoli
Fortunately there are two other funiculars leading up into the neighborhood of Vomero where the castle can be found. I make my way to the Funicolare Chiaia. I have to cross the Quartieri Spagnoli, another classical cramped Neapolitan neighborhood with narrow lanes arranged into a checker board. The high buildings keep the sun out and leave the bottom in the coolness of permanent shade. The reflections of the light on the pastel colored facades give the houses a pleasant hue.
The alleys in the Spanish quarter offer a view of the port and Vesuvius
Plenty of restaurants spill their tables onto the narrow path here as well. Guests sit undisturbed and watch the frequently attractive passerby's who agitatedly shout in their phones. Again I wonder that these harsh and loud sounds can emerge from such beautiful little bodies.
One of the many shrines in the quartiere spagnoli
The cross streets offer glimpses of Vesuvius far in the background in one direction and the looming Castel Sant Elmo in the other. At the street corners shrines venerating the Madonna compete for space with images of Diego Madonna or the Napoli soccer team.
Street corner in the Spanish quarter
The Chiara funicular’s lower terminus is at Parco Margherita. The line, built in 1889, was the first Neapolitan funicular. Initially steam-powered, it is approximately 500 meters long and climbs with a maximum gradient of 29.81%. Including the termini there are four stations. Unfortunately most of the line is in a tunnel and there is no nice view during the ride.
Entrance and ticket counter of the Chiaia funicular
The twenty year overhaul of the Chiara funicular started in 2022. It did not take 20 years but two years and 4 months. Each carriage can carry 250 people. Each year more than 3 million use the line. Both in the lower and the upper station there is a counter where an employee actually waits for somebody who wants to buy a ticket.
Ready to depart
The funicular ends in a beautifully restored upper terminal. Across the street there is a friendly cafe. A real Italian detests people who drink Cappuccino after 12. Instead I order an Americano and a pastry. Nowhere here do you have to pay in advance. On the contrary they look surprised when you ask for the bill when you order. Obviously everybody is honest enough to come back and pay afterwards. Coffee is usually not much more than a Euro. Tips are an insult. Drink and food of course is served at your table.
The upper terminal and the friendly cafe across the street
A flirty girl sells me a ticket for the grounds of the enormous Castel Sant Elmo. There had been a fortification here as early as 1275, the current hexagonal structure was built by order of the Aragonese rulers of Naples between 1537 and 1547. At the time it was called Castel Sant'Erasmo.
Castel St. Elmo
The Aragonese were under the rule of His holy majesty, Charles V, Roman emperor of the German nation. His coat of arms with a two-headed Imperial eagle can be seen above the entrance. With its high walls surrounded by a moat, a double tenaille, numerous embrasures in the bastions, the castle was adapted well to the topography of the site.
View over Napoli, the bay, Vesuvius and Certosa di San Martino from Castel Sant Elmo
The long entrance ramp could be fired upon from above before leading - past a drawbridge and the gate - through a tunnel into the inner courtyard. It is possible to walk around the fortress on the ramparts. The walk gives a 360 degrees view of Napoli, the bay, Vesuvius, the hinterland with the palace of Caserta and the mountains as a backdrop. A cruise ship is busy leaving the port. Below the fortress in the foreground of the panorama of the bay is the Certosa di San Martino, a former Carthusian monastery which now houses a museum of the Spanish and Bourbon era of Napoli.
Funiculare Centrale
For my way down I take the Funiculare Centrale, which connects Piazza Ferdinando Fuga in Vomero with Piazzetta Duca d'Aosta. Opened 1928 it covers a height of 170 m over a length of 1230 m with a maximum gradient of 15.24 %. The entire track is in a tunnel.
One of the old cars of Funiculare Centrale
Its last 20 year overhaul was between August 2016 and July 2017. In that time the top station was beautifully restored to its old appearance. However, the equipment is modern. An old coach has been preserved in the lower terminal station, where the visitor also can appreciate some of the machinery used to pull the coaches up the slope.
Entrance to Funiculare Centrale
The Funiculare Centrale has two intermediate stations. Interesting enough the line features an express service. It alternates with the slow trains and does not stop at the intermediate stations.
Galleria Umberto I
The lower terminal of Funiculare Centrale at Augusteo is close to the posh royal center of Napoli. Like other Italian cities Napoli is home to an impressive shopping gallery, the Galleria Umberto I. It was built in 1887-1890, the time of the “risanamento”, decades of the rebuilding of Naples to "making it healthy again". Its cross-shaped aisles are 147 m long and 32 m high and the central dome reaches a height of 57 m. The imposing dome distracts from other details like the rich decoration of the walls and the icons in the mosaic floor that remind of antique mosaiques. Together with the historic center of Napoli the galleria is a UNESCO monument.
Palazzo Reale and the Piazza de Plebiscito
From the opposite entrance of the galleria you reach the teatro di San Carlo which already is a part of the sprawling Palazzo Reale, the royal palace of Napoli. Its main facade faces the Piazza de Plebiscito. The square is decorated with two equestrian statues, of King Fernando I and of Charles of Bourbon. The opposite side of the Piazza is formed by a circular colonnade with, in its center, the monumental classicist Basilica di San Francesco di Paola. In its architectonic purity and grandeur it has few competitors in Europe.
Gran Caffè Gambrinus
The Piazza San Marco in Venice would be one. Like there the Piazza de Plebiscito has its classic café. The Gran Caffè Gambrinus with its stucco ceilings, gilded decorations, huge candelabers, mirrors on the wall and waiters in a black bow-tie attire is a remnant of the past when the haute-volée of politicians and businessmen met here to read the paper and discuss the affairs. Today it has to cater to a crowd of slobbily dressed tourists. Men with hairy white legs in ugly shorts and over-weight women covered in tattoos make selfies with their phones instead of reading a newspaper.
Garbage dump in the center of Napoli
But there is still some remnant of style in this part of Napoli. In the courtyard of the palace tables are set for a stylish dinner. The classical tunes of a string quartet reverberate in the space. A white dance floor has been prepared. Beautiful girls in fancy dresses and young men in gala uniform nervously await the beginning of the festivity, the gran Balle delle Debuttanti de 236º Corso. The protagonists are 41 couples consisting of cadets and young debutantes of the Scuola Militare Nunziatella.
Members of the Balle delle Debuttanti
Their ancestors would have been rotting away in the wet battlements of the Castel Nuovo next door, awaiting the attack of some invader on the port of Naples.
Balle delle Debuttanti
Covered in sweat I walk back to my hotel close to Napoli Centrale station. This time I choose a way across the neighborhoods between Corso Umberto I and the main road, Via Nuova Martina, which separates Napoli from the port and its beautiful bay. It is late, the shops are closed, the open air market stands and vendors have disappeared. One has left his stand at a street corner, just covered with a sheet. He seems to trust the locals.
Vacation of a market stand
It is strange to see those busy streets suddenly without life. I look around to spot anything suspicious, strange characters in dark corners or groups of hooded young chaps waiting to mug a tired stranger but my preoccupation is unjustified. Living beings are either in a car or on a scooter.
Break time for the guard of a garage
The guard of a parking garage has put a chair outside at the curb to enjoy the breeze. The parking garage in the next street has a more reliable guard: Saint Francis seems to talk to the passing cars from his enclosure.
Shrine for the protection of a parking garage
In the next lane a barber shop is still open, but there are no clients. The owner sits next to his entrance and does what everybody does…. he stares in his phone. Behind him looms the impressive tower of the Chiesa di San Eligio. It was built end of the 13th century in the Angevin period. Like so many of Napoli’s rulers the Angevins were foreigners. The church not only served as a burial place for them but also was part of a hospital. Therefore it was just outside the city walls.
Chiesa di San Eligio
A fifteenth-century arch connects the church bell tower with the building across the narrow alley. Above the opening is a huge ancient clock. Underneath are the two small heads of a young girl named Irene Malarbi and Duke Antonello Caracciolo. They are the protagonists of a sixteenth-century legend narrated by Benedetto Croce.
Busts of Irene Malarbi and Duke Antonello Caracciolo
Caracciolo, an unscrupulous nobleman, had fallen in love with the young virgin. When she refused he had her father unjustly condemned. In exchange for his release he demanded the girl's surrender to the duke. The unfortunate girl relented to free her father. However, the family asked Isabella of Trastámara, daughter of the sovereign Ferdinand II of Aragon, for justice. Isabella showed no mercy to the powerful duke. To restore the young woman's honor, she issued a spectacular Salomonic verdict: she first compelled Antonello Caracciolo to marry Irene officially (providing the girl with a generous royal dowry). Immediately after the wedding, the duke was executed by beheading for his crime.
Piazza Mercato
The church borders the Piazza Mercato. The square is surrounded by colorful little houses. However, during world war II parts of Napoli were heavily bombed. This resulted in the destruction of part of the old town and also of the Chiesa di San Eligio. While the church was rebuilt to its original gothic glory parts of the surrounding building were replaced by huge apartment blocks.
The other corner of Piazza Mercato
It is quiet now on the square. Teenagers on bikes play hide and seek. Garbage has been piled up to little works of art. The sun is about to set. I am hurrying to get to my hotel.
The station of Mergellina
There is still another funicular to be visited in Napoli. Tde next day I take the metro that is formed by the ordinary train to the station of Mergellina. The stop is on a short platform between two tunnels. The station building was recently beautifully restored. Unfortunately they still have to find some use for it. The wide entrance hall is empty. There is nothing behind the richly decorated wooden counters.
The station of Mergellina
The interior
The funicolare di Mergellina inaugurated on 24 May 1931 was the most redent of the Neapolitan funiculars. With a length of 560 metres it connects Mergellina with Posillipo, a difference in height of 157 metres with an average gradient of 16.87% and a maximum of 46.57%. There are five stops along its route.
Lower entrance to funicolare di Mergellina
The old car of funicolare di Mergellina
The entrance to the lift is in a beautifully decorated, renovated classicist building on Via Mergellina. After a long time of abandonment it was renovated in the 1990ies. Again, a little exposition in the lower terminal shows the progress over the old small coach and the antique machinery.
Vesuvius and the bay from the summit of funicolare di Mergellina
Inside the funicular
The upper part of this railway actually travels in open air. Standing at the lower part of the carriage you get not only a beautiful view of the bay but also of the posh neighborhood on the slope. Close to the upper terminal is the Belvedere Iannello. The intermediate Station of Parco Angelina gives access to a view point at Posillipo.
The terminal of funicolare di Mergellina
Although Belvedere Iannello is in a posh neighborhood and allows a glimpse into gardens and rooftop terraces of expensive mansions it is covered in rubbish. Students sit in the cafe with their laptops discussing papers. However, the cafe is not very inviting. I watch the freighters anchored in the bay and decide to go down again.
Scooter race at Via Mergellina
The lower terminal on Via Mergellina is right at the coast. Across the busy road, where scooters and motorcycles are roaring in impatient expectation of a hurried departure, is a little harbor for pleasure boats. Of course it is protected by a shrine. In between the many plastic boats some small fishing boats remain as witnesses of the original function of the harbor. Lovely old fashioned blue and white beach houses serve as a shelter. Nevertheless is the pier and the beach littered with a mess of fishing utensils covered by plastic sheets and surrounded by garbage.
The beach at Via Mergellina
The messy appearance doesn’t prevent local families to use the beach for their weekend outing. Baking in the sun on stretchers and beach chairs they have a good time. The smoke from BBQ’s carry the smell of burning meat and fish. Food trucks and stands provide snacks and drinks for those who did not bring their own fare. Vesuvius on one side and the fortress of Sant Elmo on the other provide a scenic background.
Food stall at Via Mergellina
I for myself find an outside table at Salvatore a Mergellina, where a loud, but friendly madrone rules over the Indian waiters of an original Neapolitan restaurant. It is still early and only a few tables are occupied by tourists. I have fresh octopus, seafood risotto and a cold beer.
The beach at Mergellina
Sources:
Salvatore a Mergellina
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