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The luxury of Naples

DSC01912The light on the sea in Naples is like oxygen for the mind.  It has space and calm, and is free of dark cobbles and hectic life.

Here are some pictures of a few of the quieter, wealthier corners of Naples.

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Naples in 10

Pulcinella on the lungomare in Naples

Pulcinella on the Lungomare in Naples

Punch-drunk but still standing Naples has borne the attentions and abuses of history with steely grace.  Today she is like the coffee she serves – undiluted and unapologetic.

Here’s an attempt at a ten point profile of the city.

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The hands in every glove

Father and son - the fourth and fifth generations of the Squillace family

Father and son – the third and fourth generations of the Squillace family of Omega srl (with the founders in the background)

Italy equals leather in the same way that England equals gardens.  In Rome and Florence well-ordered workshops are easy to find on the main tourist streets – in Naples, amongst the best in business especially for gloves, there is no sign.

Naples never hands anything to you.

The maps app took us to the exact address and … nothing.  No shop window, no big sign, no smell of leather, no sounds of tapping and stitching, no gloves.  We were up in the top end of the city and Omega srl had vanished.

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