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To be a dog in Naples …

First impressions stick in the mind like chewing-gum.  It doesn’t matter how the impression is made – through direct experience or second-hand – the more startling the impression the more sticky the fix.

In August we moved to the south of Italy, just outside the historic city of Naples with its reputation for crime, corruption, trouble with rubbish, and the small matter of the Camorra.

The pre-departure reading had been interesting in a disturbing kind of way but what really stuck was a brief headline deposited in the spring in amongst London’s daily serving of global news – Naples was about to start the DNA testing of dog mess.

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The eyes in the doorways of Naples

 

There are more eyes in Naples than there are doorways. In August there is the space to feel them both as they sit out the heat, and watch.

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The hunt for the heart of Naples, Italy


We’ve glimpsed the heart of the city … we think. It’s a short, ancient artery that pumps life into the cobbled soul of Naples.

This artery, the Via San Gregorio Armeno, is dense with the past. Like all of Naples it has seen centuries of armies, rebels, rogues and kings sweep through and back again, trailed by plagues and starvation. It has survived them all, and its buildings and treasures are now protected as part of the Centro Storico by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

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