San Gennaro, patron saint of Naples, being positioned for the Pope’s visit
Popes do visit Naples but not often and usually their presence is connected with some disaster in the city.
This time Pope Francis has chosen to spend a day here and he’ll include one of Naples’ most troubled suburbs – Scampia.
I was in Naples today with less than 24hours until the Pope’s arrival.
View down the hillside below Fiesole
Fiesole, with green space and Tuscan villas, is on a hill a few miles outside Florence. Calm and straight-forward it lets the mind breathe again after the density of its famous neighbour.
We visited Fiesole with an art student from the city below. For six months she had been immersed in statues, drawings and all the glories of Florence, but when we met her what she longed for … was grass.
In Fiesole we found it.
Teatro di San Carlo, Naples, Italy
The Teatro di San Carlo in Naples is the world’s oldest working theatre and still ranks amongst its most famous opera houses. I’m no opera expert but if I close my eyes and imagine an opera house I see it with glamour, gold and balconies of red. The Teatro di San Carlo has all that.
A few weeks ago we were treated to a concert there. First we had to find the theatre.
