By the old fishing harbour in Pozzuoli, near Naples, Italy
Last week a bonny, blond portrait painter came to stay. We took her to see the sights: old fishing harbours; castles; artworks; views; and we fended off the men … but it was the cats that caught her eye.
I looked where she looked – this is for her.
Books and Napoli are old friends
Step in amongst the books in this ancient city and it’s hard to avoid the big names on almost every corner. My search for just one novel was busy enough.
Start on the Lungomare and there’s the castle known, thanks to Virgil, as the Castel dell’Ovo (Castle of the Egg).
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (portrait by Stieler 1828)
There are names I heard at school that are still buried beneath teacher dust. Names I’ve never looked at again – unreachable, academic names. Goethe was one of them.
Then, a few weeks ago, I bumped into him on the internet and I read his notes on Naples. They were a happy find.
The Phraser 