Due to  my  religion, I have never had a Christmas tree at home much less a crèche. The house where I am a guest is going to follow this tradition, therefore I am invited to come along by my hosts to explore a new world for me that in Naples starts at the famous road San Gregorio Armeno in the center of the Centro Storico (Historic Center).

As I walk along the very crowded road, I notice several small shops and colorful stalls by the dozens with artisans and craftsmen working on and displaying small delicate sculptures representing humans, shepherds, peasants, laundresses, vendors, pastures, cattle, sheep, the three kings and angels. Those figures, called Pastori, give rise to a theatrical scene, the Presepe, or nativity scene or crèche, with lights and music as main religious symbol of the Neapolitan Christmas.

My friends tell me that the construction of Neapolitan crèche traditionally begins the eighth of December from storage pulling out the “basics” of the previous year (a skeleton cork and cardboard resting on a wooden table, without pastors and various decorations) and the possible enlargement like adding the wood oven or ruscelletto (small river) with water and a few more sheep in the flock is discussed in the family and with children.

The story focuses on the birth of Christ, recalling the events of some evangelical and pastoral-bucolic images. With its origins back in the Middle Ages as a handicrafts and a folk tradition it was only in the Baroque age that it acquired a form of high artistic expression developing an interest in addition to the religious symbols (Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, Sacred Child Jesus) the small and middle class, everyday life and the agricultural or Pastoral world.

A remarkable example is the Presepe Cuciniello (Cuciniello’s crèche), which consists of 162 people, 80 animals, 28 angels, and about 450 miniature items. It is considered among the finest nativity scenes in the world and is exhibited in the San Martino Museum in Naples.

I am now watching the magnificent presepi exhibited on the first floor of number 55 San Gregorio Armenio, at the famous 1836 leading master craftsman Giuseppe Ferrigno’s shop, that the Neapolitan crèche becomes the representation of the place where both in the 1800′s and today, the sacred and profane, spirituality and daily life, prayer and irony live together in a city of contradictions.

Marco Ferrigno, Giuseppe ‘s son, explains while offering the best brown foamed expresso ever that the faces of the Pastori are made in polychrome terracotta, the eyes in crystal and their hands hand crafted in wood. The costume fabrics — sourced in antique shops and auctions throughout the year — are made from old silk factory San Leucio and embroidered in the Italian city of Modena in the manner of renaissance Turkish sultans. The family starts working on February to produce them.

The facial expressions, like the one of Carmela (one of Marco’s favorites – he likes her hair) are taken after pictures of a lady neighbor that lives next door with that name. Every year — apart from those who are the traditional characters like Quasimodo, Procida and Caprese — the personification of a new personaggio (character) of a real person is introduced to the superb family collection of presepi as a way to keep the tradition alive.

The  shops offer such a vast variety of products that it is impossible to keep track of them with my camera. Whatever the subject, the statue of an animal, basket of fruit, a port fish, a mill will enrich the choreographed set of presepe-palcoscenico (crèche-set) and clearly my sharp and attentive lens.

I can easily sense an atmosphere of agitated rush around me while I walk, haunted by those terracotta figures, having the impression that they are all staring intensely at me and dramatically wondering why I haven’t picked them up yet to placed them in my crèche…. Even being a Jewish girl I am aware that everything must be ready by tomorrow evening.

Joelle’s Piks:

The stores:

Giuseppe e Marco Ferrigno: Via San Gregorio Armeno,n 8/10/55, Napoli, to order in adavance their products, please call the following number: +39081 / 552 31 48. Delivery could be as early as two weeks, and depending on the Character, a year. Average price 700 Euros per 56 cms figure. www.atreferrigno.it

Arte del Pastore e del Presepe: Via San Gregorio Armeno , 6/7 – Napoli. Tel/Fax 39 081 55 16 221. Here you can find more affordable naitivity figures and order directly on line on categories and finishes, Concetta de store owner will ship directly worldwide upon availability. www.artedelpastore.com

The permanent exhibitions:

Complesso Museale di Santa Chiara: Santa Chiara Eighteen Hundred Nativity Scene at their Chiostro, absolutely magnificent!
via Santa Chiara, 49c
80134 – Napoli
tel +39 081.195.759.15
fax +39 081.195.758.59

Museo Nazionale di San Martino

Cucciniello ‘s crib.

Museo di San Martino Largo San Martino, 5
80129 – Napoli
Tel.e Fax: 0039.081.5781769; 081.2294498

Arte Presepiale Naploetana Natale 2007 (seasonal)

Piazza della Chiesa del Gesu Nuovo (see photo gallery in last post) tel 39 33 93 61 98 02

Readings : The Metropolitan Annual Neapolitan Christmas Crib

The photography was taken by me on my visit, to give you a better sense of what this is really like… But if you wish, once in a lifetime, to take a trip and go back in time, this surely is the place to be.

The Meridian Room is spectacular. One of the most imposing roofed rooms in Europe, its construction was begun between 1612 and 1615 but was hindered by structural problems and was only completed in 1804. It’s also the place where the G7 dinner took place back in 1994.

Ancient Naples : The collection is arranged in chronological order, contains some of the most important finds from the cemetery of Parthenope, the first Rhodian or more probably Cuman settlement situated on the hill of Pizzofalcone – which was occupied from the mid-seventh century to the mid-sixth century BC and from Greek and Roman Naples.

Frescoes and Mosaics from Pompeii:The collection, one of the most famous in the Naples museum in terms of the wealth of evidence, comprises part of the paintings detached from the houses of Pompeii and the surrounding area between the mid-eighteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth, and it represents an exceptional insight into the development of Roman painting from the Late Republic to the Empire.

House of the Faun
The mosaics of the House of the Faun represent the most precious part of the Neapolitan collection in terms of quality and figurative variety and the fame which followed its discovery. The splendid works on display include the famous “mosaic of Alexander”, depicting the battle between Alexander the Great and Darius III.

Magna Grecia

The collection comprises a significant amount of materials discovered during the excavations carried out in the southernmost regions of the Bourbon Kingdom, ancient Magna Graecia, or which came to the Naples museum, especially in the nineteenth century, either through the acquisition or donation of antiquarian collections; of these, one of the most important and largest is the Santangelo Collection.

Farnese Collection -Sculptures , Bath of Caraca, Roman Busts -Stunning!!
This important collection of antiquities, begun by Alessandro Farnese, the future Pope Paul III, was formed in the sixteenth century, as a result of the purchase and confiscation of the collections of noble families, donations and, above all, by finds from excavations conducted on behalf of the Farnese family in Rome.

Finally… The Secret Cabinet
The collection, known historically as the “Gabinetto Segreto” (Secret Room), consists of a series of materials with an erotic theme assembled during the eighteenth century.

However, they were removed from public view for a long period because they were considered obscene and therefore became famous and an object of curiosity. One of the most famous pieces is the marble group with Pan and a goat, which was found in Villa dei Papiri in Herculaneum.

Ancient Roman culture had no sense of a shameful nature for all sexuality, and viewed sexually explicit material very differently to most present-day cultures. Ideas about obscenity developed from the 18th century to the present day into a modern concept of pornography. Although the excavation of Pompeii was initially an Enlightenment project, once artifacts were classified through a new method of taxonomy, those deemed obscene and unsuitable for the general public were termed pornography and in 1819 they were locked away in a Secret Museum.

These even included the un-explicit statue Venus Kallipygos, only erotic to 18th and 19th century eyes due to her partial nudity and the exposure of her eponymous “beautiful buttocks”. At Pompeii, locked metal cabinets were constructed over erotic frescos, which could be shown, for a modest additional fee, to gentlemen but not to ladies.

This peep show was still in operation at Pompeii in the 1960s . The cabinet was only accessible to “people of mature age and respected morals”, which in practice meant only educated males. The catalogue of the secret museum was also a form of censorship, where engravings and descriptive texts played down the content of the room.

The excavation of Pompeii was important to a range of powerful, and often conflicting, interests who saw the discovery of Pompeii as validating their own view of history, but at the same time excluded anything that did not fit the preferred model. Later Mussolini saw the excavation of Pompeii as validating the continuity of a Nova Roma. The presence of sexually explicit material, however, was problematic.

Re-opened, closed, re-opened again and then closed again for nearly a hundred years, the secret room was briefly made accessible again at the end of the 1960s before being finally re-opened in the year 2000. Since 2005, the collection is kept in the Museo Archeologico in this separate room. Enjoy the photo gallery!

Joelle’s Tips:

The Museum: Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli : Piazza Museo, 19 Napoli / hours : 9.00 – 20.00/ Closed on Tuesdays – Tel. + 39.081.440166 – Fax 039.081.440013- e-mail: sanc@interbusiness.it

It’s very, very hot here. I am staying in a beautiful rooftop overlooking the sea on the hills of Posillipo. The name comes from the Greek Pausilypon meaning “pause from pain”, it is the city’s oldest neighborhood. I am surrounded by a lively countryside of green trees, stunning views of the Sorrento Peninsula and a majestic Mount Vesuvius at eye level.

Every morning, the best thing I have to do, is go to the sea that I silently watch every night at sunset from my bedroom. It takes me approximately fifteen to twenty minutes walk through the viewer of my camera and for nothing in this world I want to miss the insights of this hidden Posillipian countryside marvel.

La Repubblica‘s Venerdi insert about the weekend’s cultural events, Kuky Nobel’s suntan creams, my vintage Persol, and old Etro blue and white towel all packed in a straw bag from the nearby Thursday market are my daily companions.

On my way, I stop for my usual fresh Percoche peaches at Salvatore, who every morning tries to sell me watermelon and every morning I explain that it is too heavy to take with me down to the Rocce Verdi. Salvatore resigns, giving me his word of honor that the small green figs I love will be perfect to eat at the beginning of August and that I will be the first client to try them. Like every morning wishes me a “buona giornata signorina” and turns to take care of another customer.

I proceed with my walk, it’s still early but the sun is already high in the sky. The day promises to be as warm as all the others during the two weeks I have been here. But the reward, as I’ve learned from living here, is that the warmer the days, the prettier the sunsets and evening colors. Day after day I have enjoyed watching those pink, orange and blue colors — receiving them as eternal gifts to my soul that is seeking rest from the hectic heat—sometimes reaching 38 degrees Celsius (100 Farenheit)—and the noisy sea of the day that just passed by.

It’s a cycle. The cycle of a genuine and simple life starting at 6 .30 in the morning with the freshly squeezed orange juice from the tree property and the aroma of strong burning coffee re-freshened by the good night sleep and a previous great meal.

The entrance gate of the property is large, heavy and made of iron. On the top of the gate is a green and gold sign that says “Villa Fattorusso, terra di rocce e mare” (land of rocks and sea).

This private estate used to belong to a family for three generations. At the beginning of this century, the patriarch, Mr. Bartolini, a wealthy retailer and manufacturer of the prestigious Haute Couture embroidery house, Fratelli Fattorusso, picked the magnificent landscape of rocks over the sea charmed by the beauty and greatness of the region and steadfastly focused on this area of excellence that have made Naples renowned worldwide to build his home and a house that during several years was the mecca of his friends and relatives sea escapes.

It is only about 40 years ago that the children, over-boarded by the continuous movement of guests of guests and relatives that decided to open the once upon a time on an invitation-only paradise into one of the most exclusive lido open now a nearby neighborhood public.

I am now crossing old Roman arches and huge walls made of Tufo. It’s like being in a land where time has no more dimension and the present is presently immaculate.

If you really wish to, you can only tell its passing by blossoms of flamboyant Azaleas bushes, uncontrolled cascades of dark blue wrapping Bindweed flowers, called once by deco artists Belle du jour or Morning glory and explosive pink-purple- pea-like shy and delicate Glycine bushes.

Their intricate and disorganized existence together with numerous oranges left on the ground and small plantations of corn is orchestrated by the intensive heat and owners nonchalance in face of an aggressive superiority of the Mediterranean sun.

Finally after spying with my invading camera lens people’s details of small intimate lives in gardens, small courtyards and inviting shaded terraces I see the small wooden sign Baia Rocce Verdi (Green Rocks Bay) sending me to a steep downhill site. 17 euros is the price of a lettino. (Small bed)s I make my way to what in a few minutes I call paradise. From where I am, a terrace with tech furniture getting ready for tonight’s wedding party I can see already a group of early morning sun seekers giving themselves away on lettinis and materassini (small mats) without remorse to the gentle rising breeze.

First thing I’ll do after picking my own place under the sun is dive into the dephts of the fresh blue waters of the bay of Naples and feel completely re-freshened from the heat. But one must be careful as there is plenty of moss, green slippery moss.

And with this intention, this summer, I will dive between those green rocks by the waves to take a closer look at the Bay of Naples treasures, and to perhaps explore the local history hat has been swallowed up by the deep. The wonders of underwater archaeology,the rusting relics on the sea bed,the abundant marine wildlife,and the colorful caves that have been gouged out the rock.

Together with ‘pearls’ like Capri, Ischia and Sorrento this is the sea of Campania laden with its “catch” of history, culture and traditions. Probably who knows my own, somewhere in time and space during these few long sunny hours and fresh encounters with its clear waters.

The day was great. Insights? Plenty, but now it’s time for the sunset, and the cycle begins again.

Joelle’s Tips:

Lido delle Rocce Verdi: Via Posillipo, 68, Napoli

For dinners, events and ceremonies reservations at Villa Fattorusso: + 39 081 575 6716 / + 39 081 575 6183

I’ve been visiting Naples for the past few days. I am totally overwhelmed by all the holiday lunches and dinners, Christmas concerts, rich Presepi, crucifixes, antique markets, old churches, hand-crafted nativity figurines, internal cloisters, hyper-caloric, delicious traditional pastries and delicacies, gifts, fish night markets, and the unusual frigid temperatures that have migrated from Siberia. There’s snow on top of the city’s volcano, Vesuvius.

Every time I start to write, something always comes up and brings me back to the scooter over the lungomare. At the moment, I am organizing some wonderful new material and will post shortly, once I’ve edited the enormous amount of pictures that I have taken during these festive days.

In the meantime, I wish all of you a very happy holiday and a glorious New Year. Here’s to lifestyling with Joelle in the New Year.

It’s the Saturday morning before Christmas in Naples, and the thing to do is to stroll around the stylish Piazza dei Martiri‘s high-end antique stores and boutiques with the most fashionable and intimate wood-paneled grand haunt la Caffettiera, as the final destination for an aperitivo with friends.

It’s very cold but sunny. While my friends order a glass of Lacrima Cristi (Christ’s tear), a local wine produced in the foothills of Vesuvius, I see in front of me an interesting n 23A panel with an arrow leading to an interesting door.

I cross the street and — seduced by a white architectural space — I discover the recently inaugurated showroom Deimartiri 23, an oasis in the heart of a city of tradition, a mecca for those who seek a new concept for contemporary living.

The showroom carries the signature of architect Graziano Nora together with the team of experts Lorenzo del Regno e Grano Design & Partners. The concept basically integrates the-store-client-city relationship, where the client itself experiences the idea of an interactive and live loft in the heart of his own city, where he has the opportunity to experiment with different vanguard materials, furniture, surfaces and ideas. If we wish to dare why don’t we say this could be possible from any city in the world?

The entrance staircase, illuminated by Viabizzuno designer lights, leads to the living room filled with very large and comfortable divans by Ivano Redaelli. The kitchen and dining room are done in one massive dark grey block called Terra from very prestigious Italian house Minotti and a Kos whirlpool bath emerges majestically from a circular opening on the floor.

I am suddenly caught by continuously projected blue images on a white wall from an extremely sophisticated video installation — “the latest innovations proposed by the store,” I am told by a charismatic Pre- Raphaelite long haired Rosanna, one of the two trendy architects in the show-room that take care of the store clients’ projects.

White surfaces in majority associate themselves with touches of neutral greys, chocolate and black of the home accessories and accents among other signed by designer Diego Granese and the eclectic 1970 reproduction of the Fiocco armchair created by prestigious Gruppo Industriale Busnelli and permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Two hundred and fifty urban square meters where fabrics, teak wood and furniture, wall mosaics from Sicis, bathroom fixtures and complements by notorious house of design Toscoquattro, fragrances, latest fabrics and carpet samples, are elegantly exhibited in an a soft, ultimate custom-made and almost sensorial atmosphere where you want to just cocoon and experiment with the wide and interesting varieties of purchasable refined possibilities to what could be your true and personal home need.

Sergio, the other architect responsible for most of oversea projects and working for the Moselli brothers owners of the store part of the MMM Group, is trying to tell me that someone’s looking for me at the front store entrance door. Apparently a waiter came and kindly brought my forgotten Christ’s Tear at la Cafettiera….

Maybe I could sip god’s tears while I dream of a new dream home for me around this city.

Joelle’s Picks:

The Store: You can bring your own home plans and the team of architects will take care of the projects for you.

Dei Martiri 23A “Gruppo MMM” piazza dei Martiri, 23A, Napoli. Tel +39 081 240 0594 /Fax + 39. 081. 240 05 94
The Cafe: Gran Caffe La Caffettiera, at 30 Piazza dei Martiri.

Most commonly known as the Reggia di Caserta, this Unesco-listed pad is considered one of the greatest and last-achievements of Italian Baroque architecture. It also where Tom Cruise shot scenes for Mission Impossible 3 and where George Lucas filmed the interior shots of Queen Amidala’s royal residence in Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace and Star Wars, Episode 2: Attack of the Clones.

Work on the palace began in 1752 after Charles 7 of Bourbon, ruler of Naples,wanted a palace to rival Versailles, Neapolitan Luigi Vantivelli was commissioned for the job and built a palace not just equal to Versailles, but even bigger — think, 5 floors, 1200 rooms, 1790 windows, 34 staircases and 250m-long facade.

I enter by Vantivelli’s immense marble staircase and follow a route through the royal apartments. My eyes scan ceilings, inlaid marble floors, Stucco walls richly decorated with tapestries, furniture, Bas-Reliefs, Frescoes, and crystals. I can furtively perceive my friend’s annoyance for having forgotten his existence in front of a carousel of such magnitude of style, art, harmonious colors and materials everywhere I looked around, my head spinning and completely aghast. Beyond a library he then takes me to a room containing a vast collection of Presepi composed of hundreds of hand-carved nativity pieces.

To clear my overstimulated head of all the  capolavori (masterpieces), a guide nearby suggests in Italian we take a romantic pre-sunset walk in an hour on the elegantly landscaped grounds where the royals probably used to spend their weekend. Mind you,this is still in the Palazzo Reale. The park, the largest in Europe, stretches out for some 3 km to a waterfall and fountain of  Diana and the famous Giardino Inglese (English Garden) with its intricate patterns, exotic plants, pools and cascades.

We played as we were hiding among conifers, ferns, Wandae orchids, exotic Victorias Regias, small roofless tempietti, (sanctuaries), and silent Roman Gods. A tourist and his family, seeing us lost, asks (to make the matter even worse) if we have encountered the magnolia on our way. We laugh and say no. The sun is setting, time to go. Charles 7 and his queen built a magnificent Reggia for sure, but most of all they made my day.

Joelle’s Picks:

Contact for visiting the Reggia: Ente Provinciale del Turismo Palazzo Reale
81100 Caserta CE / Tel +39 0823 322233 / Fax: +39 0823 326300

The visitors Guide website : www.ambientece.arti.beniculturali.it/guida_reggia/Xenglish/index.htm

The Book: Gardens of Naples
by Elisabeth B MacDougall; Nicolas Sapieha, New York : M.T. Train/Scala Books ; Wappinger’s Falls, N.Y. : Distributed by Antique Collector’s Club, 1995

After a two-hour flight and a ride from the noisy Capodichino airport, I am inhaling Posillipo’s rambling elegance while crossing a Mergellina quarter that exudes an air of faded grandeur. The quaint 17th Century fishing village on the city’s outskirts is filled today with lemon-hued Liberty palazzi lining the slightly scruffy seafront. Silky palms catch a southerly breeze as elegant elderly widows walk in the afternoon sun. I realize then, that Mergellina is the Naples version of Beverly Hills. As I look through the window of the new Cinquecento, I see a the crowd filled with Sophia Loren lookalikes. I cannot stop admiring with awe the dizzying panoramas of the bay and, of course, Mount Vesuvius and the little island of Nisida where Brutus is said to have conspired against Julius Caesar.

The apartment is warm and cozy — it’s a collectors nest. As soon as I arrive, I am offered a fresh drink that tastes like Italian lemon sorbet, Absolut Blue Vodka and other “mysterious” ingredients can be subtly detected. I am told the recipe is a “secret of the house”. All around me, near the small terrace, in the living room, the den and in the entrance hall, the walls are filled with the brash, arrogant and full of fire 17th Century Neapolitan artist, Camilo De Vito, depicting an intense red Mount Vesuvius erupting over a very deep blue sea. Immortal 16th and 17th Century Neapolitan masters around the house such as Luca Giordano, Francesco Solimena, Massimo Stanzione, Domenico Morelli of the Italian Vedutismo school, interact peacefully with the fresh sea breeze coming from the small attic.

Mozart’s opera, Don Giovanni, is playing on a large-screen TV. Nearby is a book that tells about the composer’s impressions during his stay in the city under a 1900 silver tray containing a pile of Neapolitan Red and Blue horns, amulets known to ward off curses. While my host holds the Sgroppino rivisto e gelatoso (reviewed) with one hand and with the other gesticulates almost to himself in animated fashion about the difference between Don Giovanni and Casanova, I ask politely where I can put my suitcase and get changed. I am advised to wear shorts — because in Napoli “we can only move about with a scooter”– and, to take off my steel Cartier watch for “precauzione e scaramanzia” (precaution and superstition).

We are now on the scooter in the elegant Piazza dei Martiri, after having crossed the Centro Storico and Spaccanapoli Street (where we bought gigantic home-made pasta). I realize Naples is a rumbling mass of contradictions: grimy streets abut  palm-fringed boulevards, crumbling facades hide Baroque ballrooms and cute shrines flank cutting-edge clubs. One minute you feel like you’re in dusty Tangier, the next you’re thinking you’re in Paris.

My host has a long shopping list and apparently needs my company. From Marinella, a long time favorite of Luchino Visconti, Aristoteles Onassis, and Gianni Agnelli, the place for pret-a-porter and made-to-measure ties, to Mariano Rubinacci light weight and precisely fitting suits from the granddaddy of Neapolitan tailoring proudly worn also by 1950′s Italian actor Vittorio de Sica. It’s almost four o’clock in the afternoon, we must not forget to go to the Antica Latteria D’Angelo where at this precise moment fresh Mozzarella di Buffala is being made. It will soon be part of our moonlight dinner overlooking the sleeping volcano.

A few vegetables, basil, Percoca peaches and small figs are picked up at the local vendor whose truck is parked right under the apartment. I go to the kitchen and learn how to cook Mafalde alla Nerano (with zucchini, basil and feta cheese), pour red Barolo table wine into a large carafe with the pesche affettate (freshly cut peaches) and put it in the fridge for later — all while rock singer and summer Festivalbar 2007 winner, Francesco Regna’s “Cambio Direzione” is playing unbearably loud from a 1970′s vintage Marantz amplifier once belonging to a former cruise DJ.

It’s getting dark. I quickly pick up some fresh towels that have been drying all day under the Posillipo sun and after a long, warm shower overlooking the blue sea view, I put my pretty dress on. Prada’s new Hypnotic Amber eau-de-parfum intensifies Biaggi Antonacci’s voice from the far terrace singing “Sognami...” (Dream of Me). Candles are strategically placed among pretty hybiscus flowers emanating a special Mediterranean aroma . Peppino di Capri’s  Luna Caprese in the dark sky shines over the Island of Capri that can be seen neatly tonight on the far horizon…

It’s a beautiful night. A distant voice interrupts my senses…

“A tavola!” (Dinner’s served!)

Joelle’s Picks

Sartorial :

Marinella – Piazza Vittoria, 287 , Napoli / +39 081 2451182 / luxury accessories, including shoes, shirts, sweaters and vintage colognes.

Mariano Rubinacci- Via Filangieri, 26 , Napoli /+ 39 081 415793 / www.marianorubinacci.it

Kiton , 45 street and 54- 10022, New York, USA /+1 212 486 525o /www.kiton.it/kitita/indexg.htm

The Music :

Cambio Direzione – Francesco Renga available on I Tunes Italy / Watch : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5q0TRrprk0

Sognami- Biagio Antonacci available on I Tunes Italy / Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcYam6jD2sI

Due Ragazzi Cosi live 1996 : Peppino Di Capri & Fred Bongusto- http://shopping.yahoo.com

The Movies : Classics
1948 Ladri di Biciclette – ( Bicycle Thieves) starring Vittorio de Sica

1963 Oggi, Ieri e Domani – ( Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow) starring Sophia Loren

1954, L’Oro di Napoli -( The Gold of Naples), in six episodes of city life, starring,Toto, Sophia Loren, Eduardo de Filippo, Vittorio de Sica.

Modern: 1992 Libera ( Free) Pappi Corsicato , Compared often to Almodovar in three stories.

The Fresh Mozzarella: Antica Latteria D Angelo D’Angelo Via F.Galiani (alla Torretta-Mergellina) / Caseificio Artigiano Antonio D’Anna Via Pizzo della Buffala.S Nicola la Strada /+39 081 450200

The best Icecream Nocciola (Hazelnut): Chalet Ciro Mergellina ,Via Caracciolo di fronte Via Orazio 80122 Napoli / +39 081 669928

The Art Book: Napoli Secreta – Massimo Listri – Rizzoli libri illustrati

The Book: Mozart -Amedeu Boggi e Edgar Vallone / Einaudi

Matilde Serao: leggende Napoletane available only in Italian

Queen of the Night – A fictionalised account portraying Queen Joan the First of Naples’ life http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/s/alan-savage/queen-of-night.htm
The Opera dvd: Don Giovanni – Mozart- Don Giovanni (1987 Saltzburg ) Herbert Von -Karajan -Vienna Philarmonic- -http://www.amazon.com/Herbert-Von-Karajan-Legacy-Giovanni/dp/0738919039

The Magazine: Elle Decor Italia September 2007/Napoli tra Arte e Design

Interesting Site: Chiesa del Gesu Nuovo, Piazza del Gesu Nuovo, +39 0815518613

I say goodbye to my friends who are heading straight to the airport for Brazil, and with my suitcase on a line for a taxi, I search for a smart driver that will understand my personal needs for the afternoon.

The driver’s name is Raffaele — “Lello“. I explain to him that I would like to see a museum with 16th  Century art, heavy Neapolitan canvases; that I would like to eat something, and that I need to take some pictures in the extremely famous narrow Spaccanapoli in the historic center to feel the city’s art expression and living heritage.

Like a local James Bond he feels he is on a very important mission, but not impossible for a Napolitano. After negotiating a fair price for both he decides that before anything, we need to have a pizza at the famous Trianon, apparently the best and most traditional pizzeria in town.

After quickly crossing the impressive Umberto Primo Galleria filled with marble floor mosaics where I took some shots, we arrive in Via Pietra among churches, monuments, palaces and this two-floor restaurant filled with old mosaics wood ovens founded by the Leone Family in 1923.

As soon as I sit, I immediately order a Diet Coke with ice and lemon (the temperature is more that 90 degrees Fahrenheit outside) and a pizza Napolitana (I love anchovies and desperately need some salt because of the heat and the low blood pressure in my system). Gino the waiter and Lello-taxi- driver look at each other with shy excitation; I don’t get it, when suddenly I hear a soft voice, Lello’s whispering in my ear as if I have said something absurd “At Trianon, there is not such a thing as diet, ice, or lemon, and Napolitana is seriously not recommended. You see, this is a traditional pizzeria…but the waiter Gino will be happy to serve us a traditional coke and a pizza Margherita because it’s the first time you come here and this is what we need to eat.”

“Fine,” I say, I am hungry anyways. While the most incredible hot pizza arrives, I hear the story of the Pizzaiolo of the Leone family that “betrayed” the house and went to create the same pizza at Michele ‘s right in front of the Trianon. Obviously all city inhabitants know very well that he is the “master” even if the white-hot wood fired brick oven is built exactly within the same dimensions, the peeled tomatoes are both San Marzano, the dough is secretly prepared at night with a special water that comes from a… the wooden paddle shape unaltered, the inevitable newly made fresh mozzarella of Buffala and the huge leaves of basil are part of the same basic dish composition. But Lello explains, “It’s all about the pizzaiolo dexterity in shaping it up with a sharp movement.”

Napoli tradition in its works of art and creations like the pizza must be its signature… Caravaggio, Titian and the Pizzaiolo have similar roles in the city’s tradition: the ones of God whose creations must endure to the end of time.

Joelle’s Picks:

The Museums:

Palazzo Reale di Capodimonte Via Capodimonte , n 24/ +39 0817499111/http://capodimonte.spmn.remuna.org

www.musis.it/capodimonte.asp?museo=1

Certosa di San Martino- Largo di San Martino, 5 / +39 081 57817 69/www.musis.it/sanmartino.asp?museo=3

Castel Sant’ Elmo – Via Tito Angelini, 22 /+39 081 5784030 /www.musis.it/santelmo.asp?museo=4

The Cafe: Gambrinus – Via Chiaia, 1/2/ + 39 081 4976022 /www.caffegambrinus.com

The Pizza Place: Trianon, Via Pietro Colletta,42-44-46 /+39 081 553 94 26 /www.pizzeriatrianon.com