I had been told by a couple of people that Naples was very run down and chaotic, and they were not wrong. I knew that Naples was poor, but I didn't understand why. It turns out that the history of Naples is a little bit sad because it seemed to prosper before Italy was unified (1815 -1871) which was when the southern economy began to suffer and industrialisation was disrupted. 

Poverty and organised crime were still issues in pretty much the whole of the South and they just got worse. Issues like bad hygiene caused outbreaks of disease and in short: crime surged and economic difficulties caused mass emigration to the north of Italy (Milan, Turin etc.) as well as to the United States and Argentina which explains the massive communities of Italians in the US!

It's something which is often debated about, but I think that it's a combination of the brain drain phenomenon (when the most intelligent people move away in search of better jobs), organised crime, lack of investment from the central Italian government and high levels of corruption as well as a huge underground economy. 

As you can see from the pictures, Naples is pretty dusty and old despite it being the most bombed city in Italy during World War II. There is still a huge divide in the economies between the North and South and it is obvious when you see them with your own eyes, like when I visited Milan for example - it's hard to remember that it's all in the same country. Naples still has massive unemployment, especially amongst the youth, not to mention the strong mafia presence!

Anyway, onto what this post is all about... Neapolitan FOOD! First up: la pizza which you may recognise from the movie Eat, Pray, Love. 

My friend Hannah's dad is from Naples and she recommended this place to us. Not only that, but L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele (via Cesare Sersale) was the pizzeria that Julia Roberts went to in Eat, Pray, Love (scene here) so obviously we had to try it out as our first pizza stop on our trip. 

When we arrived there was a massive swarm of people outside of the entrance and we were a little confused at first what the protocol was of the place but we finally figured out the following:

1) If you want a table, go inside and take a number. Wait to be called inside. Enjoy pizza.

2) If you want to take the pizza away, go inside and ask for a take away pizza. You do not need to take a number. We made this mistake and took a number and after 40 minutes of waiting (yes, 40) we realised that for takeaway you could just walk inside. 

3) There are three options for pizzas: margherita, marinara (tomatoes, garlic, oregano & olive oil) and... the best one... margherita with extra mozzarella (Hannah's recommendation, which is the one that we went for). 

It still took a good 20 minutes once we got inside because the pizzaioli (pizza makers) were more interested in flirting than making the actual pizzas and after a total of over an hour waiting both of us were hangry. It was 3pm and we were tired from travelling and being tempted by the pizzas, watching them being made before our eyes to then have them taken away and served to other people. But then, finally, they were ready. We took the steaming boxes to one of Naples' little (and Ms Roberts' "I'm in love, I'm having a relationship with my pizza" could not have been more true. Best. Pizza. Ever. And only 5 euros.

The next day after we came back from exploring Pompeii (read about that here!) we wanted to try another one of Naples' pizzerias and thanks to Brooke Saward (World of Wanderlust) we found our next stop: Pizzeria dal Presidente (via dei Tribunali). Once again, the pizza was really good (better than most that we had eaten anywhere else in the world or even in Italy) but not as good as Da Michele, who will forever have our hearts. 

Pizza actually was originally a meal of the poor people, but then became popular amongst the upper classes too. As some of you may already know, the margherita pizza was named after Queen Margherita of Savoy after her visit to Naples and was created to represent the Italian flag: mozzarella for the white, basilico (basil) for the green and pomodori (tomatoes) for the red. The only authentic types of Neapolitan pizzas are either a margherita or a marinara, so go for one of those and let the true flavours come through, instead of bombarding them with toppings. 

Now for the second thing that Hannah recommended to us: Sfogliatella. 

There are two types of Sfogliatella: riccia and frolla. Sfogliatella is from the Campania region (where Naples is), and literally means "small layer/leaf". Riccia is the type that is pictured above, which we found with some added nutella (!!!), whereas frolla doesn't have all of those ridges in them. The most common filling for the pastry is a slightly orange flavoured ricotta but there are many variations and to fully appreciate these you need to eat them fresh out of the oven - we had a couple of them on our trip and we loved both of them. 

Lastly, we had to try the limoncello of course.

For those of you who have never heard of limoncello, it's a lemon liquor from Italy (especially the South). We stumbled upon a shop called Limoné which sold an array of lemon products, including the famous liquor. It's situated in the heart of the city (Piazza San Gaetano 72) and they showed us how it's made as well as giving us some complimentary tastings which were more than welcome. Their limoncello uses a family recipe and was so good that we both had to buy a couple of bottles to take home to our friends & family. 

We came across this shop as it was next to Naploli Sotterranea (Naples Underground), one of our historical stops on our trip. Naples interestingly has a whole network of underground rooms, tunnels and aqueducts that are 40 metres below the lively streets of Naples. It has been used for centuries, from the foundation of the city to the Second World War, from the ancient Greeks through to modern times. It's so interesting, you can see air raid shelters as well as modern projects which include growing plants underground, we would both definitely recommend it! But definitely don't do it if the thought of being 40 metres underground scares you... because it's a long tour and some parts are done only with candlelight.

I think it's a shame that Naples is often bypassed by tourists. Although I would really only go back for the food (that pizza was seriously good), we were so glad to be able to visit the city and to actually see the differences with the North first hand. Having studied Italian history and politics, we realised just how real the problem of the attitude of the Italians post-unification were, for example the Northerners don't want to deal with the Southerners and don't think that they should have to pay for them etc. etc.

The city does have high levels of corruption and crime and I was told by multiple Italians (from Florence and even Sicily) to be careful in Naples because of the pickpockets, one of my friends, an Italian, even said that she constantly feels scared when she's in the city but it's probably because they are more aware of the issues compared to your average tourist. All I can say is this: have your wits about you and you will be absolutely fine.

Besides, Naples is the perfect starting point for some of the more popular places such as the absolutely beautiful Almafi coast, which I will go to one day, and the historical ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum.



Getting to Naples from Florence is quite easy by train, you have many direct options several times a day. On both Trenitalia and Italo the journey takes a little under 3 hours on the fast train, not bad considering that the two cities are almost 500km away from each other. We would recommend staying there for a night as the journey is quite long, which gives you time to explore some of the surrounding areas too. We stayed in an airbnb which was cheap and gave us exactly what we needed for the night before venturing to Pompeii the next day which is a must-do if you're in the area. And remember: try the pizza, I have been dreaming of it ever since!