Our Neapolitan Weekend, Part IV: Castle in the Sky

Pictured above: A view from the top of the Castel Sant’Elmo on Vomero hill.

Once we finished our purchases and said our “grazies,” Giovanni walked us down the street to the Castel Sant’Elmo, a medieval fortress dating back to 1275, from the era of Charles d’Anjou. After having a quick conversation with the man in the ticket booth, Giovanni handed us four free admission tickets, and explained to us that since we killed some time in his shop and now it was after 4pm, there was no charge (very good to know for the frugal tourist! Save some $!!) He instructed us to spend very little time on the bottom floor, and to take the nearby elevator to the top… up we went… and up… still going… fyi… the Castel Sant’Elmo has got to have the slowest elevator in all of Naples, in case you wanted to know. So once we got up there, it was clear the rumors were correct – the views of the city from the top were incredible. From up there, you could see the entire city and out over the sea, to the islands of Ischia, Procida, Capri & the Sorrento Peninsula. Additionally, we could see two US Navy ships at port in the bay, one of which was the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, the Navy’s oldest operating vessel, on its final foreign port stop before going back to the states to be decommissioned.

Now, I know I said that Vesuvio had some killer views, and yes, the views from the top of the volcano were awesome… but the views from the castle, with Vesuvio in the background, were just breathtaking. Like the summit of Vesuvio, there was a peaceful silence all around, so far removed from the constant horns, sirens, and the general hustle/bustle downtown. What all started as a whim to the castle turned out to be one of my favorite parts of the day – a chance encounter with a cameo maker in Vomero, who showed us his family’s beautiful work, then walked us through his city to take us to the Castel, where he got us free admission for some of the most priceless views of the city… I couldn’t have wished for the day to turn out any better.

Then tomorrow happened. Stay tuned this week for the next part of “Our Neapolitan Weekend!”

Some more photos I took from the top of the Castel Sant’Elmo can be seen below on flickr!

Snapshots from our Neapolitan Weekend

Castel Sant’Elmo, a set on Flickr.

Our Neapolitan Weekend, Part III: Why You Should Talk to Strangers.

Pictured above: Agate cameo pendant from Giovanni’s shop, the Cameo Factory De Paola.

After taking in the gorgeous spectacle, we decided to start making our way back towards the Montesanto metro station. Before I came to Naples, my friend Whitney bought me an excellent guidebook as a going away gift… and needless to say, I’ve read that thing over, over, and over again. One thing I came across in the guide was an article about the Naples Funicular lines. In case the word seems foreign to you, a funicular is basically a sort of rail cable car, that operates with counterbalanced ascending and descending cars. Excellent for a quick visit up or down some of the more hilly areas of the city, when I realized there was an accessible funicular in the train station, I was all over it. I recalled hearing somewhere that from the Castel Sant’Elmo, somewhere near the top of the funicular line, a person could experience some of the best views of Naples… so I convinced everyone to fly by the seat of their pants and trust me to go on an unplanned adventure.

Once we got out of the funicular, we found ourselves staring at a giant map of the area… which of course isn’t in English. So we are standing there, scratching our heads, trying to translate the giant map with microscopic Italian writing, when out of nowhere, a tall man in a nice suit comes up to us and asks us, in English, if we were looking for the castle. He says its right down the street and that he will show us the way. Now, I am not a very trusting individual… I’m one of those who usually keeps their guard up at all times with strangers. So as we walk, I start asking him all sorts of questions – I’m not nosy – I just want to get a feel for who the heck this guy is:

Name: Giovanni.

Where he lives: Vomero section of Naples (where we were.)

Only place he’s visited in the US: Florida

What does he do: He owns a cameo factory.

Cameo factory? Hmm. That’s interesting. Go on…

Giovanni continued to explain that Naples is famous for 3 things: pizza/pasta, Vesuvio, and cameo jewelry.

In case you aren’t familiar with the term, cameos are pieces of jewelry, typically oval in shape, commonly consisting of a portrait in profile or other images carved in relief on a background of a different color. A painstaking art form that requires a steady hand and a crap ton of patience, cameos of Neapolitan origin are known as some of the best examples of this method. Italian cameos are traditionally made from different types of seashells and coral, as well as gemstones such as agate and onyx.

Giovanni explained that he was a 3rd generation cameo carver, and that if we were interested, we could stop into his factory, which was on the way to the castle. Once we got there, it was such a pleasant surprise – more like a storefront and an artisan carving studio all in one; that day, I learned that Italians use the term “factory” a little loosely around here. The place was so interesting – Giovanni took me to his work bench, where he showed me his carving tools, shells, and other raw materials that he used to create cameos while explaining his technique, a method handed down to him from his grandfather. In a simple frame on the wall above the bench, was a faded letter from President Eisenhower, thanking Giovanni’s family for their work on “the lovely cameo” he had commissioned for his wife. Giovanni caught me looking at it, and smiled proudly as he told me about he loved to create beautiful things. It was obvious I was surrounded by a labor of love; looking around at all the glass cases throughout the shop, I simply couldn’t imagine the total amount of work hours it would have taken to produce so many delicately carved pieces.

Though meeting Giovanni was quite the serendipitous detour during our visit downtown, you know the adventure didn’t stop there… stick around for “Our Neapolitan Weekend, Part IV” I’ll be posting later this week! 🙂