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A visit to the Naples’ underground

A visit to the Naples’ underground

A visit to the underground world of a city makes it possible to discover a part of the history that would otherwise remain hidden from travellers forever. In mid-November 2016 I went to Naples and, just because the underground cities always intrigue me, I could only go to visit the underground Naples!
Alla scoperta di Napoli sotterranea I begin by telling you the story of the underground part of the town: the underground parts of Naples were born as quarries and became cisterns for water conservation (and some reservoirs were private); even the tanks were closed because it was discovered that the tuff polluted the water that, therefore, could not be drunk. In 1942, in the second world war, there was a change of intended use, and the tunnels became public shelters for the population that escaped from the bombs and two things were done:
Alla scoperta di Napoli sotterranea they closed the wells because they could not enter the bombs and created a new floor (during the years of closure, the citizens had thrown waste through the wells, and the cleaning operation would have cost too much compared to creating a new plan to walk). During the war, the people who came to take refuge here brought objects of everyday use because they did not know how much they would have remained hidden there. In the cistern under the Basilica of San Paolo Maggiore, you can see some of these objects, repositioned to recreate at least in part.
Alla scoperta di Napoli sotterranea The well inside the reservoir below the basilica wasn’t closed because it was chosen as an aeration plant (take into account that the shelters were used by 2000 people) because it was thought that the religious buildings would have been spared from the bombings. The tank workers were tiny and short men because they had to go through very narrow spaces. Some of them had access to private cisterns and therefore also to houses: this meant that some of the women received gifts from the lovers (or that some objects were stolen) and the women told their husbands that it had been “the muniacello” (a short man). From here the legend of the muniacello was born, according to which the muniacelli stole or gave gifts according to whether they wanted to punish or reward the families.
Alla scoperta di Napoli sotterranea In 1988, after years of inactivity, a call was announced for the reuse of underground tunnels and won a project to create underground greenhouses ever made (for lack of funds necessary to put it into practice). In 1989, therefore, the association took over which today is responsible for the management and tourist visits. We conclude the visit of the undergrounds in the cellar of the church of San Gregorio Armeno, where the nuns of Santa Patrizia kept their wine. Santa Patrizia is the protector of unmarried and sterile women, and the legend tells that the wine of the sisters had some particular power (and that the nuns had a “cute swollen belly” for this).
Anfiteatro romano in cantina We then moved on to discover a small part of a Roman amphitheatre incorporated in buildings of different eras: the part that you can visit is located in the cellar of a “basso”, a typical apartment Naples that is located on the ground floor. You can only see this small part because the rest of the amphitheatre has been lost because of the many constructions that have been made over time: twice in the centuries, it was established by law that you could not build outside of the walls and, therefore, the city developed vertically. The tour ends with a visit to a small exhibition of statues and “preparations” for the cribs, near San Gregorio Armeno: it was not the first time I saw live the statues and cribs of San Gregorio Armeno and, like every time, I realised how much their fame is deserved!
Statue da presepe Some useful information:
Address: Piazza San Gaetano 68, next to the Basilica of San Paolo Maggiore (entrance marked by white and blue flags);
Ticket: 10 euros
Duration: 1h and 30 minutes
Timetable: There are various scheduled departures (10:00 am, 11:00 am, 12:00 only to talk about the morning). You have to arrive at the entrance in time because you can not book the visit (except for school groups and groups) and then before you come there and first you can get off. But anyway the groups are quite numerous, so you do not have to worry too much about having to wait.
Photos and videos: it is possible to take pictures, but it is not possible to shot videos.
Clothing: dress up comfortably! Bring a sweatshirt even in summer because inside it is cool (about 15 degrees centigrade).
Claustrophobia: the path is lit and wide enough to allow you to walk straight for almost all of its entirety. I wrote “almost” because of a little part that is much narrower and illuminates the group with candles.
Alla scoperta di Napoli sotterranea If you have problems with claustrophobia, however, do not worry because it is a stretch of circular route and, before embarking on it, the guide itself will tell you that you can stop and wait for the return of the group. For any need and information you can of course go and look and search on the official website.
Before or after the visit I suggest you to visit the SanSevero Chapel, where there is the statue of the Veiled Christ: one of the most beautiful statues that I ever have seen! The ticket costs 7€ and the audioguide 4€ (on the website says € 3, but inside the chapel, I read 4). It is not possible to take pictures of Christ, but I absolutely recommend going to visit it.

During this trip in Naples, two years ago, I had the opportunity to meet and know the guys of Easyterra.it, a site that allows you to compare prices for car rentals: I don’t often rent cars during my travels, it happened only once in 2015, but I would like to start doing it more often and next time I would like to try their services (and I had to stay satisfied, of course, I’ll talk in a post here on the blog)

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