Episode #255: Beyond Pizza – Unforgettable Naples and her many Treasures

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Summary

In this episode, we welcome back Untold Italy favorite Corinna Cooke. Corinna is the author of best selling book series Glam Italia! How to Travel Italy and runs boutique group tours for women in Italy, spending much of her year in Bella Italia. In her guides, Corinna takes a different approach to travel – showing you the places in Italy’s large and famous cities, that you probably don’t know or secrets about the ones you do. Her latest book 101 Fabulous Things To Do In Naples: Adventures, Intrigue And Glorious Mayhem In Europe’s Most Exciting City is jam-packed with tips on information to make the most of any trip to this vibrant city.

What you’ll learn in this episode

• Discover the Sanità neighborhood. Step back in time as Corinna tells the tale of Sanità’s transformation from an ancient Greek settlement to a badland no one would visit to a revitalized cultural hub. Discover the awe-inspiring Hippogeum of the Cristallini, a hidden gem that was only opened to the public in 2022
• The city is home to incredible art and culture. Visit the Jago Museum to witness emotionally powerful sculptures set in an abandoned church in Sanità. Be enchanted by artistic wonders and hidden histories across Naples, including the Santa Ana dei Lombardi church with its Renaissance masterpieces and Abbot’s Crypt
• Underground Naples – there is a vast network of tunnels under Naples and the intriguing practices of the monastery’s monks, including secret passages and ancient mummifications
• Another lesser-known neighborhood is the Vomero neighborhood’s wide boulevards, liberty-style buildings, and stunning views. Learn how you can descend the historic staircases from Vomero to the vibrant seaside area of Chiaia
• Visit the submerged city of Baia, just west of Naples, where you can explore underwater ruins or enjoy glass-bottom boat tours to see ancient Roman mosaics and statues. This place was a luxurious resort
• Corinna also shares why Naples is a great day-trip destination from Rome or Tuscany and why having a local guide can really open up the city for you
• Get more Naples travel tips and expert advice on navigating Naples, including recommendations for street food tours, culinary delights (don’t miss the buffalo mozzarella!), and the must-see historic and modern attractions in Corinna’s latest book – 101 Fabulous Things To Do In Naples: Adventures, Intrigue And Glorious Mayhem In Europe’s Most Exciting City 

Timeline Overview

• 06:52 Neapolitan passion thrives under constant volcanic threat
• 12:39 You can get from Rome to Naples by train is quicker than crossing the city of Phoenix, Arizona
• 29:35 The Metro cleanup: art-themed stations like Toledo and Universita
• 34:11 Vomero: Naples’ elegant, Liberty-style, tranquil neighborhood
• 41:10 King Ferdinand/Ferrante of Naples was a ruthless ruler but with fascinating cultural contributions, like the Black Museum
• 53:22 Baiae: Ancient Roman city, partially submerged archaeology site
• 01:02:06 Use a private guide for a first Naples visit to open upon the city

About our guest – Corinna Cooke

Follow Corinna here

• Corinna’s author website
• Corinna’s blog
• Instagram
• Corinna’s Amazon page

Corinna’s books

Italian places, foods and concepts mentioned

Places

• Spanish Quarter – traditional neighborhood of narrow streets typically strung with washing
• Archaeological Museum (MANN) – museum in Naples which has much of the things originally found in Pompeii
• Piazza Bellini – grand square in the historic center of Naples
• Spaccanapoli – the narrow, straight street in Naples that runs through the historic heart. The name means ‘Naples splitter’
• Rione Sanità – neighborhood in Naples
• Capodimonte – hilltop district and park at the top of Naples where you’ll find the Capodimonte Museum 
• Hypogeum Cristallini/Ipogeo dei Cristallini – the ancient Greek catacombs
• Jago Museum – the museum in Naples of the incredible artwork of modern-day marble sculptor Jago
• Chiaia – elegant district with amazing views and
• Vomero – elevated Art Nouveau neighborhood where you’ll find the Monastery San Martino and Castel Sant Elmo and views
• Forcella – district in the historic heart of the city of Naples
• Tresanti – famous pizza place in Naples
• Isabella De Cham – pizza in Sanità from the only female pizzaolo in Naples, with an eatery that has women only working there
• Poppella – incredible bakery in Sanità where you’ll find the best rhum baba!
• Castel Nuovo – fairytale medieval castle overlooking the Bay of Naples
• Universita – metro station with images of Dante and Beatrice
• Municipio, Materdei, Toledo – metro stations in Naples
• Villa Floridiana – house and gorgeous gardens in Vomero
• Calata San Francesco and Pedamentina – staircases that lead from the higher parts of Naples down into the city
• Piazza del Plebiscito – impressive square in Naples, found by the Royal Palace 
• Castel dell’Ovo – a seafront castle in Naples – one of the oldest fortifications in the world where Queen Joanna I of Naples was imprisoned
• The Black Museum – the place where King Ferdinand of Naples put the mummified bodies of his enemies
• Sant Anna dei Lombardi – also known as Santa Maria di Monte Oliveto, it is an ancient church and convent in central Naples
• Giorgio Vasari chapel – a kind of small Sistine chapel in the Sant Anna dei Lombardi complex, with the artwork of Giorgio Vasari of Arezzo
• The Lamentation over the dead Christ – life-sized sculpture in terracotta of Jesus having been taken down from the cross, by Guido Mazzoni, in the Sant Anna dei Lombardi complex
• The Abbots Crypt – again in the Sant Anna dei Lombardi complex, the hypogeal is home to the bodies of hundreds of years worth of monks
• Herculaneum – the town hit first by Vesuvius’s explosion and where people died the quickest, without warning – such as the ashy rain that fell on Pompeii hours before (though few recognized it as a warning sign)
• Villa Oplontis – the site of many recent and important discoveries and is full of frescos, mosaic, and it even had its own infinity pool
• Stabiae – an ancient city, like Pompeii was buried by the ash
• Baiae – a former ancient resort town known for hedonism. Half the town ended up submerged into the sea and is now the underwater archeological park Archeologico delle Terme di Baia
• Chios – Greek island where portasanta marble came from

Food / Drink

• bocconcini – little balls of mozzarella from Naples. The name means ‘little mouthful’
• fiocchi di neve – a small, soft brioche bun filled with cream and ricotta – known as snowflakes ‘fiocchi di neve‘
• taralli – a biscuity, bready snack that is a popular street food in Naples, containing the interesting combination of black pepper, almonds and lard
• pasta genovese – confusingly named pasta dish made with lots of slow-cooked onions, beef, and white wine

Words / Concepts

• Alexandre Dumas – French writer from the 1800s
• Camorra – Italian mafia group, broken down into clans
• Don Antonio Loffredo – the parish priest who helped turn Rione Sanità neighborhood around
• La Paranza – the group formed to create the project for clean up, training and a tourism model in Rione Sanità
• Baron Giovanni di Donato – the Baron whose palazzo sat above the Hypogeum Cristallini Greek burial site
• Jago (Jacopo Cardillo) – modern-day sculptor working in marble
• Abduction of a Sabine Woman – marble sculpture by the Flemish sculptor Giambologna
• The Abduction of Proserpina – a sculpture by Italian Gian Lorenzo Bernini from 1621/22
• Aiace and Cassandra – marble artwork by Jago
• Sol LeWitt – modern American artist known for his conceptual and minimalist art
• Sandro Chia, Domenico Bianchi – Italian artists whose work is found on the Naples metro stop Materdei
• Cosimo Medici the 1st (Primo) – the 2nd Duke of the Republic of Florence (1537-1569)
• Antonia Minor – the mother of Emperor Claudius

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