Naples, Italy - Cruise Stories

~Naples, Italy~

Naples, also known as Napoli in Italian, is one of the most famous cities in Italy and one of the most popular destinations in the entire Mediterranean region.
Its history goes back nearly 3,000 years to the ancient Greeks who founded the area during the 8th century BC. For an experience packed with new and ancient treasures, good food, and stunning scenery, summer in Naples is everything you want and more.

These fun facts about the city only scratch the surface of what can be discovered while spending time in this magnificent location. As the locals say, you never know what you’ll stumble upon as you explore the city’s winding streets!

Napoli comes from the Greek word Neapolis which means “new city” or “new city”. It was originally given this name by the early Greek inhabitants in the 8th century BC.

The main church is the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Naples, known in Italian as Duomo di Napoli, which was built at the end of the 13th century.

Creating a pizza

The first pizzeria in Italy and the whole world, Antica Pizzeria Port’Alba, was opened in Naples in 1830. It is still open today.

Creating a Margherita Pizza

In 1889, pizzamaker Raffaele Esposito was asked to make a pizza for Italian King Umberto I and his wife Queen Margherita. He made a simple pizza, with fresh tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and basil.

This pizza was named after the queen, and the name has since stuck.

It is home to three great castles known as Castel Nuovo, Castel dell’Ovo, and Castel Sant’Elmo. All three of these castles date from at least the thirteenth century.

There are catacombs that date back to the 3rd century

Under the city of Naples, you’ll find catacombs, and old burial sites located below the ground.

There are several catacombs: San Gennaro, San Severo, and San Gaudioso.

The most famous ones are the San Gennaro catacombs, built in the 2nd century. They contain more than 2,000 burial coves, and 500 sarcophagi. If you’re up for a little adventure, you can even visit the catacombs!

Naples is a hilly city, and classic transportation methods are not always the best.

This is why there are 4 funiculars in the city, to make the commute easier.

The Central Funicular is the most recent one, and it was built on October 28th, 1928, after 2 years of construction. It’s now of the most used funiculars in the world, and it carries more than 10 million passengers each year.

Pompeii and Herculaneum, 2 cities destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, are in the Metropolitan City of Naples

Do you know about Pompeii and Herculaneum?

These 2 cities are famous because they were destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, and were buried under several meters of ash.

Well, these 2 cities are located in the Metropolitan City of Naples, and in fact, they make for a great day trip if you’re visiting Naples.

Naples is under constant threat from a supervolcano

Mount Vesuvius isn’t the only volcano threatening the city.

In fact, no farm from Naples is the Campi Flegrei, an extinct super volcano.

This supervolcano is actually made of 24 craters, and the eruption could be an absolute disaster. For comparison, the eruption of Mount Vesuvius was a level 5 on the Volcanic Explosivity Index, while Campi Flegrei scores an all-high 7.

The Port of Naples is one of the biggest passenger ports in Europe

Built on the bay of Naples, the Neapolitan city has a major harbor.

The Port of Naples is huge, and the main activity is passenger transportation: more than 6.5 million of passengers go through the harbor each year, making the Port of Naples the 12th biggest passenger port in Europe.