Naples Italian: Napoli [ˈnaːpoli]; Neapolitan: Napule [ˈnɑːpələ, ˈnɑːpulə]) is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a popu-lation of 967,069 within the city’s administrative limits as of 2017.
Its province-level municipality is the third-most populous metropolitan city in Italy with a population of 3,115,320 residents, and its metropolitan area stretches beyond the boundaries of the city wall for approximately 20 miles.
Founded by Greeks in the first millennium BC, Naples is one of the oldest continuously inhabited urban areas in the world. In the eighth century BC, a colony known as Parthenope (Ancient Greek: Παρθενόπη) was established on the Pizzofalcone hill.
In the sixth century BC, it was refounded as Neápolis. The city was an important part of Magna Graecia, played a major role in the merging of Greek and Roman society, and was a significant cultural centre under the Romans.
(Wikipedia)
#Transperancy – This article is written by my personal participation of a food walk experience with Culinary Backstreets in Naples. Moreover, I have no business connection nor financial interest with the performing company.
All over Italy you’ll see one of the city’s storied “water banks”, here for a taste of the Neapolitan gazosa, a simple concoction made of fresh lemon juice, bicarbonate, and sulphur water.
The digestive power of this drink is extraordinary – it’s perfect if you went overboard with pasta or pizza (or both), and, I remembered this honestly at the first; drink this “cocktail” if you woke up with a killer hangover.
- FoodWalk Napoli
Pasticceria Capriccio is the first meeting point of today at 10am,
a family business in the third generation, the delicious aromas already reach your nose a few meters away, so a good start to the day. Our guide Francesca greets me enthusiastically with a cheerful smile. We exchange a few words in Italian, where she then briefly notes to me that the tour will be given in English. We wait for two more participants and in the meantime, I prepare my photo equipment.
Now that the group is complete, a few pastry treats, sfogliatella, are brought, and we order our drinks. For me, of course, an Espresso Doppio! There is no country where coffee is celebrated in a wonderful way as Italy. Wherever you go in this country, there is always a little bar where you will be served a fine ristretto, solo or doppio, obviously with a glass of water. The best place, of course, is at the bar, where you can follow what’s going on.
After a brief introduction to each other, our refreshments and drinks, we enter the pastry shop. Here inside, Francesca tells a few things about the shop and the delicacies sold there. Gorgeous cakes in all their colours and aromas come to my nose and eyes, and of course in front of my camera. After all these delicacies, we leave this small paradise and walk to the next site. It should be noted that Francesca tells us in detail where we are. Indeed, away from the tourist areas and in an interesting working-class district; the mirror of any city.
So, this walk is not just about food and drink, culture is also amply covered.
- The Lowdown on Local Eats, Fed by Local Knowledge
The next stage stop is at a stock fish shop, this is what I love so much, these independent retail shops in a city, that provides real local flair.
We have arrived at Antica Baccaleria – Porta Capuana the shop of Vincenzo Apicella, which sells stockfish. Vincenzo first serves us a bowl of delicious Sicilian olives, as in the meantime he prepares the dried fish, because that is what stockfish is.
Stockfish is an unsalted fish made preservable by cold air and wind; rehydrated. He simply seasons the very thin fillets with the juice of a fragrant Sorrento lemon. These tastes delectable in the morning at 11am in a pleasant autumn-summer temperature. Complemented by the information from our guide, this just tastes outrageous.
Local Flavour pure: Napoli
Mozzarella di Bufala
Shopkeepers, bakers, olive sorters, home cooks, vendors and the last traditional painter of the market are all part of the warm community in which we are welcomed.
On this walk inside and outside
the city walls, we will experiencing everyday food traditions served with the superior hospitality that
is the hallmark of the Neapolitan.
After passing many fish- sausages- and vegetables booths, many type of design shoes you can buy as well here of course, we enter a beautiful family owned delicatesse shop with many products from the region.
Our flavour pupils are spoilt here by this tastefully Mozzarella di Bufala.
Mozzarella from the region – officially called Mozzarella di Bufala Campana – even has a DOP (Denominazione di Origine Protetta or Protected Designation of Origin) label, assuming it has been produced by one of the dairies belonging to the Consorzio di Tutela della Mozzarella di Bufala Campana, the consortium that oversees the creation and promotion of the local product.
The fresella is a typical product of Neapolitan craftmanship tradition.
It is a slice of bread that is pre-baked and then baked again, after being sprinkled with a little water. In the classic version, fresellina is enriched with chopped tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, oregano or basil.
- Napoli - The Birthplace of Pizza
We’re in Naples, and it’s mandatory to taste a pizza, as the birthplace of pizza is the Campania region home to the city of Naples. Founded around 600 BC as a Greek settlement, Naples was a thriving waterfront city in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Technically an independent kingdom, it was notorious for its crowds of working poor, or lazzarone.
These Neapolitans required inexpensive food that could be consumed quickly. Pizza—flatbreads with various toppings, eaten for any meal and sold by street vendors or informal restaurants—met this need.
We enter a typically type of restaurant simply simple, but absolutely comfortable and with a warm hospitality: Insolito La Pizzeria Gourmet. A meanwhile famous pizzeria in Naples, however still down to earth. Here, of course, we’ll eat a delicious pizza Margarita. Normally I never eat in an Italian restaurant outside of Italy, as a lovely Italian friend, told me, not to go to an Italian, as the food isn’t authentic. And indeed, I haven’t had the best experience with the cucina Italiano abroad. Therefore, I am now being rewarded for this here in Naples with magnificent flavours and a great taste.
- Culinary Napoli
Where to eat in Naples is something you need to know to visit the city in the right way. With this appetizer you’ll get more the right way in all the
Naples is a city with a rich culinary tradition and eating pizza and all the delicacies of the typical Neapolitan cuisine is an obligation for every tourist. During your visit to Naples you will be interested to know where to eat the best Neapolitan pizza.
That was not all, of course, what we have seen, tasted and photographed, but be surprised; you will not be disappointed at all.
This was a great tour with a lot of local affinity.
Ciao arrivederci a Napoli!
E grazie alla nostra guida gastronomica professionale, Francesca.
Impressoni dalla costiera Amalfitana
Ravello – Amalfi – Positano
The Amalfi Coast is a 50-kilometer stretch of coastline along the southern edge of Italy’s Sorrentine Peninsula, in the Campania region. It’s a popular holiday destination, with sheer cliffs and a rugged shoreline dotted with small beaches and pastel-colored fishing villages. The coastal road between the port city of Salerno and clifftop Sorrento winds past grand villas, terraced vineyards and cliffside lemon groves.
- Ravello
Ravello, a resort town set 365 meters above the Tyrrhenian Sea by Italy’s Amalfi Coast, is home to iconic cliffside gardens. The 13th-century, Moorish-style Villa Rufolo offers far-reaching views from its terraced gardens and hosts indoor and outdoor concerts during the popular summertime Ravello Festival. Villa Cimbrone, a medieval-style estate perched on a steep outcrop, is surrounded by another celebrated garden.
- Amalfi
Amalfi is a town in a dramatic natural setting below steep cliffs on Italy’s southwest coast. Between the 9th and 11th centuries, it was the seat of a powerful maritime republic. The Arab-Norman Sant’Andrea cathedral at the heart of town, with its striped Byzantine facade, survives from this era. The Museo Arsenale Amalfi is a medieval shipyard-turned-exhibition space.
Positano
Positano is a cliffside village on southern Italy’s Amalfi Coast. It’s a well-known holiday destination with a pebble beachfront and steep, narrow streets lined with boutiques and cafes. Its Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta features a majolica-tiled dome and a 13th-century Byzantine icon of the Virgin Mary. The Sentiero degli Dei hiking trail links Positano to other coastal towns.
