DK Travel : Naples & the Amalfi Coast

From one perspective, this area is an anomaly, at once one of the earth’s most beautiful and yet most accursed places. It has been the choice of the great and wealthy as their playground, while also being the scene of some of the greatest natural disasters and the grittiest human misery. Perhaps these irreconcilable twists of fate are at the root of the Neapolitans’ famously optimistic cynicism. The city of Naples itself is a vibrant urban setting, almost non-European in its intensity, while the beauty of the surrounding coast has been known to make grown men weep.

Cetara

Home to the most active fishing fleet on the coast, this is also the only place to buy colatura di alici , a fish sauce that is a descendent of the ancient Roman one called garum .
Chaia Hotel de Charme

This very special place actually consists of rooms in the restored palace of a Neapolitan marchese . It’s appropriately located in Royal Naples so that you can indulge all of your aristocratic fantasies. The rooms are full of original furnishings and each is named after one of your host’s noble ancestors.
Charcuterie Esposito

Come here for taralli (savoury-sweet biscuits), luscious olive oil, local wines and Setaro brand pasta, Naples’ best, handmade with basil, porcini mushrooms, lemon or cuttlefish ink.
Charming International Hotel

This airport hotel is set in a redesigned 19th-century farmhouse, with every convenience, including a meeting room.
Chocolat

This attractive little place features 30 different kinds of chocolate, granite (chunky sorbets) and many varieties of cappuccino . A great atmosphere.
Cholera Epidemic

Although embraced by royalist Neapolitans, Unification resulted in the city’s marginalization when Rome was chosen as capital. Not long after, a cholera epidemic in 1884 also made it plain that Naples had problems. The Urban Renewal Plan remedied the overcrowding and poor sewage system to some extent.
Cimitero delle Fontanelle

Once a Roman quarry for tufa blocks, this cavern became a gruesome depository for the city’s dead during the cholera epidemic of 1884. Graves and tombs were emptied all over Naples and the skulls stacked here – some 40,000 in all, with the addition of still more during the cholera outbreak of 1974.
Circumvesuviana railway

This is a narrow gauge electric railway that runs from Naples to Sorrento. The trains travel around the bay of Naples allowing good views of the countryside and some spectacular tunnels through the mountains. The trains travel quite fast so the ride can be quite exciting. This is a good way of getting to Pompei and is very reasonably priced. A good day out is to get the train from Naples to Sorrento, or in the other direction depending on where you are staying, and then return via ferry or hydrofoil across the Bay of Naples. Their website is here: http://www.vesuviana.it/Reteeorari/Ferrovia/Orario/LineaNapoliSorrento
Città Sommersa, Baia

Most of the ancient city of Baia now lies underwater, due to the shifting of the coastline and slow seismic disturbances. What you can still make out just below the surface of the water, however, are remnants of the grandiose port and parts of various villas and temples (see Baia).
Coffee

Neapolitan-style coffee traditionally comes already sweetened, and it is generally very concentrated.

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Hotel price categories

For a standard, double room per night (with breakfast if included), taxes and extra charges.
- under €100
- €100–150
- €150–200
- €200–300
- over €300