The Precepe Tour

The Christmas Special:  The Precepe, or nativity scenes, are a Neapolitan tradition that make Christmas particularly special in this city.  In keeping with the spirit, I would like to suggest a Saturday walking tour of the most spectacular precepe.  Children will particularly love these places and adults will be able to see some of the top sights of Naples, with a Christmas bent.


1)  Start at the Villa Comunale in the Chiaia district where you'll easily find parking and enjoy a view of the Bay of Naples and the Castel dell'Ovo.  The Villa Comunale is a large park with play sets for kids.  A few blocks up the road from here, enter the Santa Maria in Portico Church.  Go to the sacristy where you'll find a life-size precepe created in the 17th-century.  (Address:  Via Santa Maria in Portico 17)

2)  Take the funicular at Parco Margherita up to the Vomero district and then walk up the hill to the  Certosa di San Martino.  The vast number of precepe in this museum are considered the finest in the world, including a figurine created by Guiseppe Sanmartino, the sculptor of the Veiled Christ. 


3)  Walk down the hill to the Vanvitelli metro station and take the subway to Piazza Dante.  You can also take the stairs across the street from the Certosa that wind down into Naples.  The stairs provide wonderful overlooks of the city as well as quick access to the city center.  However, I've been warned several times that the area is dangerous (even during the day) with mafia, pickpockets, and a descent into some of the seediest places in Spaccanapoli.


Once you get to Piazza Dante, walk down Via Monteoliveto until you come to Piazza Monteoliveto.  Take a right into the piazza and you'll find the Sant'Anna dei Lombardi Church.  Go into the caverns of the sacristy to find Guido Mazzoni's Lamentation over the Dead Christ (1492), with seven life-size terracotta figures surrounding Christ.  Beyond it, you'll also find Vasari's sacristy with wood marquetry and a stunning ceiling fresco.  In a room between these two amazing works, you'll find a sprawling precepe scene.

Mazzoni's Lamentation of Christ

Precepe Scene

Vasari Sacristy

4)  Go up to Piazza Del Gesu Nuovo and walk down Via Benedetto Croce.  This is one of the two main arteries of downtown Naples with a wealth of things to see.  Walk along this road and take a left onto Via San Gregorio Armeno, also known as Christmas Alley.  (I would highly recommend stopping first in a side street of Via San Severo to visit the Veiled Christ.)  If you're at Christmas Alley on a Tuesday morning, you'll also be able to see the miracle of Saint Patricia's blood liquifying.


At Christmas Alley you can buy vintage Neapolitan delights such as pulcinella, the Neapolitan Flip-Over coffee maker, and precepe figurines.  But be aware that you won't be able to take precepe through customs, so the precepe you buy in Naples will likely stay in Naples.


5)  If you're not tired out by then, walk to Via Duomo, take a left, then take another left on Via Anticaglia.  This street is one of the oldest of the city, dating back to Greco-Roman times.  Along here, smaller shops tout elaborate handmade precepe also. 

On another day, you can also visit the Reggia di Caserta and look for a massive precepe behind glass.

Precepe figurines at the Reggia di Caserta

These are my top six picks of where to find precepe around Naples, but they can be found almost everywhere.  What's more, Neapolitans are so proud of this distinct artistic heritage that precepe can be viewed during all months of the year.  If you happen to be visiting the city in June, you can also take a precepe tour. 

For other ideas of what to see and what to eat during Christmas in Naples, check out my Table of Contents -- Holidays in Naples.

Buon Natale a tutti!

The Bourbon Tour

The legacy of Bourbon rule (1734-1798) can be seen through their dazzling buildings. Today, I'd like to give a visual tour of their reign.

In 1734, Don Carlos of Bourbon took over rule from the Austrians and was crowned King Charles of Naples. His first stop was to pay homage to the remains of Saint Gennaro, the patron saint of the city, whose blood liquefied immediately. The Bourbons, thereafter, reversed two centuries of Spanish colonial oppression by initiating civic Enlightenment ideals.

Herculaneum and Pompeii were discovered during King Charles' rule. Well-known artists also visited the city during this era, including Rousseau and Goethe. But the stunning mark King Charles left on the city was architectural in nature.

The Teatro San Carlo turned Naples into an epicenter of musical genius. Castrati such as Farinelli sang here and Rossini (The Barber of Seville) worked here:

King Charles built the Royal Palace of Capodimonte, which today houses some of the finest artwork in the city, including two Artemisia Gentileschi paintings and an Andy Warhol picture of Mt. Vesuvius:

The Royal Palace of Caserta marked the pinnacle of architect Luigi Vanvitelli's career. Located about 15 miles north of Naples, the palace models Versailles, especially with its opulent gardens:

This was also a time mysticism and science gained prominence, as seen through the artwork commissioned by alchemist, scientist, and nobelman Raimondo Di Sangro in the San Severo Chapel. Guiseppe Sanmartino scuplted the Veiled Christ in this chapel.

In 1759, King Charles abruptly abdicated and left eight-year-old Ferdinand in charge. Ferdinand's reign was one of the longest in European history. He was beloved for his Neapolitan dialect and known for setting up a small stand each evening in the market to give away his hunted game or catch of the day. He also established the lottery and a silk factory meant to become an industrial social utopia. Ultimately, the project failed, but San Leucio, near the Caserta Royal Palace, still exists:

The Parthenopean Republic in 1799 brought the Bourbon reign to an abrupt pause. But it failed within a year and Neapolean's French troops entered the city. A husband of Napolean's sister, Joseph Murat, took over. During his fifteen years of rule -- before Napolean's defeat and Murat's own execution by firing squad -- he commissioned the Piazza Plebiscito adjacent to the Royal Palace:

King Ferdinand returned to the throne in 1815. He ruled until his death in 1859. Two years later, the Kingdom of Naples came to an end and the city unified with the rest of Italy.

Book Recommendation: The best English language history of Naples is -- In The Shadows of Vesuvius: A Cultural History of Naples by Jordan Lancaster. If you love Naples, you'll enjoy reading this more than once.