Tips for roaming Italian hotspots
Warning: this is not your usual travel feature. As I explained in a previous travel feature, I have collected travel stories for decades, but found them lacking in practical information, warnings and suggestions for avoiding the common pitfalls encountered in major trips to other countries.
During our recent five-week Italian holiday to seven major centres, I made a note every time something unexpected or surprising happened and came back with tips on four sheets of paper (not on the iPhone in case it was lost or crashed).
— In Naples (Napoli), we stayed at an apartment on one of the major streets, Via Foria, which is just down the street from the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli (museoarcheologiconapoli.it) and a longer walk to the downtown. When we emerged from the subway station on Via Foria, Stazione Napoli Piazza Cavour, we thought “OMG, this is like a Third World country” with litter and graffiti everywhere. People we met advised us to use a moneybelt and not flash a lot of cash.
The apartment, though, was like the little Italian woman and her hubby had just left us their place for the weekend, hearts everywhere, flowers, lots of Italian knick-knacks. The third-floor balcony opened onto the main drag.
— The Via Foria location not recommended. Older vehicles spew pollution so bad that the smell permeates your residence if you leave a window or a balcony door open. And then, there is the noise from all that traffic as well as the constant honking from impatient drivers.
— Traffic: Like Egypt, some Italians consider traffic lights and stop signs just a suggestion. Via Foria is a four-lane road, two lanes in each direction, but it is accepted practice to park your vehicle in the slow lane and get out to conduct business.
Scooters and motorcycles are everywhere with two-wheelers on the left of the fast lane, on the marked centre line and on the right of the slow lane. Helmets are apparently optional.
As you are using well-marked crosswalks, scooters, motorcycles and even vehicles will try to cut in front of you or behind. Via Foria and many other main streets have wide sidewalks so when there is gridlock on the roadway, vehicles zoom down the sidewalk, horns blaring. Look left and right before entering the sidewalk.
— If you are planning a day trip to Pompeii, tour the National Archeological Museum first. The best artwork, pottery, glass and everything else of value was removed from the ill-fated city and is displayed at the museum.
— You can get to Pompeii with an easy train ride (eight trains a day), but no one tells you there are four different colour-coded trains all heading in the same direction from the same platform. We got on the wrong one and had to backtrack.
— Pompeii: a guide, or at least a selfguided tour on a tablet, is recommended. We decided not to spend the extra money and regretted it almost immediately. We listened in to guides on tours explaining the impact of the AD 79 eruption. The city is huge and you can easily get lost on your own.
— A Turkish student we befriended joked: “Show me the bodies.” Unfortunately, there are only three, they are behind glass in the Pompeii Museum and they are plaster casts, not actual bodies.
— We caught a bus to the Naples waterfront so we could check out Castel Nuovo, a medieval fortress with five towers, Renaissance triumphal arch, civic art museum and chapel. One of the highlights is real bones in excavated graves under a glass floor.
— While walking down the waterfront promenade, highly recommended, we met a couple staying at one of the waterfront hotels for $450 a night (compared to our apartment at $347 for four nights).
— Via Tribunali is recommended for those who want street vendor after street vendor as well as impromptu street entertainment, but for some unknown reason, this wide alleyway is not closed to vehicle traffic so scooters, motorcycles, cars and even large delivery trucks all roar down. In places, there are permanent posts along the side to separate pedestrians and traffic, which makes it an ideal place for stores to set up displays and force you into the traffic lane.
Not seeing one of those posts (following the guy ahead of me too closely) resulted in a fall and ripped pants.
— Also highly recommended is a ferry ride from Naples to Sorrento. You get a great view of Naples and housing up the slope of Mount Vesuvius, then the gorgeous Amalfi Coast.
— Sorrento, in fact the entire Amalfi Coast, is criss-crossed with narrow roads and narrow sidewalks (if there are any). Roads up and down the hillsides have numerous blind corners and when the roadway is barely a lane-and-a-half wide, everyone honks before they enter a sharp curve. Buses often stop to let another through, especially on the hairpin corners. Traffic cops are stationed at the single-lane sections to alternate vehicles through. Rent a vehicle at your own risk.
— Public transit buses are recommended, but not if you a prone to motion sickness or afraid of heights. There is often a cliff on the ocean side of the bus when heading to Positano and then Amalfi. If you like long roller coaster rides that rock you from side to side, you'll love it.
— Warning: there are so few parking spots in the villages that everyone parks on the narrow shoulder, often with one-half of the vehicle in the traffic lane. Almost every vehicle on the road or parked looks like it has been sideswiped.
— Amalfi waterfront restaurants are expensive: 10 euros ($15 Cdn) for two coffees and small bottle of water. And there are more tourist-trap alleys here with the same products. You get better prices for basics at small co-op grocery stores.
— Take the side trip on a public transit bus up to Ravello where you can get away from the hordes and enjoy the Villa Cibrone Gardens, which date from at least the 11th century.
— We thought we would get out early and take a public transit bus to the old city in downtown Naples. Mistake. During the morning rush hour, a bus that could hold 30 had 50 passengers. And more kept trying to squeeze on at every stop.
— Must see: The Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore or Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower is the main church of Florence (Firenze) and one of Italy’s largest churches. Construction of Il Duomo di Firenze, as it is ordinarily called, began in 1296 in the Gothic style and completed structurally in 1436. The exterior is covered with polychrome marble panels in green and pink bordered by white and its distinctive orange dome is the largest brick dome ever constructed.
— Also recommended: the San Lorenzo street market and Centrale Mercato for fresh produce. Don’t hesitate to bargain in the street market; it’s expected but don’t insult merchants with an extremely low bid.
— We stayed in Vernazza, one of the five towns that make up the Cinque Terre (Five Lands) region on the Italian Riviera. Vernazza has no car traffic and remains one of the truest fishing villages.
— Those who don’t like stairs won’t like some of the accommodation. Even though our apartment indicated “some stairs,” there were 51 steps. Our neighbours upstairs counted 131 to theirs. Appliances were not totally functional. It’s high-density housing so the downtown is noisy.
— We came for the coastal trail, but four of its five sections were closed. We struggled to learn more on the national park website, even emailing officials. Not helpful. The Via dell’Amore or Path of Love has been closed for five years and not expected to open for another two years. We did hike the one open section — along with hundreds of others.
— Highly recommended: the ferry between Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Riomaggiore and Porto Venere. You can hop-on, hop-off so we went all the way to Porto Venere and stopped at Riomaggiore and Corniglia on the way back to Vernazza.
— We took the train to Monterosso on Market Day, also recommended. Those who don’t mind climbing steep walkways can check out the cemetery plots and mostly vaults at the top of the hillside overlooking the town.