We’re just finishing up a four-day stay in Naples, but this was not nearly enough. Twenty-five centuries of treasures are hidden beneath the messy surface of this place. Everywhere you turn are more monuments, in varying degrees of repair/decay, to recall the city built by Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Swabians, Normans, Angevins, French, Spanish, Italians. Around every corner is some kind of a surprise, sometimes monumental, sometimes kitschy, and sometimes just intensely and uniquely Italian.
![Mt. Vesuvius rises over the bay of Naples and a city teeming with life and color](https://i0.wp.com/www.markandjim.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/IMG_0041.jpg?resize=627%2C470)
Mt. Vesuvius rises over the bay of Naples and a city teeming with life and color
![Monuments everywhere](https://i0.wp.com/www.markandjim.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/IMG_0086.jpg?resize=627%2C470)
Monuments everywhere
![The imposing Castel Nuovo, built by the Angevins and rebuilt by the Spanish](https://i0.wp.com/www.markandjim.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/IMG_0177.jpg?resize=627%2C470)
The imposing Castel Nuovo, built by the Angevins and rebuilt by the Spanish
![Just outside the historic center are some posher digs for the affluent](https://i0.wp.com/www.markandjim.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/IMG_0020.jpg?resize=627%2C470)
Just outside the historic center are some posher digs for the affluent
![You cannot walk a half a block without seeing one or more elaborate shrines](https://i0.wp.com/www.markandjim.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/IMG_0219.jpg?resize=627%2C836)
You cannot walk a half a block without seeing one or more elaborate shrines
![In the Mercato di Porta Nolana you can buy fish...](https://i0.wp.com/www.markandjim.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/IMG_0193.jpg?resize=627%2C470)
In the Mercato di Porta Nolana you can buy fish…
![...or many, many varieties of clams...](https://i0.wp.com/www.markandjim.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/IMG_0195.jpg?resize=627%2C470)
…or many, many varieties of clams…
![...or perhaps a saddle?](https://i0.wp.com/www.markandjim.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/IMG_0197.jpg?resize=627%2C470)
…or perhaps a saddle?
![The essentials of a Naples courtyard: motor scooters, laundry, and a neon lit shrine to the Virgin Mary](https://i0.wp.com/www.markandjim.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/IMG_0223.jpg?resize=627%2C470)
The essentials of a Naples courtyard: motor scooters, laundry, and a neon lit shrine to the Virgin Mary
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