It is so nice to engage with a new city with fresh eyes. I guess Rome had gotten a little stale.
Paula and Dee were visiting Naples at the same time, so we planned to meet at the Underground Tour of Naples. The first thing I noticed when walking through Naples were all these very narrow streets, almost like alleyways, and they were full of laundry. It seemed that every narrow road had a different theme hanging across the street.
Napoli Sotterranea (Naples underground)
Naples was founded in the 9th century BCE, making it one of the oldest continuously occupied cities in the world. During the 5th century BCE, the Greek empire still ruled Naples, which back then was called Neapolis. In their need for stone to build their expansion, the Greek rulers enslaved the local population and made them dig in the quarries, which turned into this elaborate and huge underground network. When the Roman Empire arose, through careful engineering these quarries became part of a complex aqueduct system beneath Naples providing fresh water for millennium. This ended with a cholera outbreak and contaminated water in 1884. The tunnels were buried and forgotten. But then during WWII they were needed once again, but this time as bomb shelters. Now, it is a most amazing tour.
Dee
WWII ordnance
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