Sprawling beneath the glowering heights of Mount Vesuvius and married to the mob, the Italian city of Naples remains a cultural gem. Barbie Nadeau reports. Photos by Tony French

Officials say most of the crime happens far away from tourist areas. And despite a Canadian tourist’s leg being grazed after being caught in the crossfire of a gun battle in front of the city’s main police station in 2006, this was the first such incident in over a decade. Tourists are far more likely to stumble upon trouble in, say, Washington, DC. Naples’ cultural rewards are immeasurable compared with the risk of harm. It was a major European capital for centuries, until its unification with Italy in 1861 when the city was downgraded to a provincial capital and never quite regained its status. Remnants of its glorious past are evident throughout the city, from the grandiose Palazzo Reale di Capodimonte, an old hunting lodge housing part of the largest art collection in Italy, the Farnese collection, which includes works by Michelangelo, Caravaggio and Botticelli, to the stoic Castel dell’Ovo on the Borgo Marinaro waterfront. The 17th-century, world-renowned Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli overflows with art, antiquities and treasures unearthed in nearby Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae.

Even the ancient churches have historical significance and intrigue. Capella Sansevero on the dusty Via Francesco de Sanctis not only houses a superb sculpture of a veiled Jesus delicately carved out of marble, but also, in the basement, the morbid cadavers of a man and woman – a relic of the Prince of Sansevero’s bizarre scientific experiments, which are said to be the first attempts at embalming organs. In Duomo di San Gennaro, the religious rituals border on the freakish. Three times a year, the faithful gather at the cathedral to watch the dried blood of Saint Gennaro, the city’s patron saint, liquefy. If it does, as is usual, the city is saved from disaster, the cathedral bells chime and the Neapolitans rejoice. It may sound superstitious, but the last time the blood did not liquefy was 1980, when a major earthquake killed 2,000 people in the area.

The peculiarities of this city cannot be escaped even when enjoying a simple cappuccino. At the Gran Caffé Gambrinus on the Piazza del Plebiscito, you can sit where Oscar Wilde once had a vision of a ghost. The waiters will describe Wilde’s experience in great detail, without ever doubting that he actually saw a spirit.

Naples has undergone an urban renewal in the past decade and has surprised sceptics by sticking with plans to upgrade its infrastructure and improve public services. The only promises that have not been kept are those to abolish organised crime and to adequately prepare for the inevitable eruption of Mount Vesuvius. ‘To really understand Naples is to understand that what may seem like small progress is a monumental task here,’ says Neapolitan Pia Cestani. ‘It is amazing that we thrive here. We are under constant threat, we live under a volcano and over an ancient city buried below us. Every day we survive the mafia, the rotting garbage, the corruption.’

Despite the adversity, Naples remains one of Italy’s most captivating cities. In its heyday in the 1700s, the city was the epicentre of European music and culture. Mozart spent time there and later used the city as inspiration to pen Così fan tutte. At that time, Neapolitan opera was extremely popular across the continent, with the ‘conservatory of Europe’ opening the Teatro di San Carlo in 1737, some 40 years before Milan’s La Scala and 50 years before Venice’s La Fenice opera houses were completed. Still in use today, it is the oldest running opera house and a Unesco world heritage listed site.

In the centuries leading up to its cultural zenith, Naples was ruled by great European kings including Roger II the Norman, Frederick the Great, Charles I of Anjou and Charles II of Bourbon, whose statues grace the niches of the Palazzo Reale near the waterfront. Their influence is still felt all over the city, from the physical remains of the French-style Castel Nuovo to the now downtrodden Quartiere Spagnolo.

But do not dream of exploring this part of Naples these days. The Quartiere Spagnolo is a foolish place for visitors to wander given the rise in Mafia crime. Once a charming microcosm of Neapolitan life, with its colourful banners of drying laundry and public shrines to the Madonna, it is sadly now off limits – visitors simply are not welcome in the heart of the Camorra’s working class. Unlike other indigenous people in exotic places, who invite visitors to learn about their culture, the Camorra people are reliably and consistently dangerous to know.

The same is true about the inhabitants of the lovely fishing village of Pozzuoli, a short way up the coast from Naples. Once a perfect spot to linger on the seaside over seriously fresh seafood, it is now a den for disgruntled youth whose gangs vie for territory and drug prominence and are welcoming to visitors only in the way a piranha might welcome a school of guppies.

Even without the Mafia, Naples has always teetered on a dangerous edge. Its sprawling suburbs are scattered along the base of Mount Vesuvius, a live volcano that looms, ominously smouldering, overhead. The area surrounding Vesuvius is one of the most densely populated in Europe, and recent predictions by volcanologists at the Vesuvius Observatory, precariously situated on the hairpin road going up to its peak, put the odds at nearly two to one that the volcano will erupt within the next five years.

The last time it blew was in 1944, when the devastation of World War II far outweighed anything the volcano could do. When Vesuvius started to smoke, most Italians thought it was allied bombing. The Vesuvius Observatory was manned by allied troops and most of the damage was limited to warplanes, including the destruction of 88 B-25 bomber aircraft. Today a similar eruption would put nearly 700,000 people in danger within minutes of the first whiff of hot lava, if the eruption followed the historical patterns of the last several centuries – namely the emission of a lava flow down the mountainside followed by massive lava fountains.

Dr Giovanni Gregorio, who has dedicated his life to studying the volcano’s activities, predicts that when the eruption comes it will be much larger than anyone imagined and there will be potential for numerous casualties. Recent studies have shown that Neapolitans are unprepared for an eruption (with an evacuation plan that does not go beyond ‘Drive fast!’). However, most people are so weary of the warnings that they are in denial. An excavation in the spring of 2006 uncovered signs of an ancient mass exodus north of Naples, indicating that the volcano’s wrath has encompassed the entire area at least once before.

It is difficult to think about the dangers of the volcano or the Camorra dons when you are gazing out over the serene turquoise bay dotted with the islands of Capri and Ischia. To understand Naples, you need only sit on the terrace of the 14th-century Certosa di San Martino that sits high on the Vomero hill above the city centre. From the monastery, the view of Mount Vesuvius is awe-inspiring. On a clear day, even the warning strand of smoke that rises from its cone seems like part of a serene painting.

Down below, the streets of the historical centre around the Spaccanapoli look like a wrinkled cloth; the grid of the Quartiere Spagnolo appearing the only orderly section in town. From this vantage point, it is easy to see how the city’s hazards and treasures intertwine to give Naples its spirit. People here have always lived under threat. Even now, the odds of the volcano erupting are greater than the odds of getting hurt by a stray Mafia bullet. Surviving those odds give the Neapolitans their edge, and keep this Italian gem well worth admiring.

Getting there
BMI flies direct to Naples daily from London Heathrow. For prices log on to www.bmi.com

Rome link
Trenitalia’s new high-speed train (TAV) will take you from Rome into the heart of Naples. www.trenitalia.com

Where to stay
The finest rooms in Naples are along Via Partenope, which overlooks the sea. The Grand Hotel Vesuvio (above) was once a haunt of royalty and Hollywood A-listers. Doubles cost from €430 ($590). www.vesuvio.it

Closer to the centre of town, the Chiaja Hotel de Charme is just a few metres from the Piazza del Plebiscito and Teatro di San Carlo. Each room is named after a family member of the Marquis Nicola Lecaldano Sasso III, from whom the grand old building was inherited. Ask for zi Assuntina’s or don Nicola’s room. Rooms start at €95 for a single. (www.hotelchiaia.it)

Four-star hotels on the Spaccanapoli are limited; your best bet is Caravaggio Hotel €125 to €240. (www.caravaggiohotel.it)

Where to eat
There are a range of seafront restaurants along Borgo Marino, but head straight to Zi Teresa (Borgo Marinaro, 1). The travel writer Norman Lewis wrote about this restaurant in 1944 and its charm still holds today. Great food, sea views and waiters that make you feel like royalty.

For a quick lunch between museums, try the funky literary café Intra Moenia (Piazza Bellini, 70), which has a pleasant veranda. The fare is relatively light – primarily salads and light pastas.

For a somewhat more substantial lunch that oozes Neapolitan charm, the Antica Trattoria da Carmine (Via Tribunali, 330) is great. It is only open for lunch and has a seasonal menu. The chef often comes out to see if you liked what you ordered, or to suggest something different if he is running short on ingredients.

Do not miss
The Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli (Piazza Museo, 19, open 9am– 8pm daily, except Tuesday). You will never find such a comprehensive collection of artefacts, plucked straight from the ruins of Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae.

The next most important thing you can see is the Palazzo Reale di Capodimonte (Parco di Capodimonte, closed Mondays). The former hunting lodge now houses part of the Farnese Collection – one of the best Renaissance and post-Renaissance collections in the world.

Walk the walk
If you are short on time and cannot give a full day to the big museums, just wander around the Spaccanapoli in the heart of old Naples. Sip something in a piazza, duck into some churches and listen to the sounds of Neapolitan life.