Naples Walking Tour

Naples Walking Tour

Naples is considered the capital of Southern Italy, the third-largest municipality after Rome and Milan and one of the richest for its cultural and artistic heritage. Founded around the 8th century B.C. by Greek colonists, the town was originally called Parthenope (VII B.C.) and then Neapolis, Νέα Πόλις, the New Town, a hub of commercial activities in the Greek world. Around 320 B.C. Conquered by the Romans, they ruled until the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 A.D. Through the centuries Naples has been under several foreign dominations. The city’s religious and secular architecture show a variety of styles, including Romanesque, Gothic, Catalan, Tuscan, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical and Neoclassical. Naples walking tour will cover all the historical periods and two different areas.

Monumental Area

The tour start from the Neo-classical Plebiscito square, the main center of Naples, one of the biggest in Italy. Your guide will take you from there to the so called Royal area, with its imposing Royal Palace the symbol of the Power from the XVII century until the World Wars.
At a short distance you’ll find the Royal Opera House, San Carlo Theatre, built in 1737 by the king of Naples Charles III  Bourbon. Important musicians and conductors had been performed.

In the center of the city the Galleria Umberto I with its polychrome marbles and the neo-Renaissance style of the decorations, today houses a shopping center and coffè bars.

The New Castel is a French fortress built in a very strategic position and entirely restored during the Spanish domination in the XV-XVI century. Nowadays is the symbol of this area.

You’ll cross Toledo street that is one of the arterial road of the city, flanked by shops and restaurants for a pleasant walk.

Historical Center

The Historical center is a complex and fascinating tangle of alleys that still shows the Greek layout. One of the most famous road is Spaccanapoli that literally means “that splits the town in two” and it follows a Greek road.  Traditional workshops and aristocratic palaces once owned by important Neapolitan noble families are alternated along the way. Piazza del Gesù is a kind of entrance to the historical center where you’ll see the obelisk of the Virgin Mary. A Must to see is the Church Gesù Nuovo that is the triumph of the Baroque style and the old Basilica of Santa Chiara.

Piazza San Domenico can be considered the core of the historical center: another marble obelisk dominates the square along with the Church of San Domenico that was the seat of the Dominican order.

A tiny road called san Gregorio Armeno is one of the most picturesque places in Naples: this is the road where craftsmen show their skills in making the figurines for the Christmas nativity scenes. Overcrowded all year long you can really breath a Neapolitan atmosphere!

During the Naples Walking Tour you’ll see not just the well-known highlights, but also the city’s heart, the local customs, the living traditions of Neapolitans.