We were on our own in Naples today. First, we had a no alarm morning! These are so rare, and it’s not that we sleep very late, we just move through the morning pace without a schedule. We needed to figure out the ferry system. The towns along the Bay of Naples take a long time to drive between, or in the case of Capri, cannot be driven to at all. Getting on the water in a seaport city seems like a natural thing to do. So we scoped out a plan for the next couple days, and walked to the port terminal to be sure everything was in order.
We had a mission in an old part of Naples. Naples might be the world’s capital of presepi makers. After a little research, I was able to find out that the word “presepi” relates to the Latin word for crib. So, these craftsmen make elaborate creche scenes. Strictly speaking, the presepi is just the Holy Family. Once a family begins to add other characters, the arrangement is called a “pastori.” They can be endlessly elaborate, and it is possible to add modern day figures in the mix as well. Originally these were constructed of paper mâche, but we never found any of those. Instead, all seemed to be made of ceramic and then hand painted. Expensive ones are also dressed in fancy, sewn clothing.
We’ve seen pastori set up in locations around this district; in Rome, the church with the remains of St. Ignatius of Loyola has an immense one, a gift from Naples. People come from all over to purchase these. There are many traditional makers who have shops, displaying their date of establishment with pride. We never saw a shop that was less than a hundred years old. The area is very full of tourists and exciting.
A very fitting-for-Halloween opportunity crossed our path today, We walked by the church of Santa Maria delle Anime del Purgatorio, and saw two of these outside:
We’d heard of this church on our hike up Vesuvius! Our guide, Stefani, had told us there was a location in Naples where a flood had rearranged all graves in the crypt and mixed up the bones. Some people cleaned and organized the bones, of course placing skulls with long bones not knowing whose was who’s. These people, in the guide’s words, “adopted” a skeleton, cleaned and took care of it, including praying for its soul to be removed from purgatory.
There were skulls everywhere as part of the decoration in the sanctuary. For an admission price we went into the crypt and saw the cleaned and venerated collection. I have no photos because they were not permitted, out of respect for the dead. It was a site like I’ve never seen before. I have seen catacombs, but these skulls and bones were set up more like little altars. Visitors had left photos of loved ones on these altars. There were perhaps 20 graves with sifted earth on the floor, and these were scattered with offerings of coins. Each had two roses and a cross. It was extremely orderly, as though the burial had been just days ago.
It was a bit spooky, since at first we were alone in the crypt. The Catholic church eventually formally shut down the practice of praying for these souls, saying that it was too cult-like. I don’t know if the people who adopted the skeletons were hoping that once they prayed a soul out of purgatory, the soul would then be able to help the earth-dweller? Or, were the adopters just moved by the sadness of having a flood rearrange the skeletons, and this was fully and act of kindness and charity? Clearly, the charity is still active because the graves and altars are tended. And when I asked, I learned that our admission fees went to the charity. How amazing that our path would take us by this location on Halloween, the day before All Souls.
There were a few modern art installations in the church as well, and below is the most arresting, tucked into an alcove beside the altar, but not fully visible from the pews.
Our shopping accomplished, we found meh gelato, and enjoyed the sights along the way back to the hotel.
One chief feature of Naples, hard for me to get used to, is that so much of the built, vertical surface is tagged with graffiti.
One of the stops on the way home was a barber, for Mark.
We had a pretty special evening planned. As a slightly early anniversary celebration, we dined at a Michelin star restaurant, Veritas, with a seven course tasting menu. I did not photograph our meal, but it was delicious and innovative. Here are a few morsel descriptions off the top of my mind: compressed kiwi; orange ice cream with olive sauce; sea urchin; tiny, stuffed, muffin shaped pasta (maybe 5mm in diameter, Thumbelina must be one of the chefs); a wreath shaped salad with microgreens and edible flowers, placed just so; and a poached chicken breast with a full on umami kimchi sauce. We were full and sleepy.
