Naples
Built by the Normans in the 12th century, Naples’ oldest castle owes its name (Castle of the Egg) to Virgil. The Roman scribe reputedly buried an egg on…
Must-see attractions in Bay of Naples
Naples
Star of this operatic square is the 18th-century Guglia di San Domenico. The work of Cosimo Fanzago, Francesco Antonio Picchiatti and Domenico Antonio…
Bay of Naples
Back in its ancient heyday, Italy's third-largest amphitheatre – desired by Nero, and completed by Vespasian from AD 69 to 79 – could hold over 20,000…
Museo Duca di Martina & Villa Floridiana
Naples
The Museo Duca di Martina houses a beautiful collection of ceramics, with priceless Chinese Ming (1368–1644) ceramics and Japanese Edo (1615–1867) vases…
Naples
Commissioned by entrepreneur and engineer Giuseppe Mannajuolo, this distinguished palazzo was built between 1910 and 1911. It's one of the city's finest…
Naples
Naples at its most vociferous and intense, the Mercato di Porta Nolana is a heady, gritty street market where bellowing fishmongers and greengrocers…
Naples
Once a baroque place of prayer, this is now a repository for religious paintings, triptychs and sculptures, many from defunct churches. Notable works…
Naples
Egyptian-born industrial-designer Karim Rashid is the creative force behind Naples' Università metro station, a playful, candy-coloured ode to the digital…
Chiesa San Giovanni a Carbonara
Naples
Sumptuous sculpture and Technicolor frescoes makes this Gothic church worth a detour. Andrea de Firenze, Tuscan sculptors and northern-Italian artists…
Naples
This evocative guided tour leads you 40m below street level to explore Naples' ancient labyrinth of aqueducts, passages and cisterns.
Pompeii
Covering an entire insula (city block) and claiming two atria at its front end (humbler homes had one), Pompeii's largest private house is named after the…
Naples
One of the best spots to chill with a spritz is this free-spirited, bar-lined square. Featuring excavated ruins from the city's 4th-century Greek city…
Bay of Naples
South of Oplontis, Stabiae stood on the slopes of the Varano hill overlooking what was then the sea and is now modern Castellammare di Stabia. Here at…
Bay of Naples
Some 2km up Via Rosini, which becomes Via Solfatara (about 900m north of the metro), the surreal Solfatara crater was known to the Romans as the Forum…
Pompeii
The oldest and most important of Pompeii's religious buildings, the Tempio di Apollo largely dates from the 2nd century BC, including the striking…
Bay of Naples
Dating back to the 8th century BC, Cuma was the first Greek settlement on the Italian mainland. Its ruins are shrouded in ancient mythology: in Virgil's…
Casa e Chiesa di Santa Maria Francesca delle Cinque Piaghe
Naples
The very essence of Naples' cultish brand of Catholicism, this holy sanctuary was once the stamping ground of stigmatic and mystic Santa Maria Francesca…
Naples
This kooky museum serves up an eclectic collection of treasures, from historic Asian and European armour and weaponry to sumptuous paintings spanning the…
Pompeii
At this typical 2nd-century-BC bathing complex, bathers would enter from the vestibule, stop off in the vaulted apodyterium (changing room), and then pass…
Chiesa di Santa Maria del Carmine
Naples
Its 17th-century campanile (bell tower) is Naples' tallest, and this iconic church is home to a famously nimble crucifix. Now hanging in a tabernacle…
Casa della Venere in Conchiglia
Pompeii
Casa della Venere in Conchiglia harbours a lovely peristyle looking onto a small, manicured garden. It's here in the garden that you'll find the large,…
Pompeii
The 1st-century AD Casa del Poeta Tragico features the world's first-known 'beware of the dog' – cave canem – warnings. Visible through a protective glass…
Naples
The late Annibale Oste was one of Naples' most celebrated sculptors and designers; his workshop is now a small gallery-archive showcasing some of his…
Bay of Naples
In Virgil's Aeneid, it is from Lago d'Averno that Aeneas descends into the underworld. It's hard to imagine hell in such a bucolic setting, where old…
Naples
On hot summer evenings, Piazza Dante turns into a communal living room, packed with entire families who stroll, eat, smoke, play cards, chase balloons and…
Naples
For Continental grandeur, it's hard to beat Piazza del Plebiscito. Whichever way you look, the view is show-stopping. To the northwest, vine-covered…
Museo del Tesoro di San Gennaro
Naples
If you're intrigued by Naples' cultish love affair with San Gennaro, eye up his glittering treasury at the Museo del Tesoro di San Gennaro, adjacent to…
Naples
Flanked by the spiky Chiesa del Gesù Nuovo and the Basilica di Santa Chiara, this lively square is one of Naples' most beautiful. For hundreds of years it…
Museo Archeologico dei Campi Flegrei
Bay of Naples
This usually crowd-free museum occupies the commanding Castello di Baia, built in the late 15th century by the Aragonese as a defence against possible…
Chiesa di Sant'Anna dei Lombardi
Naples
This magnificent church is testament to the close links that once existed between the Neapolitan Aragonese and the Florentine Medici dynasty. One…
Bay of Naples
Before moving into the colossal Reggia di Caserta, Charles III of Bourbon called this more modest palace home. Built between 1738 and 1742, the frescoed…
Naples
The Chiesa di San Giovanni a Mare is a rare example of Romanesque architecture in Naples. Erected by Benedictine monks in the 12th century, the nave forms…
Chiesa di San Pietro a Maiella
Naples
Dedicated to hermit Pietro del Morrone, who was promoted to Pope Celestine V in 1294, this Gothic veteran is most famous for its series of baroque ceiling…
Chiesa di Sant'Eligio Maggiore
Naples
Dating from 1270, this simple Gothic beauty was the first church built by the Angevins. The church was once adorned with frescoes, of which a few…
Bay of Naples
Rione Terra is Pozzuoli's oldest quarter and its ancient acropolis. The original 2nd-century-BC temple to Jupiter, Juno and Minerva was replaced by a…
Biblioteca Nazionale di Napoli
Naples
Naples' Palazzo Reale is home to the Biblioteca Nazionale, its priceless treasures including at least 2000 papyri discovered at Herculaneum and fragments…
Museo del Tessile e dell’Abbigliamento Elena Aldobrandini
Naples
Despite the lack of information in English, this petite textile and fashion museum is a good bet for those after a lesser-known treat. Swoon over a…
Naples
Dividing his time between Naples and New York, the infectiously charming Lello Esposito (who speaks very little English) is intrigued by Neapolitan…
Bay of Naples
You'll need to book (by phone) at least two hours ahead to visit the world's largest Roman cistern, but it's well worth the effort to stand in this…
Chiesa di Santa Teresa a Chiaia
Naples
Designed by baroque architect and sculptor Cosimo Fanzago, this melon-hued show off was built between 1650 and 1662. After suffering damage in an…
