Overlake Latin Ancient Field Studies: A morning in Naples by Divya

Text by Divya, photos by Kelli

Our group in the covered Galleria Principe in Naples

Today started off with a typical Italian breakfast consisting of fresh homemade filled croissants, biscuits, Nutella, jam, espresso, hot milk, and blood orange juice from a bakery down the street. Then we all packed onto a bus with just enough seats and headed over to the Naples Museum.

While we were stuck in traffic, we were amazed by the weaving motorcycles that almost got crushed by merging cars and a gorgeous lake. Kelli also informed us that the whole valley we were passing over was deemed to be a crater of a large volcano too. We also saw numerous small shops along the winding streets selling fresh groceries, meats, jewelry, paintings, and clothes.

We arrived at the museum fresh after our rest in the traffic, but then figured out that the museum is closed! We stood around for a little bit debating what to do and finally decided to visit churches and roam the neighboring streets to shop before lunch and return to the museum tomorrow since we had our hike of Mt. Vesuvius scheduled in the afternoon already.

Walking along Via Tribunali in Naples

Later, we stopped for a snack at the Panettaria and some of us bought mini pizzas without any cheese. Then we moved on and visited a beautiful cloister named the San Giuseppe Maggiore where many us relaxed in the gardens and enjoyed the sight.

Next, we meandered through the small streets with shops lining the edges. Here we had the opportunity to buy numerous, uniques items like a pizza clock, all things chili related, magnets, more jewelry, and interesting mini statues. It is believed around here that chilis are good luck resulting in numerous stores selling everything chili. Even the jewelry had chilis! The statues consisted of models, famous people, and daily objects.

Steven shops for some traditional figurines

A vegetable shop in Naples

The last stop we visited before lunch was the San Lorenzo Maggiore basilica in a gothic style. This basilica consisted of baroque side chapels and was unique because it didn't focus primarily on the ceiling, but on the statues and paintings on the floor. There were also numerous Corinthian pilasters, meaning that they are attached to a wall.

The San Lorenzo Basilica

Finally, we walked to the La Tana dell'Arte for margherita pizzas. The pizzas were made of the famous tomatoes of Naples, making our lunch extremely delicious.