Summary

Naples, Italy, is an underrated city that offers rich cultural experiences, historical landmarks, and is home to the world's best pizza, making it a must-visit destination that surpasses other major Italian cities in the author's preference.

Abstract

The author of the web content passionately advocates for Naples as Italy's most undervalued city, emphasizing its cultural richness, historical significance, and affordability. Despite initial low expectations due to previous visits to Italy's more famous cities like Rome and Florence, Naples captivated the author with its impressive castles, stunning cathedrals, authentic cobblestone streets, and the nearby ancient ruins of Pompeii. The city's reputation for being unsafe is deemed outdated, as the author found the Neapolitans to be exceptionally friendly and hospitable. Moreover, Naples is celebrated for its unparalleled pizza, notably the Margherita and Marinara, offered at traditional pizzerias for a fraction of the cost found in other parts of Italy. The author concludes that these attributes make Naples a superior travel destination that should not be overlooked.

Opinions

Naples is culturally and historically underrated, offering a wealth of sights and experiences that rival those of more popular Italian cities.
The city's archaeological significance is highlighted by the proximity of Pompeii and the volcanic landscapes provided by Mount Vesuvius.
Naples is considered a more affordable destination compared to Rome, Florence, and Milan, with lower costs for tourist attractions and fewer tourist crowds.
The author challenges the city's negative reputation for safety, describing the locals as incredibly welcoming and the city as safer than other Italian cities visited.
The pizza in Naples is not just delicious but also represents exceptional value, with traditional pizzerias serving giant, authentic pizzas for around 4 to 5 euros.
The author's personal experiences suggest that the best pizza can only be found in Naples, surpassing even those in other Italian regions and Italian restaurants worldwide.

Naples: Italy’s Most Underrated City

Having visited Italy’s three biggest cities, here’s why Naples is my absolute favourite

Panoramic view of Naples from Castel Sant’Elmo, Photo by Author

Italy is a country that I’ve visited many times in my life. I’ve been to Rome and Florence twice respectively, once in Milan and quite a few times on Italy’s northeastern Adriatic Coast.

However, I recently visited the South of the country and the region’s biggest city, Naples, for the very first time in May 2022, and the city has quite quickly become my favourite Italian city and a place I would reckon no one should skip on his personal Italian itinerary!

Here I am going to line out my three main reasons why you should absolutely visit Naples, and why I prefer it to the other major Italian cities I’ve visited.

First of all, from a cultural, sightseeing and of course touristy perspective, it is totally underrated.

Having been to Rome and Florence before, it’s fair to say that I didn’t have many expectations regarding the culture, historical buildings or archaeological landmarks in Naples. But, like many tourists who skip Naples, I was totally wrong, because the city actually has quite a lot to offer in terms of culture and history.

As such, you have many beautiful ancient castles across the city, of which Castel Sant’Elmo offers incredible and breathtaking views over the whole city, as well as the huge Naples Cathedral, which is as stunning from the inside as from the outside, and the historical centre boasts some pretty authentic tight cobblestone streets, which you wouldn’t find in the more northern parts of Italy.

The city also boasts a huge Archaeological Museum, and for those tourists crazy about archaeology, the ancient city of Pompeii, which was completely wiped out by the eruption of the neighbouring volcano, Vesuvio, is only a 20-minute train journey away from the centre of Naples.

Speaking of the volcano neighbouring the city, it gives Naples some stunning and picturesque landscapes, which are reminiscent of Rio de Janeiro from its coastal scenery. Therefore, Naples is surely also heaven for photographers!

And, to top it all off, as Naples is still much less popular among tourists than other Italian cultural hotspots such as Rome and Florence, it is also much cheaper than these cities; entries to castles or museums cost much less than in Rome, Florence and Milan. Also, it is obviously less crowded with tourists than these cities.

My second reason why I would recommend Naples to everyone and why it has become my favourite city in Italy is the kindness and hospitality of its people.

Many people skip Naples on their Italian itinerary due to one main reason: its very dodgy and criminal reputation.

Naples has one of the worst reputations in regards to safety in the whole European Union, and I guess that, unfortunately, is the main reason why so many tourists don’t go there.

Well, what I can tell from my own experience, is that this reputation is totally overblown, or in other words, outdated.

The people of Naples were literally the friendliest and most hospitable I’ve ever met in Italy. Never did I have any fears or worries about my safety, and I went there all on my own. In fact, as I used the word outdated before, locals told me that Naples got its bad “mafia-esque” reputation from mainly the 1980s when the City suffered a lot from violence and corruption from the Mafia.

But since then, it has become very safe, and I have to admit that I even felt much safer in Naples than I did in Rome or Milan for instance, and mind you, I stayed in an apartment close to the Central Station, which is always renowned to be the more sketchy part of town.

Of course, like in every big city in the world, there are parts where you should not go as a tourist on your own, and I didn’t see these parts, but regarding the people of Naples, and the safety, I never felt in danger and never got into any dodgy situations, and I was talking to quite a lot of people!

Compared to other Italian cities I’ve visited, the Neapolitans are the most open-minded towards strangers, the most helpful and the most welcoming. To give you an example, at the end of my 5-day stay, I was offered a coffee, orange juice and a sandwich at the coffee shop I always went to for breakfast!

Last but not least, why you have to visit Naples at least once in your life and why I’ll definitely be back at some point in mine: the world’s most delicious pizza!

Tasty Pizza Margherita at one of the World’s oldest Pizzaiolos Photo by Author

Honestly, if there is one cheat meal that could be considered virtually everyone’s favourite, then pizza is surely it!

The world’s favourite cheat meal was obviously born in Naples, so my expectations here were quite high!

I have to be totally honest, I love pizza, as many people do, and I’ve had many many decent and delicious pizzas in my life, across the world, but…nothing has and probably will ever come close to the giant, thin and fresh pizzas of Naples!

During my 5-day trip to Naples, I’ve had one every day, yes. First of all, they were absolutely delicious, I actually had the feeling that I didn’t know what a really good pizza would taste like before I went to Naples, and secondly, they were the cheapest and best meal you could get for your money.

You can obviously also tuck into some local street food snacks across the city, or go to a bakery or, of course, a good Italian restaurant, which I also did, but everything in restaurants is more expensive than pizzas and on top of that the portions are a lot smaller than pizzas.

In the traditional pizzerias of Naples, you pay between 4 and 5 euros for a giant pizza and you’ll never have to wait more than five minutes after placing your order!

Mind you though that in these traditional and authentic pizzerias, you only have the choice between the two oldest versions of pizza: Margherita and Marinara, the latter being just like Margherita but without the cheese.

If you want to have a broader choice for your pizza with more toppings or versions, you can still go to a restaurant, but the prices might be a bit higher, but still very cheap compared to other parts of Italy.

As I said, no pizza on earth that I had has ever come close to the Neapolitan pizzas I had, even the ones I had in Florence, Milan and Rome and of course in all the fantastic Italian restaurants in my home country and other places I’ve been to.

So, tasting a traditional, delicious and cheap Neapolitan pizza, the oldest and original version of pizza, is definitely a reason to visit Naples, even if only for a few days!