Top 20 sightseeing the best attractions to see on your holiday

Top 20 Naples

Top 20 Sightseeing in Naples

The Metropolitan City of Naples or simply Naples is the third-largest municipality in Italy and the capital of the Campania region of Italy. It is also known as one of the world’s most ancient unceasingly populated cities. Naples is situated two hours’ drive from Rome. The Romantic Naples is also often referred to as open-air museum. It serves as the home to a number of the world’s finest theater and opera houses.

The top 20 most interesting sightseeing spots in Naples include:

1

Piazza del Plebiscito

Piazza del Plebiscito is a noble 19th Century semicircular piazza in Naples. It was built in likeness of Rome’s Pantheon but with a curving colonnade to make it look more elongated. Piazza del Plebiscito is bounded by San Francesco di Paola Church’s neoclassical façade on one side and by the royal palace on the other side.

2

Piazza del Municipio

Piazza del Municipio was built with a great mixture of historical architecture. Piazza del Municipio is known as the biggest town square in Italy and one among the largest in the entire Europe. In the square you can find a variety of classic Italian food, stalls and cafés as well as of different dramatic performances. Aside from medieval Castel Nuovo that dominates Piazza del Municipio, the square is also lined with a couple of magnificent buildings and interesting sightseeing spots like the Teatro Mercadante and the Palazzo San Giacomo.

3

Parco Virgiliano: Garden of Remembrance

Parco Virgiliano, translated in English as the Park of Remembrance, is a scenic park that offers splendid vistas over the Gulf of Naples, Mount Vesuvius, Trentaremi Bay, Gaiola Bay, Pollione’s amphitheater, Nisida Island as well as the factory districts of Pozzuoli, Bacoli, Baia, Bagnoli and Monte di Procida. The coasts of Sorrento and Amalfi as well as the stunning islands of Procida, Ischia and Capri can also be viewed from the park. This green oasis is located on Posillipo hill.

4

Galleria Umberto I

On the opposite side of San Carlo sits the impressive Galleria Umberto I. The Galleria Umberto I is an immense glass-roofed gallery known for having the grandest interior in southern Italy and for being the largest arcade in the world. This cross-shaped arcade was built with 184 ft tall arching dome. The ground at the central area of the arcade is embellished with a beautiful mosaic of the zodiac.

5

Piazza del Gesù Nuovo

Piazza del Gesù Nuovo is a square in Naples that is situated outside the historic center’s western boundary. Decorating the Piazza del Gesù Nuovo is the Guglia della immacolata, the flashiest and most casual monument of Naples. At the Piazza del Gesù Nuovo you can find three of the most remarkable landmarks of the city, namely: The Church of Santa Chiara, The spire or guglia of the Immaculate Virgin and The Church of Gesù Nuovo.

6

Catacombs of San Gennaro

catacombs-of-san-gennaro-naplesThe Catacombs of San Gennaro is a complex of underground paleo-Christian necropolis that is known to be the largest of its kind in southern Italy. This Christian necropolis features two levels that do not overlap. The lower tier is the most ancient level. It dates back to the third to fourth century while the upper tier was just an expansion. The Catacombs of San Gennaro were originally composed of three separate burial grounds. One burial site was dedicated to San Gennaro or St. Januarius, the second was dedicated to San Gaudioso or Saint Gaudiosus and the third one is dedicated to San Severo or Saint Severus.

7

Mount Vesuvius

Naples vesuviusMount Vesuvius or Monte Vesuvio is a stratovolcano that is located in the Gulf of Naples, around 9 km away from the eastern part of the historic center of the city. Mount Vesuvius features a huge cone that is partially encircled by a summit caldera’s precipitous brim. Climbing up to the volcano’s peak offers an unforgettably wonderful experience. From the crest you can enjoy a very picturesque landscape and a breathtaking vista of the Bay of Naples, the Sorrento Peninsula, the Gulf of Gaeta and the Cape Miseno.

8

Pompeii

Pompeii naples ruinPompeii was a primordial Roman town-city in the Campania region of Italy. The city of Pompeii was among the commune in the region that was demolished and covered with around 4 to 6 meters thick pumice and ash of Mount Vesuvius during its eruption in 79 AD. According to the researchers, Pompeii was founded by the Oscans or Osci in the 17th or 16th century BC. For the past 250 years, Pompeii has been one of the most popular tourist attractions in Italy. It is now listed as among the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

9

Royal Palace of Naples

The Royal Palace of Naples, locally called as the Palazzo Reale Napoli, is one among the most famous tourist attractions in Naples. It is also known to be one of the grandest palaces in southern Italy. During the first half of the 18th century, the Royal Palace of Naples served as the Bourbon rulers’ main royal residence. Now, the palace dominates the Piazza del Plebiscito. It features grand halls, first-rate fixtures, colossal tapestries, remarkable artworks and awe-inspiring, reddish fascia that highlight the statues of Naples’s eight kings.

10

Castel Nuovo Naples

Castel Nuovo, often called as the New Castle or Maschio Angioino, is an imposing medieval castle that dominates the front side of Piazza Municipio. Fronting the castle is Naple’s Palazzo San Giacomo or city hall. Castel Nuovo is encircled by deep trenches and is considered as among the major architectural landmarks in Naples. The entrance of the castle is ornamented by a notable triumphal arc. It was designed by Pierre d’Angincourt and Pierre de Chaulnes in 1282.

11

San Lorenzo Maggiore

San Lorenzo Maggiore is one of the imposing churches in the ancient Greek-Roman city of Naples. It can be found at the intersection of via dei Tribunali and via San Gregorio Armeno, the exact topographical epicenter of the historic center of the city. San Lorenzo Maggiore was built with a monastery and a museum. Visiting the museum gives you an opportunity to learn about the detailed information of Naples’ local city hall as well as of the history of San Lorenzo Maggiore.

12

Capodimonte Museum

capodimonte-museum-collection-appartamento-reale-naplesThe Museo di Capodimonte or Capodimonte Museum is an exhibition hall in the grand Bourbon palace in Naples, the Palace of Capodimonte. The museum serves as the main repository of the decorative art and paintings of the Neapolitan artists dating back from the 13th to the 18th centuries. The museum also houses a collection of ancient Roman sculptures and some imperative works of other Italian painting schools.

13

Gabinetto Segreto

The Gabinetto Segreto, also called the Secret Cabinet or Secret Museum, is a British Museum that contains furtive rooms and displays a collection of sexually explicit or erotic discoveries and treasures unearthed from ancient Pompeii. The Secret Museum is housed in separate arcades in the Museo Borbonico, now known as the Naples National Archaeological Museum. Included in the collections exhibited in the Gabinetto Segreto are the depictions of the god Priapus, erogenous frescoes, household items like phallic oil lamps, inscriptions and sexually explicit symbols.

14

Nisida Island

Nisida Island is a beautiful volcanic atoll on the blue Gulf of Naples in southern Italy. It is situated in the archipelago of the Flegrean Islands, just nearby Cape Posillipo. This roughly circular islet is connected to Naples by a bridge made of stones. Nisida Island is merely a small island that measures half a kilometer in diameter.

15

Coral and Cameos Jewelry Museum Ascione

Ever interested in Jewelries? Then visiting the Coral and Cameos Jewelry Museum Ascione in Naples might also interest you. The Coral and Cameos Jewelry Museum Ascione is a museum in Naples that exhibits hundreds of red coral and cameo jewels fabricated from 1805 to 1950. Aside from the jewelries, the museum also displays various items dating 150 years back including ancient machinery, photographs, tools and documents.

16

Santa Maria La Nova

Santa Maria La Nova is a Roman Catholic Church with a monastery in Naples that was built with a design from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. It is located nearby the Santa Chiara Church and Monastery. The church now serves as the host of the Museo ARCA of modern religious art.

17

Santa Caterina A Chiaia

naples Santa Caterina A ChiaiaSanta Caterina Martire, also popularly known as Santa Caterina a Chiaia, is one of the churches in the metropolitan city of Naples. It can be found in the city’s Chiaia section, just nearby Piazza dei Martiri. Santa Caterina A Chiaia was originally built as the Forti family’s mini chapel. In 1600, the church was surrendered to the Franciscan order. The church had undergone a series of renovations before it became what it is today. The façade of the church is embellished with the Martyrdom of Saint Catherine of Alexandria’s representation while the artworks displayed in the church are mostly dedicated to Saint Catherine.

18

Mount Somma

Mount Somma is a mountain and an integral part of the Somma-Vesuvius volcanic complex. It is situated in the province of Naples, Campania region, Italy. Mount Somma is known as a significant part of the Vesuvius National Park since 1995. It stands 1,132 meters high.

19

Lago di Agnano

Another wonderful place to visit in Naples is Lago di Agnano, translated in English as Lake Agnano. Lago di Agnano is a globular lagoon that has a circumference of 6.5 kilometers. Lago di Agnano once occupied the volcanic crater of the defunct Mount Agnano. It is located 8 kilometers northwest of Naples. Today, the volcanic crater of Agnano is known as the home to the Agnano hippodrome. Apart from the truly picturesque landscape you may also check on some of the few hotels around the area.

20

Chiesa di San Pietro a Majella

The Chiesa di San Pietro a Majella or Church of San Pietro a Majella is a 14th century church in Naples. It was dedicated to Pope Celestine V, born Pietro Angeleri da Morone, also known as Peter of Morrone or Pietro da Morrone. The Chiesa di San Pietro a Majella is considered as one among the finest and the most significant paradigms of the city’s Angevin architecture although it has gone through a Baroque revamp in the17th century.