My beautiful Naples. part 2
Naples, like no other city, is rich in surrounding attractions, from here you can easily get to Pompeii, Herculaneum, Sorrento, Salerno, Paestum, Pozzuoli, Caserta, Capua, visit Vesuvius and the Phlegerian fields. This is not counting the ferries to Capri and Ischia. In the city and province of Campania there are very convenient and profitable Artcards. We bought three-day cards first in Campania (two free attractions, including in Naples, the rest with a discount of up to 50% + free travel around the province by trains and buses) the card costs 31 euros, paid off more than twice. Then a three-day tour of Naples (three free attractions + city transport), costs 21 euros, also a good money saver. Cards were bought at the Central Station in a shop near the platform number 21. On Sunday morning we decided to go to Caserta and Capua, the fact is that according to the art card, Caserta and Capua are considered one visit, but in Capua the amphitheater is closed on Monday, and in Caserta the palace is closed Tuesday. Naples has a very convenient network of railway and bus routes, but there are few trains on Sundays (unlike Moscow suburban trains). but there was no choice and we were already at the station in the morning.
The tax card had to be activated in the composter on the platform. The train takes 40 minutes to Caserta, the city itself is small, everyone goes there to see the Royal Palace, located very close to the station. This palace is an analogue of Versailles or Peterhof, i. e. country residence of the Neapolitan king. Luigi Vanvitelli was invited as an architect in 1753, his son Luigi was already completing the construction, although the palace was rebuilt more than once until 1845.
Having received a ticket at the ticket office on the Artcard, we first of all went to inspect the park with fountains (as long as we have the strength and it’s not so hot to go). To supply water from the mountains for fountains, Vanvitelli built a grandiose aqueduct. Those. water flows down the hill towards the palace. The road from the palace to the hill is 3 km and uphill.
You can use transport (2.5 euros), but as one of our tourists sibeaster noted with humor, whose reviews and travel tips I constantly study (which I advise everyone before traveling) "But we are not here for that lands came to spend the euros they earned".
The park was gradually filled with people, many of them were jogging, combining business with pleasure. The first fountain - Margarita did not cause any special emotions, an ordinary fountain surrounded by sculptures.
Then it got more interesting: several pools with huge fish
Behind the pools, the second fountain "Dolphin"
Behind it is a pond and the third "Eol" fountain, or rather a whole complex of fountains.
Then comes another cascade of pools and the fountain of Ceres (Venus)
Well, the cascade of fountains at the foot of the hill ends. Fountains of Diana and Actaeon.
You can barely see the Royal Palace from here
This is where the entrance to the "English" park begins, the fashion for which has replaced the "French" parks.
The second exit closer to the palace was marked on the map of the park, but it was closed and we had to walk around the park again in the opposite direction. The sun was already shining with might and main, the temperature was +22, the shadow left the road and we had to move back along the shady paths. After a short halt on the park benches for a snack, we began to inspect the palace. The palace is huge - 1200 rooms (more than the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg), a tenth of which is open. We decided to go as far as we could, because already waved 9 kilometers through the parks. The palace left a rather pleasant sensation: it is very bright and tall, the main color of the rooms is white with gold. halls of the 18th century in the Baroque style, 19th century - Empire style.
A majestic staircase leads to the palace
Next we get to the Palatine Chapel
Further on, pompous and richly decorated ceremonial halls begin: Halberdiers, Personal Guards, Alexander, Mars, Astrea.
The Alexander Hall (or the Marble Hall) was used by Murat as a Throne Room during the French occupation.
Further there are various apartments
Interesting cradles
Inspection of the palace took an hour and a half, it is surprising that the toilet at the exit turned out to be paid at rather high ticket prices!
But on the way Capuya turned out to be quite difficult on Sunday. On normal days, there are a lot of trains going to the Santa Maria Capua Vetere station, the journey time is 10 minutes. And now it would take three hours to wait for the next train. However, a minibus-type bus drove up and we arrived in about thirty minutes, because. he made many stops.
Capuia is one of the oldest cities in Italy, now it is a small city, and earlier it was the third city in the world, second only to Rome and Carthage. The famous Appian Way just connected Rome and Capua. Everyone knows Kapua from the book or the film "Spartacus", there was a school of gladiators where the slave uprising began. The main attraction is the amphitheater for gladiator fights, which is 80 years younger than the Roman Colosseum. It used to hold 40.000 spectators, but now only the lower tiers remain of it. The cost of visiting the arena is amazing - only 2 euros.
First you need to go through a small museum
And here is the arena itself, there were five people together in dreams
It is especially great that you can walk under the arena, in well-preserved passages, where a separate one near the amphitheater leads.
The way back to Naples took quite a long time. At first they waited a long time for the bus to Caserta, then for some reason they postponed the departure time of the train. As a result, we got on a big bus and drove to Naples, since the fare was valid on the Artcard.
In the evening we went to the legendary pizzeria Da Michele (in Italian Da Michele), not far from the central station. This oldest family pizzeria has been operating since 1870. Popularity was added by Julia Roberts, who ate pizza here in the movie "Eat, Pray, Love", besides her, a lot of celebrities, led by the Neapolitan idol Maradona, visited here. There are always a lot of people at the entrance, there are no reservations for tables.
We are lucky that now is not the tourist season, in the summer you have to wait for an entrance for about an hour. The steward at the entrance issues a number and, as the seats become free, shouts it out. We didn't wait long, twenty minutes. We were seated at a table with an elderly Italian couple. Despite the Michelin stars, the atmosphere is the simplest: two halls and an oven in which pizza is baked. I traveled a lot in Italy and tried pizzas in many places, but Neapolitan ones are really considered the best in the world. In "Da Michele" there are only two types of pizza Margherita and Marinara, each in three sizes. My tablemates and I ordered the largest Margherita pizza for 5 euros, plus O. 3 any drink for 2 euros per bottle. They brought it quickly, in about five minutes. The Neapolitan sitting opposite very quickly managed her portion, cutting the pizza into ribbons and winding it on a fork. We also had time to eat while hot. Yummy!! ! In total, we spent 14 euros for two (plus we gave euros for tea to the waiter). Settlement at the box office upon exit.
This day ended on such a major note.
