Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A pictorial history of Naples is told in the section
Immagini e Memorie di Napoli
(Images
and Memories of Naples). Here you'll find portraits of historic characters; antique maps,
including a 35-panel copper map of 18th-century Naples in Room 45; and rooms dedic-
ated to major historical events such as the Revolt of the Masaniello (Room 36) and the
plague (Room 37). Room 32 boasts the beautiful Tavola Strozzi (Strozzi Table); its fabled
depiction of 15th-century maritime Naples is one of the city's most celebrated historical
records.
Castel Sant'Elmo
CASTLE, MUSEUM
( 081 558 77 08;
www.coopculture.it
; Via Tito Angelini 22; adult/reduced €5/2.50; castle
8.30am-7.30pm Wed-Mon, last entry 6.30pm; Vanvitelli, funicular Montesanto to Morghen)
Com-
manding spectacular city and bay views, this star-shaped castle was originally a church
dedicated to St Erasmus. Some 400 years later, in 1349, Robert of Anjou turned it into a
castle before Spanish viceroy Don Pedro de Toledo had it further fortified in 1538. Used
as a military prison until the 1970s, it's now home to the satisfying
Novecento a Napoli
(
081 558 77 08; 9am-6pm Wed-Mon, entry on the hour, every hour)
, an art museum dedicated to
20th-century southern Italian art.
TOP OF CHAPTER
1
Santa Lucia & Chiaia
Teatro San Carlo
THEATRE
( 081 797 24 68;
www.teatrosancarlo.it
;
Via San Carlo 98; guided tour adult/reduced €6/3; guided
tours every hour from 10.30am-4.30pm Mon-Sat, to 12.30pm Sun, morning tours only Jan & Feb; R2 to
Via San Carlo)
Even if you're not an opera fan, a guided tour of Italy's biggest and oldest
opera house is worth an 'encore'. While the original 1737 theatre burnt down in 1816, An-
tonio Niccolini's 19th-century reconstruction is an extraordinary architectural gem, lav-
ished with six gilded levels of boxes and a living testament to Naples' former status as
Europe's music capital. Tickets for the guided tour are available at the theatre box office.
The adjoining Palazzo Reale is also home to the theatre's fascinating museum,
Memus
OFFLINE MAP
GOOGLE MAP
(Museum & Historical Archive of the Teatro San Carlo;
ht-
tp://memus.squarespace.com
;
Piazza del Plebiscito, Palazzo Reale; adult/reduced incl Palazzo Reale €10/5;
