Capturing the Perfect 48 Hours in Naples
by Cassam Looch
Trying to harness the essence of Naples is a challenge at the best of times.
To try and do so in 48 hours, on camera, at the start of the tourist season could potentially end in massive failure – but like the city itself, if you’re willing to forgo some luxuries then anything is possible. Culture Trip and Sony are on a mission to improve your travel photography. It’s virtually impossible to travel anywhere these days without your phone, but is there a place for a dedicated digital camera in your hand luggage next time you book your holidays?
The likes of Rome, Florence and Milan tend to dominate the list of destinations travelers want to visit when travelling to Italy. Sicily, Sardinia and Capri are the islands most people think of when imagining a sunny getaway to the country but we wanted to showcase somewhere entirely different. As regular visitors ourselves, we know what makes Italy so special but there’s one part of the country we love the most.
Culture Trip’s Director of Content Cassam Looch set about picking a photogenic location that would suit the objective of putting a Sony ZV-E10 II in the hands of first-time photographers who would be put through their paces with a local expert.
“It had to be Naples,” Cassam explains.
“I know the city well enough from a previous visit and instantly fell in love with it. We toyed around with a few other destinations, but I really wanted this corner of Italy for this project. I know its reputation as being less refined than other cultural hubs in the country, but that’s why I love it. The colourful, cramped streets are like nowhere else… and it also has the best pizza in the world.”
That reputation for vibrancy was something we would put to the test – the title of best pizza isn’t up for debate – with our competition winners Gwenno Stevens and Alistair Clow who impressed judges enough to join our trip to Naples. Liaising with local photographer Sabrina Musco, Culture Trip’s Commercial Director George Hiles devised an itinerary with a twist.
“We knew we were going to travel at the start of the traditional tourist season, so weather was a big consideration,” he said. “Fortunately Naples is essentially unaffected from a photography perspective by rain, so I had few worries there. For day two, however, I planned a boat trip to Procida. Here we knew we were potentially taking a risk… but it worked out perfectly.”
Day One - Naples Street Tour and Pizza
Arriving in Naples is a fairly straightforward affair. On the approach to the airport you’ll notice how close you are to the city centre. You’ll get great views of Mount Vesuvius from one side of the plane and the sprawling streets of the Spanish Quarter on the other. To emphasise how close you are to the centre of Naples, it only takes 20 minutes to drive to the central train station. Taxis are plentiful, but certainly not the best option. The mark-up for tourists is huge.
A much better option is the shuttle bus, which only costs 5 euros, with tickets available at the airport or directly on the bus itself. You can even walk it to the train station, and this takes just under an hour. If you’re travelling light, this is a great alternative.
Once in Naples, you’ll not need a taxi again if you plan your trip properly. There is a metro service – something that is due to be extended to the airport soon – and regular buses. Make sure you pack comfortable shoes, however, as walking is unquestionably the best way to get around.
We were going to sample plenty of pizza on this trip, it is inevitable in Naples. The classic pizza napoletana is the perfect test of what makes a great dish and where better to start than Pizzeria da Attilio – the recent no.1 on a ‘best pizza in the world’ list. The pizza was phenomenal, and we’ll go into why the popular cuisine tastes so good in Naples, but our first thought was just how budget-friendly everything is here. Locals say that if you’re paying more than a few euros for your pizza, you are being overcharged.
The day proper started with Ali and Gwenno getting to grips with the Sony ZV-E10 II over a coffee at breakfast in Scaturchio. This busy spot usually has queues outside and the star on the menu is a classic sfogliatella. Sabrina explains that this is a local delicacy and that you can pick up the crumbly, cream-filled pastry almost everywhere in the city. Just be prepared for the intense burst of flavour – and as George was about to find out, the burst of fillings all over your face too!
Sabrina, Gwenno and Ali then set off on a damp morning to start their tour of the city. Thinking back to her first time in Naples, Gwenno adds: “This is a city that wears its heart on its sleeve. There's a current that runs through its streets, which is electric and magic at the same time and, if you lean yourself into the flow and rhythm of Naples, you’re in for a treat.”
To start the journey in the best possible way, the group were presented with a cornicello for good luck. This involves being given a twisted horn amulet found throughout Naples, and twisting it into your left palm, which is said to bring good fortune. This interaction with a local was a special one according to Gwenno, as it showed the warmth of the city and how important it is to immerse yourself in local traditions.
Gwenno and Ali were in for a special treat for lunch – arguably a taste of the most notable local tradition here! Local celebrity chef Gino Sorbillo was going to show the pair exactly how to make the perfect pizza. Gino’s grandparents first opened a pizzeria in the historical via dei Tribunali in the 1930s and it is still the place to find authentic cuisine in Naples. With fresh ingredients and a well-practiced technique, Gino turned the simple act of preparing a base, adding tomato sauce, cheese and basil leaves into an artform.
The vivid colours of these simple ingredients are said to be the inspiration behind the colours of the Italian flag (or vice versa… it depends on who you ask). What isn’t in doubt is the quality of the pizza itself, something which now has a specific UNESCO definition.
Naples has a reputation for being rough around the edges and nowhere is this more obvious than in the Quartieri Spagnoli.
This intertwining collage of narrow streets and aggressive scooter riders can feel overwhelming at first, especially as the undulating pathways all seem to be heading uphill, but this is part of the real city. It’s here where you’ll find iconic murals of Diego Maradona, the iconic footballer who here is elevated to god-like status. The Argentinian was seen as an outsider in other parts of Italy, but here he will always be one of their own. For dinner it was time for more pizza, but this time a chance to try one of the more rustic takes on the dish. The Pizza a Portafoglio literally means wallet pizza, and it’s easy to see why, as it’s folded in half, like a wallet, into a manageable size to consume on the go. Wandering around the streets at night feels completely safe, after a few hours you become in tune with the noise of the city and it all feels like an audio backdrop through which you enjoy a lively atmosphere.
Gwenno: "It has easily become one of my favourite cities that I have ever visited. It’s perfectly imperfect."
"Naples is a street photographer's dream! So many streets to capture and pick from. There is so much going on and so many subtle things to capture – from graffiti to murals, to shrines. Blink twice and you’ll miss them! Sabrina was truly amazing. She taught us so much about ISO and exposure and was a great unofficial tour guide! She knew all the spots for great photos, cosce aperte (AKA 'open legs lemonade') and pizza. We heard many tales about Naples!"
Gino Sorbillo – "The perfect pizza from Naples should only take 1 minute to cook in the oven. That’s the secret."
Gwenno - "Looking back at both photos from my phone and my Sony camera, I can definitely see the difference in the quality of the images. A camera picks up detail that your phone just cannot, which makes a huge difference to the overall quality of your image. "
Day Two - A Magical Boat Trip to Procida
If you get the chance, and are a morning person, head out into the downtown area of the old city as early as you can. You’ll still be able to grab a coffee – remember the golden rule ‘no cappuccino after 11am – but the streets will be relatively quiet. This is also one of the benefits of travelling in the shoulder season either side of the summer peak. It's cooler, quieter and the locals will be even happier to see you.
While planning this trip, Cassam and George wanted to add an even more exotic twist. With the gritty streets of Naples in the can, what about the sun-soaked islands nearby? While scrolling through images of Naples, the colourful facade of Procida became etched in the mind.
“On a purely selfish level, I wanted to visit Procida as it was the location used in Il Postino, the award-winning Italian film from 1994,”
Cassam said. “Timings were against us, however, as we were keen to avoid the crowds, but as luck would have it we arrived on the first day of the season. Restaurants were just beginning to open up and we would be some of the first to visit this year.”
“There are regular ferries available to Procida from Naples, and that was my back-up plan, but wanted to do it right,” George adds. “We wanted to see the colourful buildings from all those photos and let Gwenno and Ali flex their photographic muscles in capturing them. With some careful planning, a helping hand from Sabrina and a favourable nod from the weather gods, we secured our own boat for the day.”
This is a charter service you can book too, and if you want to truly see Procida in your own time this is the way to do it. If you split the cost between a large group, you’ll also find it works out as excellent value. The larger ferries leave from the central port, a short walk from the main part of Naples, but smaller boats leave from Monti de Procida – a 45 minute drive away. You’ll find a quaint little fishing dock here and small boats can pick you up right by the drop off point pontoon.
By the time the group arrived, the clouds were dispersing and it truly felt like the first day of summer was upon us.
Our helpful captain shared a lot of information about Procida on the ride over. The colourful buildings were originally decorated in this way to allow fishermen to spot their own homes from a distance as they returned with their daily catch. It's now become a tradition and a fantastic opportunity to pull in tourists. Interestingly the really colourful part of the island is actually on the other side, from where ferries arrive and depart, so a smaller boat is really the only way to see that from the sea. Gwenno and Ali were tasked with navigating the waves and getting these shots and thankfully the camera they had now used throughout the trip was more than up to the job.
Gwenno: "Eating fresh seafood and fresh lemon salad with an Aperol spritz, in hand in the small fishing village of Marina Corricella, was definitely a highlight."
"Getting to meet the one and only fisherwoman of the island was also up there! What a legend. "
Procida was appointed Capital of Italian Culture in 2022, a year when a lot of travel was still curtailed. This recognition did still put the island on the radar for many travellers and it's easy to see why as you approach its serene coastline. The Bay of Naples boasts three inhabited islands, with Capri and Ischia having a more storied reputation for tourism. Celebrities and luxury travellers flock to Capri, the golden beach and white villa hub of the region, while Ischia has forged a reputation as a wellness retreat, where people can go to relax and disconnect from the world outside. So what of Procida?
Gwenno - "Everyone should learn to toast in Neapolitan, it is very fun! - aiz’ aiz’ aiz, acal’ acal’ acal’, accost’ accost’ accost’, a salut’ vost"
As soon as we stepped off the boat we got our answer. This is the place for the honest traveller. A freshly laid out table awaited us at Ristorante Da Maria Alla Corricella, a hotspot facing out into the bay which was open for the first time this year. At least that’s what they told us, and it certainly did feel like we were among the first visitors to arrive for the season. Small, family-run restaurants like this are exactly the sort of places that thrive in the busy summer months, but it's at times like this, when they are just serving their first customers, that you get the best interactions. There’s no rush, the staff were attentive and happy to see us, and we also got to meet the wonderful Maria herself! When she’s not wrestling sharks and hauling in a catch of the day she’s plating up some exceptional cuisine.
To be honest, we might have overindulged a little. The heady mix of sunshine, salty sea air and the odd Aperol spritz might have dulled the senses. Gwenno and Ali were still on form, however, and it’s in these situations when a dedicated camera really comes into its own. Putting their phones away, something that was second nature now, they were able to tell a wonderful story of our time on Procida.
