The art in Naples public transport

Naples is an eminently walkable city, once you get your bearings, and are quick-witted enough to dodge the vespas and the Clios as they barrel along the narrow streets, driven by those who believe that horsepower rules and pedestrians are disposable.

The buses seemed a little complicated and although usually my transport mode of choice, I  was a little intimidated. So I walked. Everywhere. English is not as widely spoken as I had thought and the few times I stopped to ask directions, it was like looking at a deer caught in the headlights, such was the terror that speaking English evoked. I’m well used to miming though, but admittedly found miming ‘dead’ to find the cemetery was a little challenging. No matter. I eventually got to where I was going and the detours were delightful.

The metro looked handy enough (the trains don’t run nearly as often as they do in Budapest). And like Budapest’s Metro 4, they’re built to impress. Lines 1 and 6 have stops on them referred to as Art Stations. And, by all accounts, the L1 Toledo stop was voted the most beautiful in Europe back in 2012. I got to see Mater Dei – which came in at No. 13 on that same Daily Telegraph list. And it was impressive.

Naples metro art

At the Dante station, a coat and hat with many many pairs of shoes trapped behind some random railway tracks caught my eye. I spent quite some time looking at it and finally decided that for me, it represented a never-ending journey, one of constant movement trapped within a rigid framework so that although we have the illusion of progress, we’re making little headway. But hey – art is subjective. Apparently, Grecian artist Jannis Kounellis had  ‘travel as an existentialist condition’ in mind when he created this piece. And I should admit that I’m not altogether sure what that means.

Naples metro art

But if I had to take one thing from Naples and bring it to Budapest, it wouldn’t the pizza or the orgasmic cannoli or the mozzarella; it would be its eagerness to teach its tourists how to speak Italian … while waiting for their train. What a brilliant idea! How quickly my Hungarian would improve if my waiting time was spent actively engaged in learning the language.

When I first started travelling, I had this insatiable need to see everything. The older I get, the more I realised that cities aren’t going anywhere, meno male. If I don’t get to see it all, I can go back, and go back again. So when I next visit Naples, I plan to spend an entire day underground, looking at the art and learning Italian.

Naples metro art

Share:

Sign up here to get an email whenever I post something new.

Never miss a post

Give stories, not stuff.

Do you need to find a gift for a traveling loved one? The best gifts are experiences. Stories and memories last far longer than ‘stuff’. Try Tinggly for thousands of great experiences and gift ideas.

More Posts

Staying local at Kányavári sziget

We dream of islands in the sun. Exotic places where we can get away from it all. We spend hundreds if not thousands of whatevers

Bunce Island, Sierra Leone

I’m big on bearing witness to history. The slave market in Zanzibar left a lasting impression and I was expecting something similar at Bunce Island.

Tasso Island, Sierra Leone

Tasso Island is one of the islands that dot the Sierra Leone River Estuary. Home to a relatively new ecotourism project, its beach-side chalets and

Kabala, Sierra Leone

The distance by road from Freetown to Kabala is about 300 km. The drive took more than 5 hours. Some of the road is good,

Freetown, Sierra Leone

About 60% of Sierra Leone’s 10 million or so people are under the age of 25. That’s young. Very young. Only about 2.5% are over

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.