Italy: Naples Bay

December 2018

Walking along the Naples waterfront I discovered Molosiglio Gardens with its stunning view over the Bay of Naples and Mt Vesuvius. The city's waterfront is very much active and working, so parts are cut off by highways and port access. It is not "easy" to explore. Mixed in between the working bits are yacht clubs and even an old castle. In fact, the area around Ovo Castle is exceptionally striking and under-visited

The gardens were designed and created in the 1920s, following the new urban planning programs for the Naples coastline . The need for a major road axis to connect the eastern part of the city with the Chiaia Riviera led to the construction of the Vittoria Tunnel, Via Cesario Console and Via Acton, with the development of the Molosiglio Gardens on an area previously occupied by the large Naples arsenal. The term Molosiglio derives from the Spanish molosillo meaning small pier.

(Wikipedia)

In that garden, I wondered how Naples got such a bad reputation considering how much more it had going for it than Rome (Naples is on the sea with a huge mountain looming in the distance). The more I wandered, the more I dropped my guard, too. Naples was painted to be a "very dangerous" place and I saw little evidence of that on my city walks (at least, no more danger than any other city of millions in Europe).

The waterfront is not redeveloped as similar places in other European maritime cities, but Naples still has a few locations that provide excellent views and patches of green for those wandering close to the sea.

One of these days, Naples will develop its seafront. Stay tuned.