Upon hearing we were going to Naples as a part of our program, I was overcome with a mix of emotions. On one hand, there was my friend Gianmarco who is Italian and grew up in Naples. He does nothing but rave about his town. From the beautiful scenery to the outstanding food, he claims it is the best area in Italy. My mother, on the other hand, described Naples in a different light. She talked about her visit many years ago and the disgust she felt about the city. My mother described the setting of Naples as being a place no one would ever want to visit. She depicted it as dirty, unsafe and filled of unfriendly people. Her impression followed the lines of many of the stereotypes we have learned about in class of the south of Italy.
Prior to my arrival into Naples, I tried to keep an open mind by not labeling the city with either of their depictions. Our reading by Gabriella Gribaudi titled, “Images of the South” helped to alleviate the negative portrayal of Naples. She states, “It is a place of the soul and an emblem of the evil which occurs everywhere, but which in Italy has been an emblem of the evil which occurs everywhere, but which in Italy has been embodied in just one part of the nation’s territory” (page 73) By reading this before our arrival, it made it seem almost as if Naples was just labeled with these negative stereotypes and was maybe not as evil as a place as my mom had made it sound. I did however not let my guard down and decided to keep a heightened level of awareness of my surroundings in order to stay on the safer side. I tried to take in as much as possible to try and better understand these stereotypes as well as the fear in many tourists when visiting this city of the south.
As the train arrived I was instantly confronted with a major difference from the Rome I now know and other Italian cities I have become familiar with of the north. The skyline was dotted with high rises, modern buildings, and monstrous apartment buildings. Walking from the train station to our hostel I was able to see a trend in the architecture of the buildings, street shops and people that fed into my initial impressions of Naples. Things tended to be more modern, less colorful and the streets were less full of life compared to the Rome I am now familiar with. The area where I live in Rome is filled with small winding streets that are often bustling with people doing errands and window-shopping. Buildings are painted brightly and offer a more inviting atmosphere. In Naples, construction and plainly painted buildings filled the empty streets. I often wondered while wondering in this area why Naples was constructed in this manner. Was it because the culture of Naples did not value the architecture and vibrant life of buildings like those in Rome?
Even after keeping an open mind when in Naples and the south, I was able to see why people were labeling Naples with such a negative vibe. The amount of trash that was often in the streets and the experiences with the children at the Roma camp as well as Jenny’s mugging all tended to strengthen the stereotypes we had learned and heard about. Usually when I visit a city, I enjoy wandering the streets, especially after dinners to really get an understanding of the culture and atmosphere of where I am. Instead in Naples, I did not feel safe to even leave the hostel. Thinking back to Gribaudi’s words in her writing, it is important to understand that Naples does have crime that also exists in other regions of the world. Although, from my experiences during my visit, the stereotypes and fear that often come along with any discussion of Naples were only reinforced.
Maybe areas such as the ones I describe in Naples do exist in the north. From my experiences exploring the area I have gotten to know in Rome directly around the Campo di Fiori, there are vast differences from what I saw in Naples. It was hard to find the piles of trash and empty dark streets anywhere in Rome. In certain parts of Rome, specifically around Termini, I could find similarities as far as the bland architecture and less friendly atmosphere but nothing as vast and widespread throughout the city as Naples. Even as Charles Richards describes in his piece The New Italians, “Naples is a third world city” (pg 103). From these descriptions, my belief that Naples is unlike those cities from the north is reinforced.
Through my time spent exploring Naples, I began to feel as if I was an outsider. Being a middle class American student, I felt as if I did not belong. In Rome it is common to see school groups exploring the area, where in Naples I did not see anyone my age roaming the streets. Although I tried to dress casually in attempts of not standing out, it was obvious that I did not belong on the streets of Naples. I could even notice a difference in the way our tour guide Alex dressed in Naples compared to in Rome. When he visited Rome to meet our class, he was professionally dressed and it was apparent that he was of a higher status. When we met up with him on the streets of Naples, it was hard to even recognize him. He was wearing a full length jacket and scruffy hat which was a stark difference. It was obvious that I did not know how to dress to fit into the Napoleon society. In the end, I did not get the feeling that blended into the society in Naples. I began to get a better understanding of how immigrants must feel upon arriving to a new country as we had studied in class. This feeling of being an outcast and an outsider are similar feelings both immigrants and myself face.
On the other hand, I was able to see Gianmarco’s viewpoint on Naples. The city was filled with breathtaking views of the Mediterranean, outstanding cuisine, and impressive sights of mount Vesuvius from most parts of town. I believe that Gianmarco and our tour guide Alex, who are passionate about their love for their city, are able to look past the grunge and danger in the area and see Naples for it’s beauty. They grew up in the area and have the knowledge of who and where to avoid in order to avoid this danger. Visitors, who are often responsible for creating these negative stereotypes during their visits, stand out and are often targets of crime. It would be interesting to note changes in the stereotype of Naples if the city were to take a stand to clean up the trash and minimize the violence.
In the end, vast differences in style, people and architecture compared to Rome set up for an experience that definitely opened my eyes to seeing part of Italy not like the stereotypical Italian towns everyone seems to know so well. Although I would not be dying to return to Naples, I was able to appreciate its beauty, cuisine and different culture and architecture. Even with trying to keep and open mind during my visit, I was only able to have these stereotypes and fear reinforced. Although Naples wouldn’t be on my top list of places to visit, I am glad I went for the experience. Like in any city, there are both good and bad things yet in Naples I found that the bad did tend to outweigh the good.
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