1st week of the year in Naples

 A few pictures taken in Naples (South Italy) from 30th December to 6th January.

A coffee shop's owner painted a big skull on the wall :-) :-) :-)

The picture below shows an old building located in the historical centre of Naples, which belonged to a noble Spanish family.

Many old Naples' neighbohood are rich in history and tradition. They are place of art and culture, full of faith and hope.

Tomorrow, January 6th, is Epiphany, also called Three Kings Day. It's a Christian holy day that celebrates the revelation of the baby Jesus to the world.

Underground Naples

A dear blogger friend from Oregon (US), Nicole, always enjoys reading posts about Naples (South Italy). That's why I show a few pictures which I took one month ago while I was spending my holiday in Naples (the 1st week of the new year). 

The 1st picture here below shows the Naples underground entrance. The underground city spreads below the entire old town, as the subsoil of Naples is crossed by a large network of  tunnels, tanks and old watercourses. The guides took us on a journey through 2400 years of history, marked by works of Greek and Roman periods, up to the modern age.

In the 4th century BC the Greeks gave life to the underground cisterns to cope with the water supply and to find the stones they needed for buildings.

During the WWII the underground cavities became shelters against aerial bombing.

The mysterious labyrinth of cavities is located below Naples historical alleys. 

 

The last picture below shows a path of the big urban green space, located in the middle of Naples, where I sometimes enjoy running and walking.    

Have a nice weekend and stay well!

Still in Naples, the Fontanelle cemetery caves

In 1656, after a plague had reduced Naples population from 400,000 to 150,000, a former quarry became a burial site. Another great accumulation of the indigent dead seems to have been in the wake of the cholera epidemic in 1837. According to the tradition of religion, the huge chamber, dug deep into soft stone, wasn't a consecrated soil.

In this unique site in the world, which is rich of history and legends, local women have been cleaning some skulls with the aim of assisting their souls in reaching heaven, in exchange for protection. Devotion to the skulls still exists today, as members of the local community think skulls may be able to deliver wishes.

Visiting underground Naples' cemetery caves is not a macabre experience or dark tourism. The Fontanelle cemetery (that's its name) is both an historical site to visit and a place for meditation.   

If you go to Italy, don't forget to visit Naples 💀👀💖

New year's eve in Naples

I hope Naples will not be crowded on New Year's eve, as I will be here (in Naples) until the 5th of January. The train from Rome to Naples was too crowded yesterday,  as many young people didn't respect social distancing rules 😷🤨

I had breakfast at the Gambrinus, which is heir to the ancient Neapolitan tradition. It is at least since 1800s that in Naples coffee is more than just a drink. Since Gambrinus was born it has been the meeting place of intellectuals, politicians, and businessmen.

Happy New Year to you 🥂

Plastic apples

The apples in the picture below seem realistic decorative apples for home or kitchen decoretion. Unfortunately, they are true apples, and they were shipped from one of the Northernmost village in Italy. I saw them at the supermarket in Civitavecchia (Central Italy). 

I also saw Australian walnuts, Chinese garlic, and Argentinian almonds! Maybe, we should boost the supply of fresh, healthy and locally produced food.

 

The photo below has nothing to do with plastic red apples and walnuts shipped from the Southern emisphere. One week ago I went to Naples, South Italy, once again. As I mentioned in my previous post, published on 28th of September, I already went there last month. In Naples I saw "The seven acts of mercy" represented in the Caravaggio's oil painting. The painting was made in 1607 and it is housed in the church of "Pio Monte della Misericordia" in Naples. Caravaggio combined all seven acts of mercy in one composition, instead of seven separate panels around the church.

https://www.caravaggio.org/the-seven-works-of-mercy.jsp

If you go to Italy, please don't miss to visit Naples. I will go there in December, once again.

Parthenope (Naples)

On the small island of Megaride there is the oldest standing fortification in Naples (picture above). During the 8th century BC Greek colonists founded on the island of Megaride, which is now a peninsula, the first nucleus of the city of Naples (South Italy). They named the settlement Parthenope, after the siren in Greek mythology. 

The seagull in the picture below is enjoying the gulf of Naples and its volcano. 

Since Friday 24 September I have been in Naples, as my mother and my two sisters live there with their families. I noticed that many people, who live in Naples, wear a mask outdoors. After a while I learnt that Naples mayor ordered to continue to wear masks and observe social distancing rules everywhere. He is afraid the virus may be still dangerous, although more than 60% of people who live in Naples are fully vaccinated.

The picture below shows an old local market in Naples, where I bought Italian walnuts, almonds and hazelnuts ... unfortunately, grocery and supermarket clerks in Rome and surroundings (where I live) sell walnuts, almonds and hazelnuts that are almost exclusively shipped from great distance, such as Argentina, Australia, Chile, South Africa,  US (California), Turkey, etc. 

I think eating local food is better for us, for the environment, and for our taste buds.

Pictures of the volcanic island of Ischia

I've just spent four days in the volcanic island of Ischia, about 30 km West from Naples. Since Monday Easter I have not run and I have not gone cycling. I have Mainly enjoyed thermal spas.

While I was on holiday, my nephew (17 years old) gave me a phone call. He said he found a World War II-era bomb while he was hiking in the hills situated close to Gaeta, 90 km North from Naples. His smart phone was very useful, as he was able to take latitude and longitude. Of course, I quickly sent latitude and longitude to army specilists, who will remove the World War II-era bomb on May 5th. Poeple don't live near the place where the World War II-era bomb was found.

During the second World War the Gustav Line stretched across the Italian peninsula and barred the way to Rome for two allied armies in Italy. Unfortunately, Gaeta was on the Gustav Line. That's why a lot of  World War II-era bombs are still there.

How getting older affects our running

I've just read an interesting post about things only runners, walkers and bikers  "who are getting older will understand". The blog's author is a runner who is turning 50 on February 22, and she mainly explains how getting older affects our running: recovery takes longer, sleep times decrease, and hormonal deficiencies slightly rise. The good news is that by running, we are decreasing our risk of so many other conditions such as diabetes and various cancers. It also strengthens our joints.
Unfortunately, in relation to hearth disease, she wrote that, according to statistics issued by marathontrainingacademy.com, marathoners over 50 are twice as likely to have a heart attack while running a marathon than those under 40 years old.

She summarizes very well in her post those interesting points above mentioned. This is her link: 

www.shutupandrun.net

In the meanwhile, Winter cold is increasing here in Central and Southern Italy, and I am not so able to run outdoors three times a week.

Naples, Vesuvius volcano with snow on the top.
The old building on the left is the Royal palace. 

And last but not least, this month I joined a new running team in Rome, ASD ATLETICOM, that's its name.

Happy running, walking and cycling to everyone!

Cabbage and Vitamin C

I've spent the weekend with my mother who lives in Naples, 220 km South from Rome. First of all, I noticed thet her recovery from femur surgery is going well enough. She sometimes walks very slowly along the sidewalk surronding her house. I was very happy to see that. 

Secondly, I put on my running shoes and ran 50 minutes  through Naples' streets,  next to old fruit and veggies markets and along the old side of the town. The picture below on the right shows one of these old markets located along the street.



I saw a lot of cabbage which is a very good food for runners considering that it contains the highest amount of vitamin C. On the other hand,  if cabbage were to be boiled it would lose about 50 per cent of its Vitamin C. With regards to veggies, I've just left a comment about this topic on Fran 's blog as she shows her weekly beebox containing  savoy cabbage, red cabbage and cavolo nero.

On the way back I had a pizza in Rome while I was waiting the train to Civitavecchia.
Next Sunday, February 9th, Stefano and I will go to Rome once again as a 5 km race starts at 09:30 am.

I have read that most blogger friends are compelled to run on the treadmill because of the weather conditions. The weather is rainy also here in Central Italy, as  you can see in the following picture which I took in Rome two day ago.

Happy running/walking!

Naples' San Martino Museum

At first, thanks to everyone for the kind Christmas wishes. When I wrote my last race report, on December 19, I couldn't show the photos of the Orbetello's 10 km Christmas race.

Fortunately, I've just found a photo through the web. I'm with the number 29 near the Black Knight .

Yesterday my family and I came back from Naples where we spent our Christmas holiday. Although the weather was rainy, we visited the  Naples' San Martino museum, which contains a number of particularly special exhibits of inlaid marble and many splendid paintings, interesting collections, costumes, ship models and other Italian curiosities.

After Christmas time the training is always harder than before and this afternoon I ran 10 km. Of course. I tryed to burn off a few calories :) The photo on the right shows a Christmas present. My wife gave me those winter running clothes :)

Happy new year to all my blogger friends!

Short holiday in Naples

Now I'm on holiday in Naples for five days. It's too cold here, so I've run under the big trees of the royal park.
We've visited the museum of palaeontology (you can see two images).