Naples is a city by the sea that many visit without ever really seeing the water. Yet an afternoon and a bus ride, or a generous walk, are enough to discover its bluest side: the hill of Posillipo and the fishing village of Marechiaro.
Posillipo, “the end of all worries”
The name comes from the Greek Pausilypon: the promise is in the name, and the hill keeps it. From Via Posillipo you climb among villas and gardens up to the viewpoints: the most famous is Sant’Antonio a Posillipo, with the definitive postcard of the bay, Vesuvius and the city spread out below. At sunset it’s a small Neapolitan ritual.
Down to Marechiaro
From Posillipo, the Discesa Marechiaro leads down to a fishing village that looks hand-drawn: boats pulled up on the shore, rocks, trattorias on the water. Here you’ll find the Fenestella, the little window with a carnation made immortal by Salvatore Di Giacomo’s song: “Quanno sponta la luna a Marechiare”. The right place for a slow aperitivo as the sun goes down.
Practical tips
From via Toledo: bus 140 from the seafront, or a taxi (about 20 minutes). The trattorias in Marechiaro are in demand, so book ahead on weekends. And comfortable shoes are not a suggestion, they’re a requirement: the way down is steep, the way back up even more so.
If the names sound familiar
Two of our rooms are named after this itinerary: Posillipo, one of the most spacious in the residence, and Marechiaro, the room “where evening turns into song”. Sleeping in a neighborhood after walking it is a different way of taking it home with you.
