Secret Naples

Let Secret Naples guide you around the unusual and unfamiliar. Step off the beaten track with this fascinating Naples guide book and let our local experts show you the well-hidden treasures of this amazing city. Ideal for local inhabitat and curious visitors alike. A calcified lizard in a church, vestiges of a former brothel, a "hole" that cures headaches, a bunker turned art gallery, a customised Vespa from the Second World War, remarkable secret private collections, extraordinary old libraries unknown to Neapolitans, a Greek watchtower in a theatre, a rare clock that measures the equation of time, the bars of a chapel door that resonate like a xylophone, a mysterious phallic symbol in San Gennaro catacombs, a little-known museum with a section dedicated to Punch, a unique anatomical model dating from the 18th century, a raft ride 20 metres below Piazza del Plebiscito ...

Far from the crowds and the usual cliches, Naples holds many well-hidden treasures that are revealed only to local residents and travellers who know where to step off the beaten track. An indispensable guide for those who think they are familiar with Naples or who want to discover another side of the city.

About the Authors

Valerio Ceva Grimaldi Pisanelli di Pietracatella belongs to an old noble Neapolitan family. A journalist by profession, he worked on the staff of the governor of the Province of Naples, Professor Amato Lamberti, then for the Assessorato all'Ambiente del Comune di Napoli. He also spent two years with Rai TV's Gap programme. He was editor-in-chief of the newspaper Notizie Verdi and deputy editor of Terra, the first environmental daily with a wide distribution. He has published numerous articles and surveys on the City of Naples. If you would like to visit some of the places in the guide, accompanied by the author, e-mail him.

Maria Franchini, who has been a guide and lecturer on the monuments of Campania for fifteen years, was born in Naples. A journalist and the author of several books, she is passionate about Neapolitan culture and is also a specialist in Roman civilisation. She works for the Italian Cultural Centre in Paris, where she runs courses in the Neapolitan language, gives lectures and organizes seminars on her favourite subjects.