Stretching across a strip of the Campania region in Southern Italy, the Bay of Naples “includes” the city of Naples, Pompeii, Sorrento, Massa Lubrense, Mount Vesuvio, the Amalfi Coast, the island of Capri… Each place leaves a distinct impression in the minds of visitors, very worth experiencing and exploring the land of waves, sea breeze and volcanic heat every day, not forgetting to “visit” the Mediterranean.
Vesuvio and Pompeii – where time stands still between eternity and the moment
Have you ever looked into a picture box? Squint into the box through a tiny hole and you will see a magnified image, so clear and real, sometimes it seems like a 3D image of a movie, but the image is not moving, maybe the images are not continuous and each time you press a button the image is replaced. Climb up Mount Vesuvius and then down to Pompeii, once the richest city of the Roman Empire, and you will see why it is likened to images in a picture box.
On the way to conquer the top of Vesuvio volcano, you will see nothing different from other mountains, except for less vegetation, porous lava rocks like honeycombs and here and there a few gentle smokes rising from the mountain crevices. Standing on the top of Vesuvio, you will see the whole fertile bay of Naples, the blue sea, the deep blue sky and a heart filled with peace as if the people of Pompeii stood in front of their house and looked up at the sky more than two thousand years ago...
According to the legend of this region, on August 24, 79 AD, Mount Vesuvio suddenly erupted, causing all the residents of the cities at the foot of the mountain such as Pompeii, Herculaneum, Stabiae, Oplontum... to not have time to escape and were completely buried in lava and ash. That day, the god Apollo could not protect Pompeii, so the most prosperous city in the region and the flourishing civilization suddenly collapsed. But to make up for his carelessness, the god Apollo granted Pompeii eternity and time seemed to stop forever in the last moment of Pompeii's existence.
Like looking through a projection box, each corner of Pompeii is a different image, not seamless but so vivid that it seems like you can see the breath of real life. The past and the future intertwine in the same view. You will see the Dorin columns still standing firmly as if reaching the blue sky; the arena, theater, forum, temple, villas of the rich, houses of the people and even the small, sunken room of the brothel... still appear right before your eyes and you can still reach out and touch them. But the present is still a transparent barrier that prevents you from returning to the past. The present will block your way with layers of lava that were once up to 25m thick, swallowing every house, every life. The present reminds you with traces of time on the crumbling walls, the ruins that can never be restored. Above all, the present is frozen in a layer of plaster to preserve and shape the ashes of the past molded with molten lava.
In 1863, archaeologist Guiseppe Fiorelli came up with the idea of pouring plaster into the molds of the bodies of the ancient Pompeians covered in volcanic lava. Therefore, the figures of adults, children, pets, and the fears and panic of the past are still intact and will be immortal forever. Coming to Pompeii, do not let the sorrow and regret slowly cover your heart like lava. You will see life revived everywhere, on the lava layers from thousands of years ago, covered with green eyelashes of a strange plant hanging down like hair, as if to cover up the ups and downs. The life and love of people here are still like the murals after restoration, with fresh colors. On the old, yellowed and cracked walls, the image of the goddess Venus - Goddess of love and beauty is still fresh and youthful. In the backyard, amidst the soft, youthful grass, the sun burns on each poppy petal, burning red like a kiss. You will suddenly want to lean your head on someone or hold someone's hand tightly, because when you come here, you will see that life is as short as a blink of an eye while love is never enough and endlessly vast...
Napoli and Sorrento – Intoxicated by wine and lemon liqueur
Napoli, a city so famous, the name Napoli is as popular as the red wine that people happily clink glasses with Napoli pizza (Italian: Margheritta) with three fresh colors like the Italian flag, red of tomatoes, white of mozzarella (a type of white cheese), green of basil leaves (patchouli leaves). Napoli is the homeland and origin of pizza. The people here have every right to be proud that pizza in Napoli is the best in the world. Pizza in Napoli usually only has one very large, thin size, with a diameter of up to 40 cm. Real pizza must be baked in a traditional oven that has darkened the color of brick or stone that has been fired for a long time and is heated by wood. When eating, diners only need to add a few drops of fragrant, fresh, crispy green olive oil and it will be difficult to forget the distinct flavor of this "national" dish. Pizza is cheaper than other dishes (under 10€) and can be taken away and enjoyed if you don’t have much time to sit down. Note that if you sit down to eat, the restaurant will charge you for service and cutlery in addition to the price of each dish listed on the menu.
In addition to the famous pizza, Naples is the economic and cultural capital of the region and the ancient center of Naples is listed by UNESCO as a world cultural heritage, so there are many buildings worth visiting: Castle dell'Ovo on the bay of Santa Lucia, Castle Nuovo, Passage Galleria Umberto (a type of shopping street with a dome covering the inside of the buildings), Plebiscito Square, Duomo San Gennaro Cathedral, National Archaeological Museum... In addition, when coming to Naples, you should travel by subway, the system has many stations designed as "art stations". Each station is like a small museum designed by a famous Italian artist and displays contemporary works of art. However, at these stations, visitors are asked not to take pictures.
Napoli is bustling and crowded, bustling with people, but sometimes the crowds and bustle make people feel insecure. There, tourists have to worry about keeping their cameras and wallets close because Napoli also has all kinds of evils. This is really different when you come to Sorrento... Napoli is an attractive, easy-to-drink wine that everyone knows, but Sorrento is like the traditional sweet lemon wine that is a specialty of this region. The name Sorrento is not very popular and you may not be attracted to this land at first sight. You may also frown a little when the sweet aroma of the first sip of lemon wine rushes to the tip of your tongue and then takes over all your senses, but once you drink it, you will drink until your lips are soft and your heart is drunk.
“Returning to Sorrento for a peaceful life, only you, my heart has long dreamed of“… When the afternoon was falling on the Sorrento cliffs, when the street artist’s guitar sounded gently like caressing the waves gently falling onto the shore, I suddenly remembered my youngest aunt in her twenties, with her long hair hanging down next to her guitar. In the same afternoon, with the same immense sunset light spreading endlessly in the same longing, the voice of my aunt - of the twenty-year-old girl - rose up as if pulling out each thread of love in her heart, gently weaving a peaceful dream, and she sang “Returning to Sorrento“…
The name of this city comes from “Surrent”, meaning Sirene, a mythical mermaid. The city on the cliffs is named after mermaids with enchanting voices that captivate many sailors. A little rain just enough to wet your eyes, a little passion of the sun sent to the plump oranges on the street, a little distance of the vague silhouettes of the islands of Capri, Ischia and Procida seen from the long, rocky shore by the sea, a little freshness of the gardens full of flowers and the fragrant scent of lemons and oranges gently embracing the ancient houses, a little sulking of the wind calling the waves to push the boat to run faster towards the shore and urge the seabirds to fly faster back to their nests… Sorrento is warm, soft, comforting and gentle like the arms of a girl with dark brown eyes at sunset, breasts as full as ripe fruit and hair fragrant with the wind, tiptoeing on the cliffs, leaning against an orange tree waiting for her lover to return…
Massa Lubrense – “an olive in a martini“
Modestly located against the mountainside and stretching out to the sea, not far from Sorrento city, Massa Lubrense - a town of only about fourteen thousand people - is small, fresh, giving you a feeling of peace and balance. This town is located in a somewhat isolated position on the mountain, to get to the sea you have to take a long detour and not many tourists know about it, so the room rental price here is quite reasonable. If someone likes the quiet, loves nature and the peaceful atmosphere of the countryside, this is the place to visit. From here, you can rent a car or motorbike to go to neighboring big cities during the day and return to Lubrense at night to sleep. If you go in a group, you should rent an apartment, which has a kitchen for cooking and can accommodate many people in a large room. Just get up early and wander around the pretty little town, you will find a shop selling very fresh and not too expensive food.
Massa Lubrense gives you a complete feel of the rural life. Amidst the vast expanse of lemon, orange and olive trees, the canopy of which covers the entire mountain slopes, the early morning here is green and clear like a lemon on the branch. The late afternoon sun shimmers, seemingly flowing through the leaves with the color of olive oil pressed from fresh fruit. Because everywhere is shaded by trees that shade the sun and keep the soil moist, wildflowers bloom everywhere and even the leaves gracefully round up to form green flowers that look like stone flowers. Nature is generous and gentle, so the people here are also generous with smiles, generous with the greeting “Buongiorno” and even the air kisses of the funny curly-haired, honey-skinned Italian boys you meet on the road.
Capri and the Amalfi Coast - The Legendary White Land
Have you noticed why in ancient times, Egyptian, Greek or Roman kings and nobles often wore white clothes and white ceremonial robes? Not only because in hot countries people had to wear light-colored clothes to avoid absorbing heat, but in the past, when soap had not been invented, it was very difficult to keep clothes white. Therefore, only the rich and nobles had to work less, had many servants in the house who sweated and worked hard to wash to keep their white clothes from getting dirty and discolored.
Capri is known as the land of the rich. In the rich sense because this is where many famous people and billionaires come to relax. Only about 14km wide2But Capri has many extremely expensive brand stores, or in the sense of the ancient Romans, Capri is rich because during the day the island is shimmering white everywhere.
Standing on the mountain looking down at the sea, the mountainside is full of white roofs, sometimes close together, sometimes scattered. The sun here is freely scattered by the sun. The sun washes white every cluster of clouds, seagulls, gulls, ships, large ferries, every leaf... Wandering around the island at noon, you will see that there seems to be a milky white, very smooth air floating between the sea and the sky. There will be times when you feel like you are flying and drifting gently in that smooth, light white air because you do not know where the sky is and where the water is because in this area the sky and the water are both equally blue. The waves and foam sparkle in the midday sun like the starry sky in the daytime. From afar, the silvery blue water is occasionally dotted with a few streaks of shooting stars created by the streaks of white foam trailing behind the tails of tiny, sparkling white boats. At that moment, you suddenly feel that Greek and Roman mythology is very close and familiar. It seems that on the cliffs in the distance, the sirens are singing, their eyes regretfully following the sails of Ulysses and the two mountains from the island of Capri look down as if they have just stood still again after a ship passed through the gap between them.
In Capri, if you are dazzled by the sun, you can visit the Grotta Azzura cave. This cave is also called “Blue Grotto” in Italian because the sea water inside the cave is extremely blue, sparkling like turquoise. Or visit the famous Villa Malaparta, designed by architect Adalberto Libera for the writer Curzio, perched precariously on the tip of a cliff jutting out into the bay.
The Amalfi Coast is famous for its mountain trails along the sea. The high mountains of Amalfi also give you the feeling of floating among the white ranges like Capri, however, Amalfi is wilder and human hands seem to arrange it less here. The Amalfi sun is not as bright as in Capri, sometimes stopping by the roadside to see the amber sunlight flowing through the layers of leaves falling down sweetly like honey oozing from ripe apricots on a young girl's lips. Wildflowers are placed everywhere on the grassy hair, wild flowers but still gorgeous and charming to the heart. Trees and green grass cushion the mountain ranges with fragrant purple or yellow flowers. The mountain pass is further tightened by soft steps, on each step are green vineyards...
Just close your eyes and let your adventurous dreams lead the way here. Maybe you will be forever drunk by lemon wine, apricot wine, by the burning and passionate eyes under the long eyelashes of the boys and girls here. Maybe you will wake up in the middle of the silvery olive trees and suddenly see wildflowers nestled close by, see bags full of gifts such as cups, ceramic dishes, clay miniatures depicting daily life on the Bay of Naples, clinking bottles of olive oil, bottles of fragrant wine... It is very possible, as long as you never forget your dreams, because there are many ways to make your adventurous dreams come true. You will believe it when you set foot on the Bay of Naples.
More information:
+ To move between locations in the Bay of Naples, you should use:
- Subway (Recommended because the subway stations are very interesting)
- Bus
- High-speed train (Aliscafi)
- Ferries (Actually very large ships, slower but cheaper than speedboats)
- Local railway
- Car rental (however, you should only rent a car if you are a good driver because the roads in this area are small, steep and have many dangerous turns)
Traveling by public transport here is inexpensive and safe, just buy a ticket and you can get on any public transport.
There are two types of tickets:
-Unico – Napoli-Ticket (travel within zone 1- Napoli).90-minute ticket costs 1.20 Euro, day ticket costs 3.60 Euro, weekend ticket (valid on Saturday or Sunday) 3.00 Euro. In Naples with this ticket you can also travel by cable car (Funicolare)
-Unico Campania-Ticket Sorrent and Amalfi Coast (zone 5) ticket type.You can travel with this ticket between the following locations: Amalfi, Sorrent, Maiori, Minori, Pontelatone, Positano, Praiano, Ravello, Meta di Sorrento, Piano di Sorrento, Salerno und Vororte, Sant' Agnello, Vietri sul mare.180 minute ticket: 4.00 Euro, day ticket 12 Euro and weekend ticket (valid on Saturday or Sunday) 6.30 Euro.
+ How to get there:
Napoli – Capodichino Airport is about 7 km from the center of Naples. From Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City, the least transit-intensive way is to book flights with airlines such as Vietnam Airlines, Thai Airways, Cathay Pacific to fly to two major European transit airports, Charles de Gaulle or Frankfurt (prices range from 1,000 to 1,500 USD), then choose European airlines such as Lufthansa, Air France... to fly to Naples (prices range from 300-700 USD).
A cheaper and more transit-intensive way is to choose airlines like Korean Air and Asiana Air (Korea, price around 700-1,000 USD) connecting in Incheon (Seoul), from there flying to Rome and from Rome to Napoli (flying Italy's Alitalia) takes about 1 hour, price around 200 USD).
+ Room rates and currency:
If you are traveling in a group, you should rent an apartment, you can cook for yourself and the price can be as cheap as 20 USD/person/day. There are many types of hotels and motels for you to choose from, but you should consult your friends or people who have been here online to know more details about the room, to avoid being cheated about the quality of the room, a very common situation in Italy.
Italy is part of the European Union and its currency is the Euro. You should exchange Vietnamese Dong to Euro in Vietnam.
Article and photos:Russia Vu
