Pizza, Christ and Ice Cream

If I told you that I had pizza and ice cream for lunch in Australia most of you would have to agree that it was a bad lunch nutritionally and most likely in quality.  Here, in Naples, not only is pizza and ice cream near mandatory to eat but it is the ultimate thing to do especially on a Sunday. 

I have just come back from a three-hour walk around the historical centre setting out with the purpose to visit Museo Cappella Sansevro and eat lunch.  Accompanied by Alexandra, a Russian graphic designer, along with the 6 Small Rooms proprietor and friend, Jenny and her dogs, Raja and Sunday our stroll started down Spaccanapoli, (the longest and straightest street that cuts through the historical centre).  The pace is slow and relaxed, we stop to take photographs, look at shop fronts and building facades, point to an old bell tower, watch the dogs take a piss, several times, and listen to musicians and conversations. 

We bump into Simone a local jeweller who I’ve befriended since being here.  She makes the most remarkable designs in brass and silver.   Jenny and Alexandra buy some of her work, suiting them beautifully.  The cappella or chapel is not far from our pit stop and after paying 7 euro we step into a small privately owned chapel where one of the most arresting marble carvings resides.

Owned by Prince Raimondo di Sangro, the seventh prince of Sansevero, Capella Sansevero was commissioned for a family mausoleum and a temple of initiation, reflecting on the kind of person Raimondo was: a patron of the arts, an inventor, a man of letters and publisher and just if you thought that was too much, an alchemist and Grand Master of the Freemasons in the Kingdom of Naples.  Raimondo employed several renowned artists of the time to create the many sculptures in the chapel and whose work he supervised throughout. 

One of these artists, Giuseppe Sanmartino, created the Veiled Christ and became renowned the world over for it.  The sculptural masterpiece is what people really come to see at Sansevero even though the surrounding sculptures and paintings in the chapel are splendid enough.  Dare I try and describe what I saw will not do it justice however a snippet is required. The sculpture is of a reclining man (Christ) on a mattress covered with a heavy cloth and some pillows under his head that is turned slightly to the side.  His body is swathed in a soft veil from head to feet, a crown of thorns, a rustic pair of pliers and a primitive bent nail rest near his ankles.   Remember, this is all portrayed in one piece of marble! 

One of the things I appreciate about this work is that the face and body of this man is realistically done. It could be based on a young man of today.  Details of the body, stomach, arms, legs, bones in the toes, holes in his feet and hands, all look believable.  The creamy grey of the marble adds an ethereal quality to the work and apt for the body of a corpse.  There are other intriguing works to be seen in Sansevero and that I will leave for your own discovery. Unfortunately no photography is allowed so I have photographed an image from a pamphlet from the chapel and I strongly encourage you to come to Naples to see it.

Walking along via Tribunali more amazing sites present themselves such as a bell tower from the 11th century, more churches and chapels with more marble skulls than you can poke a stick at.  I cannot go by a pescheria without stopping to marvel or take photographs.  Only the other day I was wondering if oysters were obtainable here, as I hadn’t seen any yet.  I then saw the most colossal oysters ever, eight of them, resting in a small wooden box on top of a tray of attractively patterned shells.  After inquiring about the price I bought three and had them shucked for six euro.  These would have to be the freshest oysters I’ve ever tasted.  The mild salty flavour of the sea dressed the slippery, soft flesh and once I managed to disconnect the tissue from its shell I threw back my head to eat the dripping crustacean whole.

Many businesses are closed on a Sunday as Neapolitans traditionally lunch at home with their kin.  Fruit and vegetable stalls and Pescherias are all that can be seen open until 2pm before they too go home to eat.  Gelaterias are also open – people often buy a small styrofoam container of two or three flavours for the late Sunday lunch. 

Arriving at the end of via Tribunali we turn right to head toward the famous D’Antica Pizzeria Michele only to find it closed.  We were then directed to a pizzeria across the road called Trianon by a helpful and friendly local.  The pizzas were very good and due to my error in ordering I received fresh tomatoes cooked on top of the pizza instead of the delicious passata.  My order was quite different from the mixed flavours of melting mozzarella and well-brewed tomato sauce yet it was good to eat and I was pleased that I tried something different. 

To end the walk home on Spaccanapoli we stopped at Gay Odin for ice cream providing the ultimate in a journeys end.  Theses quality chocolate makers also produce a small range of well-made ice cream.  I like ice cream but seldom eat a lot of it, at least not in Australia.  A small cone of two flavours seals the day perfectly before a much sort after siesta.  So, I am convinced that pizza and ice cream can be a good thing to eat, as it felt oh so right.

Ciao

hellsbells