Naples, Italy Information
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Whether because of its colors or the luminosity of the landscape, or its
intriguing byways, Naples certainly will remain in the eyes and hearts of its
visitors. Shopping in Naples is a tourist experience worth discovering, alongside of
traditional shopping. It draws visitors through the piazzas, streets and
byways of the Parthenopeaen capital in search of something "real." The
characteristic Neapolitan craftsman, who possesses an incomparable stock of tradition, has
been able to conserve throughout the ages his secrets of hard work and human
care, passing them down from father to son. Goldworkers, decorative
metalworkers, typographers, stuccoers, jewelers, silvercrafters, ceramicists,
stonecarvers, waxworkers, engravers, glovemakers, coral experts: all still have their
workshops in the heart of Naples and are available to those looking for objects
possessing a touch of personal creativity. Some ancient handicrafts, including
artistic nativity scenes and silk products, are kept in museums or private
collections.
The most naturally Neapolitan dishes are vermicelli with clams, mussels,
smaller shellfish, ziti (a type of pasta) with ragł (meat sauce), Italian style
fritters, fritters of squid and mullet, steamed polyps, oven-baked kid (lamb),
eggplant parmesan, and buffalo mozzarella. Without question, pizza is the
symbol of Naples. Naples is known worldwide for this genuine and economical
dish. However, in Naples the pizza is different and no one can equal the
Parthenopeaen 
pizza-makers. Whether because of the delicious odor in the air, in the oil,
in the flavor of the water, or for the simplicity with which it is made, it
is certain that in Naples "pizza" has a special flavor. Naples is also famous
for sweets that change with the seasons: struffoli (cookies with Strega
liqueur, honey, and candied sprinkles), pastiere (cakes made with ricotta, coarse
flour, candied fruits, and orange syrup), zeppole (cookies made from black
cherry liqueur, fried or cooked in the oven, for St. Joseph's Day), cassate
(cakes made from ricotta cheese, almond paste, and pieces of chocolate),
monachine (in English, "little monks"), sfogliate rich with cream and layered high,
frolle (sweet crumbly pastry made from flour, egg, butter and sugar), babą
(made with light flour), eggs, and yeast and bathed in rum punch), millefoglie
(layers of sweet cream and thin pastry shell), mimose (Angel Food cake, known
in Italian as pasta di spagna, with cream). These delicious sweets are always
accompanied by coffee or flavored liqueurs (rosolio, limoncello, nocillo -
the latter walnut-flavored).