“It’s passionate and poetic, but raw and unapologetic at the same time.”
THE CALCIO DIARIES: EPISODE 6
We couldn’t end The Calcio Diaries anywhere else but Naples, a place synonymous with calcio and a melting pot of culture which burns with chaos.
Joseph O’Sullivan has travelled through Lombardia, Emilia Romagna, and Tuscany, exploring the beautiful game and national obsession, discovering the history of each place he stepped into, experiencing local culture and cuisine and documenting it all through a series of diary entries and podcasts.
Over six long episodes, we have read and listened to his adventures that captured the Derby della Madonnina and have taken us from the San Siro, all the way to Lake Como.
We have heard Firenze fairytales and gorged on the delicious Rice Derby. There was Bologna, Monza, Modena, Parma, food, drink and a feast of football.
It has been an absolute pleasure, and we end here with Naples, where Joseph uncovers a city that is passionate and poetic, but raw and unapologetic at the same time and where Calcio means everything.
NAPLES SEEMS TO HAVE MORE FINE FOLK AND UNDISCOVERED TRATTORIAS THAN MOST
My tour of trying to be Anthony Bourdain (RIP) Stanley Tucci and James Richardson all at the same time finally ended in a rather poetic fashion in Naples.
A cornerstone of food and football culture in the calcio-crazy land of Italy. A city full of vibrancy and wonderful people. A place where this wonderful month in paradise would come to a close.
For me, it’s a city that you appreciate a little more every time you go back to it. Like everywhere I suppose you learn more, see more, uncover more hidden gems, and make more ‘football friends’ in my case… but Naples in particular seems to have more fine folk and undiscovered trattorias than most.
PASSIONATE AND POETIC
Maybe I’m just biased, but it truly is a magical place with a football history so rich that it gives a visiting supporter a real lust for life that other cities don’t quite. You want to enter the chaos you see in front of you. Feed off it.
I can’t tell you why but the buzz of dodging motorbikes on side streets is such a thrill, but it is.
If you aren’t on the ball they will just drive over your ankles, and it would be your fault. One must adapt and learn the ways of the Neapolitan.
It is the closest thing in Europe to South America for me. It’s passionate and poetic, but raw and unapologetic at the same time.
YOU CAN’T GO FAR WRONG IN NAPLES
The pizza is of course pretty spectacular and ridiculously cheap. The people are warm, and finally on this Italian job; I saw the sea.
The water brings another element to any town and it was lovely to be back on the coastline after a surge down central Italia, to enjoy some seafood and even pop across to the wonderful island of Ischia for a day.
My food recommendations include ‘Antico Trattoria del Nilo’ and ‘E Pronto O Mangia’ (Thanks for that one, Danny.)
Fried street food treats don’t let you down either, grab an espresso cafe anywhere and for pizza drop into ‘Pizzeria Di Matteo’ if you’re in the city or ‘Bella Napoli’ if you are by the stadium, which you can reach by train from the centre.
Enjoy late-night drinks or an evening cocktail around Bellini Square and you can’t go far wrong in Naples.
PRIDE AGAINST THOSE WHO LOOK DOWN UPON THEM
Then there’s the football. The city transformed in status by Diego Maradona has, and rightly so, a reputation as one of the football-loving towns of the world.
This one club city is draped in its colours, Maradona is God of course and now Antonio Conte might be brewing up another storm which could leave a whole new generation of players immortal with the capture of another title. Titles mean more here…much more.
Every shop and side street has its way of honouring El Diego, flags and bunting are everywhere and rivals like Juventus are regularly mocked.
Napoli is unique and its complicated history with the North and Italy as a nation-state has only made its football team more popular amongst the locals.
Napoli Football Club is a vehicle by which the locals can show their city pride against those who look down upon them.
THE BEST FOOTBALL WEEKEND YOU COULD POSSIBLY DO
The likes of Alessandro Tione and Gaetano Bastone are wonderful local creatives who know these streets like the back of their hands.
Alex is now the city’s top tour guide so you can get in touch with him if you want to see a coffee shop with a lock of Diego Maradona’s hair held in a shrine, or perhaps a car garage hidden in a back street that has newspaper clippings from the 70’s and 80’s still covering the walls to this day.
Alex is your man but make sure to buy him something nice for being such a charming Napoli expert.
Napoli is very reasonably priced and the sky is blue, you can eat amazing food, be a proper calcio tourist, swim in the sea and visit historical sites nearby.
Napoli really has it all, and it has more life on its streets than most too, you know, if you’re into that.
It’s a city where organised chaos is the order of the day but the true hospitality of the people really does shine through.
Avoid tourist traps and ill preparation and you will agree that this is just about the best football weekend you can possibly do.
All words by the man Joseph O’Sullivan.
Episode Five of The Calcio Diaries is available here now
Read Part Five of The Calcio Diaries here
Episode Six of The Calcio Diairies is now available