There is, indeed, a
street in Naples named for Antonio de Curtis
(name in art of Totò), the
best-loved comic in the history of Italian film.
There is also a theater named for him, and his
birthplace in the Vergini
section is marked by a commemorative plaque. BUT—the
Totò Museum is still not open, though it appears
they are making progress. The museum will be on two
floors of the Palazzo dello
Spagnolo, the best-known building in
the Vergini.
The person in charge of the restoration of the
entire building tells me that it's probably a matter
of a few months. He denies any fault at the delay (I
believe him) and blames it on city-hall bureaucracy
(and that...I
really
believe).
It seems to me
that if you can afford 2000 euros (!) a night for a
hotel, you can probably afford a few more for a cab
(or private helicopter) to find one well away from the
main train station and the grimy industrial section of
the city. That may be the problem of the Hotel Romeo
on via Cristoforo Colombo in Naples. Guests find five
full stars' worth of suites, pool, sushi restaurant,
works of art, etc. etc., but most of it running at a
mere 20% occupancy since the hotel opened on Dec. 11,
2008. In fairness, only the exclusive Japanese suite
costs the Two Large; others go as low as a very
competitive (for 5 stars!) 330 euros (currently about
450 dollars) a night. (If this entry does not apply to
you, see this one on the
Youth Hostel.)
Via Partenope is
the eastern extension of via Caracciolo, the panoramic
road along the seafront. Specifically, it is the
curved portion that swings in front of the Castel dell'Ovo. If you are a
restaurant owner along that stretch, you may have set
up a "gazebo," a sheltered section in front of the
restaurant, covered by an awning and surrounded by
some sort of a barrier that detours pedestrians around
the tables. That's the problem; such structures jut
out onto —indeed, occupy much of— public sidewalks and
have no right to be there, at least according to the
coppers who showed up on via Partenope the other
morning and closed five of them down. Elsewhere in
Naples, similar episodes are taking place to combat
the large number of such illegal structures. The term
gazebo is
used in both Italian and English; the other Italian
term is "tendone" (big tent), a canvas and plastic
affair (sometimes glass) mounted on metal supports
that have been anchored in place right where you want
to walk.
The papers are
painting a generally bleak picture of the coming
year for tourism in Naples. (Current winter tourism at
sites such as Pompeii is off almost 20%, for example.)
2009 might even be worse than 2008, when the garbage
crisis and the strong euro kept many away. Now, due to
a financial dispute between the Campania region (of
which Naples is the capital) and Gesac (Gestione Servizi
Aeroporti Campani —Campania Airport Services
Administration) the private firm that handles all passenger
services at Capodichino airport, the Info-point has
been closed. This was the friendly little information
counter staffed by real, live, competent, multilingual
people whose job was to find you a hotel, provide
general information, and point you in the right
direction in Naples.
You may not be aware
of an organisation called New7Wonders of Nature. It is
running an "official" campaign to designate seven
locations as the seven natural sites in the world most
worthy of preserving. (To my knowledge, the
organization has nothing to do with UNESCO in case
this reminds you of that organization's World Heritage
List). There were 441 original nominations; 100
million people from around the world have voted and
narrowed the list to 261. The list will be cut to 21
in July and the winners announced sometime in 2011. So
far, Mt. Vesuvius has made the cut, along with such
sites as the Grand Canyon, the Black Forest, Niagara
Falls, and the Loch Ness. Go Vesuvius! Mt. Etna on
Sicily is steaming (as usual) because she didn't make
the cut.