Sorrento on $85 a Day – Pizza and Penises

Doorbells Used in Pompeii and Herculaneum

David and I both wanted to go to Naples. The National Archaeological Museum houses most of the art, floor mosaics, architectural details, and household items removed from Herculaneum and Pompeii, leaving, as David said, the lava/ash covered cities as simple shells while the true “life” of those cities is displayed and protected in the Museum, one of the world's best. Of all the magnificent places we planned to see on the trip, this is the one David anticipated the most.

I wanted to go to Naples for the pizza.

Not just any pizza. I wanted to taste the stuff Liz Gilbert rhapsodized about in her book Eat, Pray, Love. When her friend heard she was going to Naples for the day, he told her she had to eat at Pizzeria da Michele. No matter what happened or what else she saw in the city, she should not miss this pizza; if she didn't go, he wanted her to lie and say she did.

We're not the only people to make the trek to this unprepossessing pizza spot just a few blocks from the Napoli Centrale train station. Movie stills from Eat, Pray, Love of Julia Roberts, with slice in hand, decorate the walls, and diners have their photos taken with the owner. When we left, the line stretched across the street.

And the double-mozzarella Margherita pizza? It's runny and impossible to pick up and eat using your hands (Julia Roberts can evidently do things mere mortals cannot.), but it is good. I kept wishing we'd ordered two instead of splitting one order.

But it's not my favorite pizza. Liz Gilbert's preference is fine, but give me thick, Sicilian pizza that has some heft to it. It's weighty stuff with a thick, airy crust and a medley of tomatoes, spices, and cheese on top. The best, of course, is in Capri at the Salumeria Rosticeria. I first tasted it seven years ago and found it again on this trip. Pizza like this you don't forget.

I could have lingered at the restaurant, but David was anxious to see the Museum and it was immediately obvious why this place was so important to him. The mosaics and wall scenes are remarkably detailed and colorful. The sculptures and bronzes are impressive and varied with many of the gods and goddesses represented. I was in awe that people could have created such fragile, delicately hued glass vases and jars almost two thousand years ago, because many of the pieces are masterpieces of craftsmanship. But the area that really astonished me was the section devoted to erotic art.