Bella Napoli – Or how chaos can be endearing | Leica Q3

Prologue

This is going to be a rather shorter post… I even considered skipping it altogether. Not because it’s not worth writing about or photographing in Naples. Not at all, both are certainly quite exciting. But for various reasons, I at least don’t have as much to show as I would like to have.

A brief preamble, even shorter sense. I’ll start… with my almost six-day stay in Naples. Okay, it takes another four days of travelling by train, because Naples is not exactly around the corner from Bonn in Germany. But that’s not the point here and that wasn’t a problem either. 😉

People of Love

Do you know the feeling when you remember something really trivial that happened a long time ago? That’s how I feel about Naples. I’ve never been there before (except in transit), but I remember a movie that I must have seen in 1985. 1-9-8-5! I was just 14 years old then. And yet I still remember a scene from the movie as if it were yesterday. The movie in question is ‘Così parlò Bellavista’ (‘Thus spoke Bellavista’). Yes, I know it’s actually a book – but I’ve only seen the movie.

I can’t remember the entire plot of the film, but that’s not important here. Put simply, it’s about, among other things, a problem between the wonderful and naturally genuine Neapolitan Professore Genaro Bellavista and his new neighbours from Milan. The unforgettable scene shows the retired high school teacher Professore Bellavista giving a lecture to some of his friends – all residents of their apartment block. That lecture is on the different mentalities of European Peoples.

In doing so, he divides their inhabitants into two main categories: there are those of love and those of freedom – and then there are those in between. To support and illustrate his theses, the Professore uses a map he created himself. On this map, the countries are categorised and coloured according to their affiliation. The darker the colour, the more the people belong to the ‘love’ category.

I don’t need to mention that Italy is represented entirely in black and (West) Germany in pure white. The real point, of course, is that Bellavista and his friends don’t really consider the people of Milan – in the north – to be ‘People of Love’ either. And it goes without saying that Naples is the centre of this category… 😉

I couldn’t help but smile again when I thought about it, especially since I spent an afternoon and a night in Milan during my trip. Milan is like – hm – Düsseldorf (German readers will probably understand), while Naples, on the other hand, is like – hm – certainly no place in Germany. Probably also like no other place in the EU’s Europe… 😉

Bella Napoli

OK, now finally to Naples. Let’s start with the stereotypes. Naples is chaos, scooters, tomatoes and pizza.

Right? Well, yes… that’s certainly part of it. But like life itself, this city is of course more complex than that. It is the cultural and economic centre of southern Italy and somehow a world unto itself. And the Neapolitans are very proud of their identity.

Io non sono Italiano, sono Neapolitano (I am not Italian, I am Neapolitan)

Carlo Pedersoli (Bud Spencer)

So, what is it? Naples is a lively, vibrant, exciting and, in parts, somehow very beautiful city. Full of life and colour. Surprisingly, despite the chaos, the constant honking and the speeding scooters, it exudes a kind of serenity – and I didn’t find it exhausting at all. Which in turn is partly due to the people there and their courage to be modest and normal. Which in turn is partly due to the people there and their courage to be modest and normal. And warm-hearted…

About religion, or: God exists! OK, kind of…

Yes, I think that the Neapolitans, like many Italians in general, are quite religious and mostly Catholic. There are quite a few indications of this in the streets and alleys of the city…

But let’s not fool ourselves! On closer inspection, it seems that there is only one true God in Naples: and that is the one and only D10S! His ‘temples’ are simply more common – and usually much more artistically and creatively designed. Often, it’s really street art of a very special kind…

…even if there are examples of the whole thing taking on something of a Disneyland feel.

But let’s forgive the Neapolitans for that. It was also quite entertaining and seemingly worthwhile. It felt like almost everyone bought a jersey. OK, I didn’t… 🙂

What remains of the journey?

Well, what can I say? It remains that…

• I have to take care of my Achilles tendons,
• low pressure areas can even affect sun-drenched Naples,
• the way to the heart is through the stomach,
• Materdei and Maradona are not the same thing,
• the Hand of God is still alive,
• tomatoes taste different there,
• Naples is really endearing and endearing people live there,
• and everything comes to an end, even scooters. 😉

No, seriously. If you like a bit of chaos and very nice people, want to immerse yourself in a world that’s a bit like it used to be, love pizza or just want to disappear into the alleyways, you’ll definitely love Naples. And I can understand why …

Oh yes, and the area around the Gulf of Naples is not that bad either… you can sit there, read a book or just look at the water.

One could write much more about Naples and take many more and better photos – but for now, that should be enough. But I have a few more recommendations for German-speaking readers in particular. Take a look at Florian Renz’s blog posts: here are the links to the first and second posts about Naples. And here is the link to the Instagram page Amici di Napoli, which he runs together with a Frank. It’s worth it… and since we also met in Naples this week and the two of them attended a workshop there, I’m sure a third post will follow. 😉

That’s it about Naples…

What remains for my photography!

However, Naples had another realisation in store for me. I’m quitting. Not photography, but this kind of – how should I call it? – documentary street photography. I realised in Venice that it just doesn’t work for me anymore. At least not for the time being. I just lost my mojo on the streets with the camera, my (reaction) speed, my motivation, my photographic compass. If I was already unhappy with my pictures in Venice, I’m even more so now. That’s just the way it is.

Is that a bad thing? No, I have stored my true images of Naples in my head and in my heart. That’s also quite good. And as for photography: life goes on. I will reorient myself, reinvent myself, do something new. At least for a while… I already have a few ideas. I think it’s well overdue! And then we’ll see. There is supposed to be a magic to everything new… 😉

---

There is always light somewhere – go out and shoot!