Capodimonte Park in Naples

After two weeks of everyday rain, Saturday proved to be a spectacular weather day with bright sun and highs in the 60's. We decided to take advantage of the day and headed to Capodimonte. Capodimonte literally means "head of the mountain" and is a big area that includes a park, a royal palace, a national museum, an astronomical observatory, and a porcelain factory. Since it was so nice outside, we decided to take Maya and spend a few hours in the park instead of inside the museum and palace.

The Royal Palace.

Capodimonte Park sprawls across a high plateau overlooking Naples and the bay. Other lookout points from the park include Mt. Vesuvius ominously looking over the city, and the coast of Sorrento far across the Bay of Naples.

Mt. Vesuvius

Naples and the bay.

Stepping into the park provided us with a sense of relief from the busy streets outside. Things seem a little bit calmer once you step inside with kids playing soccer, couples picnicking on blankets, joggers and bikers exercising without fear of getting hit by cars, and dogs playing fetch. We always wondered where all of the greenery in Naples is and it seems that it's all in this park! The magnitude of the park isn't truly realized until you pass through the "Porta di Mezzo" (Middle Doorway), which is a high gate leading to the main park grounds. Here, there are different paths one can take; some leading to statues gazing down at the people and some leading to various trails and deeper forests. We walked around for a couple of hours, getting lost in different directions and losing ourselves to the calmness of the park.

We see ourselves coming to Capodimonte Park often either to run, bike, or simply stroll. It is definitely one of the many gems of Naples.

Sabato siamo andati al Parco di Capodimonte. Non pioveva e c'era il sole fuori. C'era molta gente che stava correndo, camminando, giocando, e stava bene con il bel tempo. Abbiamo portato Maya con noi e lei era felice perche' e stat una bella passeggiata e le sono piaciuti gli odori. Le piste erano belle e abbiamo visto il Vesuvio, Napoli centro, e la costa di Sorrento. Le erbe verdi e gli alti erano molto belli da vedere. La prossimo volta vogliamo vedere il museo e il palazzo.