The home of pizza, Naples.

First thoughts about Naples are not flattering. This is a dirty city, the garbage crisis that started in 2007 shows no sign of ending. The people of the city just pile their trash on the sidewalks in a fashion similar to the larger and dirtier cities of India, but India has one advantage in that they burn their garbage piles every now and again to reduce their size and abundance. You can hardly go two blocks without having to change sides of the street to avoid a mountain of horrible smelling refuse. As if the city is the polar opposite of Rome, the hotel we stayed at was quite nice. The AC and TV worked, and there was even complementary internet. Joy!
The non-culinary highlights of our time in Naples with one exception focused on our daytrips to its environs. We took a subterranean tour of the Neapolitan aquaducts, which had been converted into air raid shelters during the Second World War. This was very interesting, wandering about hundreds of feet below the city in the cool tunnels, which would be the darkest pitch black except for the halogen lights. This is not a place for those with claustrophobia. Part of the tour involved squeezing through extremely narrow passageways with candles as our only source of light. Fun!
Our first daytrip took us to Pompeii and Herculaneum, and to Vesuvius, the culprit of their annihilation. It was extremely fascinating to wander around the cities with their walls, mosaics and in some cases frescos preserved. Climbing Vesuvius was great, being a geologist and having written a paper on the volcano for a class it was a real treat to peer into the steaming mouth of the mountain.
Our second daytrip was to the Amalfi coast. As they saying goes, sometimes life is about the journey rather than the destination. This is fairly true for the Amalfi coast, the winding roads and sheer limestone cliffs make for a memorable drive.
The best thing about Naples proper is its food, mainly its Pizza. Naples is where Pizza is from, and they know what they are doing. These are easily the best pizzas I have ever eaten, with fresh ingredients, and a crust like Greek pita bread, not hard, but soft and delicious. The pizza is the saving grace of the city, and made it an acceptable (if pungent) home base for our last few days on the Mediterranean before heading across the country to the Adriatic side.