Your Guide to Elena Ferrante's Naples, Italy
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What better way to travel than to live a story in a book, written by someone who can take you down those cobblestone streets as if you were there in person, and then personally traverse those streets yourself… making the book come to life before your very eyes. This is something very important to us here at Zemii Group. Today is no exception. In today’s article, we are going to walk you through the streets of Naples as seen through the novelist, Elena Ferrante, whose real name is currently speculated as Anita Raja.
Elena Ferrante
Who is this mysterious Elena Ferrante and why is she so interesting? Ferrante has written only a handful of novels, and yet their success is not to be dismissed. The frequent setting of her books is in Naples, Italy. The context in all of them surrounds the realities of what it means to be a woman in a culture that has set limits on what is expected of women, and what it is like to be a woman living in these limits. One well explained example of how this plays out in her book “My Brilliant Friend” (2012) can be watched here by Professor Jon Beasley-Murray, University of British Columbia. (The text version can be downloaded here). In his lecture, he addresses the way in which Elena Ferrante addresses class, capital, and language. From his lecture he states:
The social world that Ferrante’s novel depicts is deeply structured according to disparities and differences of class, gender, wealth, language, and so on. Yet even within these constraints, there is room for movement and life, not least the “continuous game of exchanges and reversals that, now happily, now painfully, made [the two friends] indispensable to each other” (259). But there is also an occasional glimpse at the possibility of more fundamental displacements, of tremors that could one day lead to an earthquake that might bring everything down.
Maggie Gyllenhaal spoke on why these books were so important to her as a woman. She emphasized that women are simply not allowed to communicate most of what we experience, and yet Elena Ferrante throws those rules out of the window. She found this incredibly refreshing and liberating. She did her Netflix directoral debut with Ferrante’s book “The Lost Daughter.”
“They’re really honest about an experience of being a woman in the world... And I think we’ve agreed as a culture… not to talk about huge aspects of our experience. And Ferrante uncompromisingly breaks that agreement.” ~Maggie Gyllenhaal
The most recent film adaptation of one of Ferrante’s books was done by Netflix. “The Lying Life of Adults” was released in January 2023. You can watch the trailer here. In perfect alignment with what Maggie Gyllenhaal stated, you can easily observe these factors even in something as small as a film trailer. It’s breathtaking when honesty of experience is allowed a voice.
I encourage you to explore more about Elena Ferrante’s publishing history in this video by the London Review Shop. This is another interesting video by her translator that gives you birds-eye view of the text in a way readers normally cannot see.
Naples
Naples is a popular tourist destination. One of the many beautiful cities of Italy, Naples offers its own unique culture and history. In fact, Elena Ferrante’s Naples, is a very interesting Naples. We encourage you to partake in this fascinating lecture to learn more and take a virtual tour of the specifics tied to her novels.
A Historical Look at Italy Through the Eyes of Elena Ferrante
Experience the history of modern Italy from a Southern Italian perspective, inspired by the Neapolitan Novels
Naples, Italy Through the Eyes of Elena Ferrante
Explore the neighborhoods of Naples through a discussion of the "My Brilliant Friend" novels
What to Explore
You can take a tour that is specifically designed around Elena Ferrante’s novels, which is something Zemii Tours does in our Stories Alive! Tours, or you can explore on your own. Without a customized itinerary created for you, you can get lost in the maze of this historic city. However, today we will walk you through the highlights of this fascinating city located in the south of Italy.
Volcanic History
Although not directly in the city of Naples, you should definitely explore the region of Pompeii, Mt. Vesuvius, and the city of Herculaneum. There are scores of films and books written about the historic volcanic eruption in 79 AD that wiped out this region and wiped the population of Pompeii off the map. Tour the cities and take a walk around the volcano where you can get up close and personal with the archaeological findings and hike this stratovolcano for closer inspection.
Naples Underground
Below the streets of the city, you will find a network of streets originally created by the Greek and Romans and later utilized as air raid shelters during WWII.
Within these underground streets, you will also find the Greek Roman Aqueduct. Tours of the underground frequently include The Roman Theater, where you will visit a Neapolitan house that takes you to the ancient Roman theater of Neapolis. This theater is also where Emperor Nero had his own private dressing room. The Roman theater also houses the Scarabattoli exhibition of sculptures, including the Summa Cavea. Other underground wonders include the San Gennaro Catacombs.
Museums and Castles
A visit to Naples should not be without visits to their famous castles and their National Archeology Museum. Rich in history, Naples does not disappoint any history buff or those with a fascination with the historic powers and tragedies of the region. The oldest castle in the region is the Castel dell'Ovo Naples (photo above). One of the more interesting castles is the Castel Nuovo, a Medieval castle with quite a history.
Food
Zemii Tours always focus on gastronomy as part of the structural requirement of our tour itineraries. We also include spa excursions on every tour. Although we cannot put you in a lush spa at the moment, what we can do is help you make some amazing Italian food at home right now that you can enjoy as you explore the links provided throughout this narrative. Click the button below to learn more about the regional foods of Italy.
Feeling Inspired?
Although we don’t currently have a Stories Alive! tour for Elena Ferranti’s novels (2024’s options are available here), we can create a custom itinerary for you or your group if you are interested. You can schedule an appointment here to discuss your interest. If you feel rather roguish and want to do it all on your own, please feel free to take advantage of our self-booking portal for your hotels, car rentals, and tours.