Page:Life in the Old World - Vol. II.djvu/423

Rh become tolerably well-acquainted with the city. It is for the most part a network of streets, narrow lanes and squares, without any beauty. It is most peculiar in those portions of the city where are the shops of the workers in gold and silver and all kinds of trinkets, the delight of the Neapolitan people. There are great numbers of these shops. The only part of the city which is beautiful, is that which lies nearest to the harbor, with the Square of Santa Lucia, Largo del Castello, with its beautiful Fortuna Medina, Largo del Palazzo, and various others, as well as the lovely city quay, and its incomparable pleasure grounds, Villa Reale. Beautiful also are, or rather will be, the promenade over Il Vomero, which is laid out round the city, and from which the most perfect view will be afforded of the city itself, its harbor, the bay, and the whole neighborhood.

People go to the Fortress of St. Elmo, and to the Camalduli Monastery, on the heights above Naples for the enjoyment of the view. Ladies are not, however, allowed to enter the court of the convent. My young friend and I were therefore obliged to remain outside, but with a grand view and lovely enough to console us, whilst the gentlemen were admitted. They returned quite amazed by the splendor which they found in the church—which is said to be inordinately rich—and the elegance which prevailed in the cells of the hermits. For every brother of the order has his own little house, that he may all the more completely devote himself to his pious contemplations. These little dwellings appeared to our friends remarkably comfortable and ornamental, some of them actual