Pizzofalcone, Naples

Pizzofalcone is a prominent tufa hill rising approximately 70 metres above sea level in the heart of Naples, Campania, Italy, forming the southwestern boundary of the historic city centre between the elegant Chiaia seafront neighbourhood and the Santa Lucia quarter near Castel dell'Ovo. In ancient times the hill was the site of the original Greek colony of Palaeopolis (Old City) established in the 9th–8th century BC before the main city of Neapolis was founded nearby. Today Pizzofalcone is a noble residential neighbourhood of dilapidated baroque palaces, quiet piazzas, and sweeping sea views that remains largely unknown to most visitors, despite being 15 minutes' walk from the Royal Palace and Piazza del Plebiscito. The principal access for visitors is via the Ascensore di Pizzofalcone, a public lift connecting the seafront Via Gioioso with the hilltop neighbourhood—a small mechanical wonder that has served local residents since 1926. At the top, the neighbourhood opens into Via Monte di Dio, a grand baroque street of palaces including the Nunziatella Military Academy and the attached church of the Nunziatella with its remarkable 18th-century frescoed ceiling. The small Piazza Santa Maria degli Angeli at the hill's southern edge provides panoramic views over the Bay of Naples, the Castel dell'Ovo, and the Sorrentine Peninsula. The convent of Santa Maria degli Angeli, partly converted to other uses, retains its baroque church open to visitors. The neighbourhood's atmospheric streets, largely unmarked on standard tourist maps, are lined with shuttered noblemen's palaces, neighbourhood alimentari (grocery shops), and laundry-hung alleys that present an unreconstructed Naples rarely seen by visitors.