After leaving Messina we had a stop in Naples but didn't leave the ship as it was pouring all day.
We then changed ships in Rome the next day and were back in Naples on the 11th. Fortunately the weather was much better and I did the walking tour of Naples in the morning, leaving Sue on the ship as she was not feeling the best.
The walk was interesting, with the highlight being the tour through the tunnels under the city, including the Borbonico passage built for the King of Naples. Unfortunately, he died before it was finished so the project was left incomplete. Its best use was as an air raid shelter during WW2.
The climb down into the tunnels was very challenging, with narrow steps that turned 90 degrees in a descending square pattern for around 90 steps. Not for the claustrophobic!
In the afternoon we both went to see the Veiled Christ carving in the Sansevero Chapel.
What a revelation! Unfortunately, we could not take photos so I have copied one from the internet to give a taste of what it looks like. The skill of the sculptor to carve out of marble a figure of Christ covered by a shroud is astounding. All the features, including the wounds, are visible through what appears to be a marble sheet covering the body.
We walked back to the ship, stopping for some lunch on the way and admiring the back streets. Saw a sign for a church in what appeared to be a run down building, only to find the most magnificent church on the inside. This sums up a lot of what we saw in Naples - the most incredible treasures inside very ordinary buildings and very poor neighbourhoods behind the most grand buildings.
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