Naples Local Customs

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The Votive Aedicule represent the art and the history of the quarter. Along its lanes there are a lot of aedicule that give suggestive and typical imagine of the traditional and folkloristic Naples. The aedicule are everywhere: in the streets, in the lanes, in the courtyards and also in the private houses. When these imagines started to invade the quarter, the inhabitants made a competition to have the beautiful aedicule not only dedicated to Madonna and Holies but also to personalities of the Parthenopean culture like the Prince Antonio de Curtis, better known as Totò (Totò was a famous italian actor borned in Naples).
[by Egicom05 – Street of Naples]

If you've never had the opportunity to try "mozzarella di bufala", you must! The only kind to try is the fresh kind from Campania. Eat it alone or try it on pizza...you shouldn't be disappointed. If you are, just send it my way!

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This is one of the most reknowned Napolitan traditions, the presepio (or the manger) where even icons like Maradona and Al Bano are part of the entourage of the manger of the child Jesus.

The presepio is also known for its craftmanship which is incomparable. Each of the figurines are hand crafted artistically where the artisits hands are able to mould certain facial expressions that seem to be very intricate. The smaller the figure is, the more difficult it is to craft, however, the presepio is 100% hand crafted and its origin is always attributed to the craftmen of Naples.

"... St. Gennaro would not have existed without Naples and Naples could not survive without St. Gennaro. The history of St. Gennaro starts with Naples’history... "So Alexander Dumas told about the bond that exists between our town and its Protector. He descended from the noble family Gens Januaria. So,Gennaro was the surname and according to not official sources,Procolo the name. The story that involved Gennaro,happened in the first half of the III° century;during that epoch he was Benevento’s bishop. In 303,when the famous Diocleziano’s edict was banished against the Christians,he went to Miseno to participate to a liturgy. In that time,Sossio was Miseno’s deacon,that was arrested by Dragonzio,antichristian judge,taking advantage of the rage diocleziana persecution. Gennaro,his deacon Festo and the reader Desiderio heard the duty to make visit to the friend to bring him some comfort. Dragonzio took advantage of the occasion to arrest the three with the accusation of forced adoration of the idols to the pagan altars condemning them to be devoured by the beasts in Pozzuoli’s amphitheater.The rebellion of the Christian community exploded,it got only the conversion of the punishment:decapitation,that was executed in the Hole of Volcano near the Solfatara of Pozzuoli in 305. To performed sentence,some Christians charged themselves to bury the martyrs and to preserve some their blood. According to the tradition,Gennaro’s blood was guarded by its nurse in 2 cruets,while the body was buried in Marciano near the places where the execution happened. His mortal remains underwent numerous translations,up to the actual setup in the Cathedral in Naples in 1492. The first certain news of the miracle of the liquefaction of the blood of St. Gennaro goes up to 17 August of 1389; they tell that blood was liquefied as if it had gushed out that same day from the body of the saint.
[Egicom05 by Sun City]

St. Gennaro is the fervently loved patron Saint of Naples.
Three are the fixed dates of the recurrent prodigy of the Saint (blood liquifying): eve of the first Sunday of May (first translation), on December 16 (anniversary of the vesuviana eruption 1631) and on September 19(martyrdom’s date). To liquefy, the blood can take few seconds, or half an hour, or some days, then people pray because this happens. It is worthwhile to spend two words on the so-called ones "parenti of St. Gennaro", that belong to the ethnic and cultural patrimony, sprung, during the centuries,from the popular pity; they use simple and confidential expressions "santo nuosto", "guappone", "faccia ngialluta” dialect prayers not to be marginalized, as voice of the Neapolitan alive language. It’s a group of believers women,that pray until the miracle happens. According to the popular tradition,the missed miracle is premonition of bad luck and misfortune for Naples and the surrounding zones. Another aspect of the traditions tied up to the miracle of St. Gennaro is represented by the procession that remembers the first translation of the relics of the martyr from Marciano to the catacomb in Naples. Anciently the clergy participated with garlands of flowers on the head,tradition abolished then. This procession, from the people also told "procession of the statues" for the presence of the silver statues of the holy compatronis, it is an authentic show of faith and folklore.
On the terraces carnations, roses and flowers of every kind, to the balconies blankets of damask or brocade,cloths of silk preserved for years and spread out to the air for the party. Intimate and dense of emotion,the procession crosses Spaccanapoli among the houses of the ancient center. People tightened around the saint in those little streets that gave more voice to the prayers and the songs. Petals of roses to the passage of the Patron and with the flowers the cry "Long live St. Gennaro! "
Egicom05 by Sun City

If you are used to drying clothes in a dryer, forget about it here. You won't find one unless it's been brought over from the USA. People usually hang their laundry outside to dry, either off the balcony or on a clothesline. It's not a problem unless you were counting on those jeans for that day, or even the next day... The humidity might mold your jeans before they actually dry, just kidding, it's not that bad...

Even if the Napoli soccer club plays in the third series, Neapolitans are always in love with soccer. Maradona is still in their blood and soccer's symbols are everywhere. Watch this picture: young neapolitan boys ("scugnizzi") created a soccer field on the front side of a church (S. Maria Donnaregina). The goal is the main entrance gate. Don't worry they didn't mean to be blaspheme; the church is actually in disuse.

Walking through some of the major thoroughfares of the Spaccanapoli district, you can discover many shops selling Christmas creches (nativity scenes). Apparently this is a big folk art in Naples, and people design extravagant scenes for display throughout the holiday season.

The size and detail of many of the scenes was amazing, and ofter the small figures of the scenes are politicians, showmen, singers and football players...