1936 On the Continent

Rome and Naples, are advised to travel by the Cassino road, although the magnificent Via Appia with its perfectly straight stretch of twenty-five miles along the reclaimed Pontine Marshes is a great attraction to the motorist who enjoys speeding. At all events, it is advisable to travel by the one road on the way to Naples and by the other on the way back. On the Rome-Formia-Naples line there is not a single place where it would be worth your while to break your journey. Along the other route there are many lovely places. Some fifty miles from Rome you come to the Frosinone-Alatri-Fiuggi station, which is a junction of the Fiuggi-Frosinone. Fiuggi is visited in summer by many people suffering from various gastric and bladder complaints. As it is less expensive than similar resorts in other countries, Fiuggi is visited by many foreigners, particularly English people.
    The tourist is advised to stop at Cassino and see the Monte Cassino, which is the most famous monastery in theworld. The monastery lies at an altitude of 1,500 feet and can be approached by a splendid motoring road. The more romantically inclined may hire donkeys at the foot of the mountain, while practical people will, no doubt, prefer to make use of the funicular railway. The Benedictine monks are very hospitable and the tourist may lunch at the monastery, sleep at a building near by, and, if he likes, he can stay for several days. On leaving you will no doubt remember that the monks are not rich and will let them have by way of a donation the amount you would have spent at an hotel. I can heartily recommend a stay on Monte Cassino to those who really want peace and quiet. Beyond Cassino the only place where the motorist will find it worth while to stop is Caserta, where the royal palace and its park are most interesting.
Naples
    Whether you arrive in Naples by car or by train, do not allow the sense of disappointment that you are bound to feel at first to gain a decisive hold. Only if you arrive by ship will you understand immediately why poets and artists through the centuries have admired this wonder city, why foreign visitors continue to be enchanted with it, and why Naples is universally regarded as incomparably beautiful. The first impressions are really unfavourable. The streets leading from the railway station to the heart of the city are crowded with motor-cars, rattling horse carriages and throngs of people. But when you reach the Via Caracciolo or the Corso Vittorio Emanuele the whole beauty of Naples will be revealed to you and any initial disappointment you may have felt will evaporate.
    You must be very careful in selecting accommodation in Naples. In the spring and autumn it is best to put up at one of the hotels on the Via Partenope (“Excelsior,” “Grand Hotel”) or at one of the good boarding-houses on the Via Caracciolo. In the summer, on the other hand, the luxury hotels on the mountain top—“Bertolini’s Palace,” Parker’s, Macpherson’s—are incomparably cooler and more pleasant. Among the hotels in the vicinity of the station only the “Terminus” can safely be recommended. However, it is not worth while staying in this district. You will be better off if you put up at the “Londra,”which is in the heart of the city and where prices are moderate.
    If your only consideration in selecting a boarding-house in Naples is cheapness you will probably come to regret it. On no account must you go to any of the hotels and boarding-houses between the Strada Nuova della Marina, the Via Marinella and the station. This is still the darkest quarter of Naples, which it is interesting to visit in order to see the horrible slums which have not changed for centuries, thus forming an idea of the Naples of old; but to stay in this district would be a disastrous mistake. The present Italian Government is making strenuous efforts to rebuild the whole of Naples and make good the criminal negligence of centuries; but, of course, it has been impossible to remedy all the evils in ten years. Formerly it was dangerous to walk alone at night in this quarter behind the port, but to-day the visitor may safely venture even into the most obscure alleys, though ladies are not recommended to visit this quarter alone at night.
The “Napoletano”
    Before proceeding to describe the show places of Naples I must say a few words about the peculiar species of humanity known as the “Napoletano.” These natives of Naples are universally believed to