In the recent years the successful and best selling Neapolitan series of epic meta-fiction novels written by Elena Ferrante, who writes under a pseudonym, has put the town of Naples in the spotlight. The superb ancient capital of southern Italy has been described in gritty detail and yet it seems to have wooed thousands of fans around the world like the sirens did with sailors many centuries ago.
Ferrante describes how violent life was in the outskirts of Naples, how many cultural diversities there were among people living in the same neighborhood, and how many possibilities had young people who tried to escape a very sad fate. Ferrante gives us a detailed description of the cracked surfaces of walls along the streets, graphiti everywhere, clothing and linen strung across the narrow streets of the ancient city centre but she also reveals stunning views from the Posillipo hill to the hilltop neighbourhood of Vomero.
The quadrilogy enables us to know how the daily life of families in Naples was in the past and how it has changed during the last decades showing all the contradictions of a big city which had been a great capital in the past and which is confronting now with a revival especially in terms of tourism relevance.
As many fans want to see the city true character for themselves, I thought it was worth offering a few tours in order to trace the places described in the novels while discussing the four books: “My brilliant friend”, “The story of a new name”, “Those who live and those who stay”, and “The lost child”.
On our tour, we will visit the “rione” where Elena and Lila lived, the church, the centre of the ancient and historic town and many other spots described in the worldwide famous quartet.
Please contact me for an unforgettable tour of Elena Ferrante’s Novels locations led by a true “Neapolitan” and qualified tourist guide.
My email is belsannino@gmail.com and my telephone number is +39 3393982433
© Dr Maria Sannino 2016
Qualified Tourist Guide for Tours in Campania (South Italy) 