The Courtyard of the Statues and the Quartieri Spagnoli, two Naples a few steps apart

Almost no one looks up while walking along Corso Umberto. And yet, once you step through the gate of the main seat of the Federico II university, the Courtyard of the Statues opens up: the monumental cloister of what was once an old Jesuit college, where statues of illustrious figures linked to the university's history stand. The noise of the traffic dies away all at once. What remains are the porticoes, the grey stone, the slow step of the students. It is one of those places the city keeps in plain sight, without pointing it out to anyone.

The walk

From here begins a walk that lines up two different faces of the same city. A few minutes separate the academic, silent Naples of the courtyard from the vertical, noisy Naples of the Quartieri Spagnoli, which climb the hill west of Via Toledo. You cross the centre on foot, unhurried, letting the alleys decide the direction.

The Quartieri Spagnoli

The Quartieri were born in the 16th century, wanted by the viceroy Pedro de Toledo to house the Spanish garrisons. Hence the name, and hence that chessboard layout that still today disorients and fascinates: narrow, parallel streets, staircases, hanging washing, votive altars at every corner. In recent years the murals, first among them the one dedicated to Maradona, have drawn tour groups and photographers to the main streets. But you only need to turn down one side street to find everyday life again.

For those seeking undertourism, this is exactly the advice: avoid the peak hours at the most famous mural and climb higher, where the ground-floor bassi become homes and the voices return to those of the neighbourhood. A stop at a friggitoria, a coffee at the counter, the gaze sliding from the scholarly courtyard down to the hanging washing: two Neapleses coexisting a few hundred metres apart.

Visiting tips

Go early in the morning or in the late afternoon, in spring or autumn, when the light is soft and the seafront crowds are elsewhere. Check the opening hours of the university courtyard, which depend on the life of the university. And move around on foot: here every shortcut is a discovery.

Related guides: Hidden Campania: secret villages and unusual places beyond Naples and the Coast · Not just Capri: islands and coastal villages of Campania without mass tourism · The Amalfi Coast without the crush: cheaper, less crowded alternatives to Positano.

How to get there

You move around the heart of Naples, between Via Toledo and the Quartieri Spagnoli. The most convenient metro stop is Toledo on Line 1, but Municipio and Dante are also close by; the area is also served by the funiculars that climb towards the Vomero. Those arriving by train head for Napoli Centrale station at Piazza Garibaldi, connected to the centre by the metro. The reference airport is Naples-Capodichino, reachable from the centre by the Alibus service.