See Naples And Die
First of all I want to thank my friends for wishing the wife and I a nice trip.
I was watching an old Victory At Sea episode about the allies fighting the Germans in Italy. Turned out the Italians didn't have any stomach for fighting the GI's and the British so Hitler had to divert troops he had fighting the Russians on the Eastern Front and deploy them to do battle in Italy.The Nazis might have had a chance if Mussolini would have joined up with the allies instead of the Germans. He did them more harm than good for the Third Reich. Hitler had to come to his rescue in Greece,then North Africa,and finally fighting their fight in their home country.
What stuck out in my mind watching the episode of the Italian campaign was a something the narrator,Leonard Graves, said.(Didn't he have a great voice for that Victory At Sea series?).He said that when the allies entered Naples they were in a city where someone had said"See Naples and die."
I know that wasn't a literal context.Not like the Mafia shoots you in the back of the head. I knew it had to do about something that caught the imagination of someone visiting there that believed that once you felt the ambiance of Naples you'd seen everything,and then you could die in peace.I did a little digging and that's what it was. Some adventurer back in the 16th century thought that Naples, Italy was the most enchanting place on Earth.Maybe back then it was.There was no Italy then.Naples was one of those kingdoms that flourished with trading on the Mediterranean.
I've been to Naples a couple of times.Not for very long. The Renaissance didn't reach that far down the boot.There's no Trevi Fountain or Saint Peters. So when I think of seeing Naples and dying,I know what it really means. I know because I know myself. My blood line goes back to that city. I know how Neoploiltrans act. The moods and way they express themselves. The passion and the pitfalls.A region that's steeped in superstition that is like a curse. No matter how hard a Neoploitan would want to change,he can't. It's impossible. There's too much emotion and impulse to make a rational decision. As much as those Olympian heights can make one feel unequaled ,the fall from that mount can bring the lowest depths of misery.
But Neoploitans have relished in the idea that" it is what it is", and they live with it. They believe they are exceptional to Italy. They have more Italianess in them that the rest of Italy. "I'm Neopolitan ,not so much an Italian."It's a bravado that they are proud of, yet it is an exclusive club.Living with my father showed me that.
I remember once that Pavarotti's voice cracked at La Scala in Milan.The balcony threw tomatoes at him. He was hurt and needed to prove himself again. He decided to make his comeback in Naples. "The Neoplitans appreciate singing,"he said.He knew if they stood on their feet in Naples,he was on his way back.
During the ride to the Teatro De San Carlo, Pavoratti was struggling with some phrasing with one the arias. He asked the cab driver how the song should be sung. The cabbie then went into the rendition singing with a terrible voice ,but with a rush of confidence and emotion.
"That's it!"exclaimed the big guy. "That's the way it should be sung."
The cab driver wasn't star struck. He was a"Napolitan".He knew how the song went.He humbled the biggest" ham "in the world, Pavoratti.
Pavoratti was once asked if there was any political solution to Italy.
"No",he quickly responded. "If you put ten Italians in room and then said I'll be back in an hour for you to decide who is to be your leader,they would all fight and no one would be selected."
That sums it up for me. "See Naples and die"? The bitter sweetness of having your ancestors come from there with their blood running through your veins makes you understand.
