Description
The Camaldoli hill is the highest point in Naples: 457 meters of volcanic hill between the districts of Chiaiano, Arenella, Soccavo and Pianura, with a sixteenth-century hermitage on top, an urban park of chestnut woods and a view that reaches as far as Circeo. Neapolitans call it 'e Camaldule.
The hill was born about 35,000 years ago, from the violent eruptions of the Phlegraean Fields. Today its two slopes are very different: the south one drops sheer with tuff cliffs, the north one is a gentle slope covered by a thick coppice wood.
The best spot is the Belvedere Grande, a few meters from the hermitage: a balcony over Naples, Vesuvius and the hermitage itself. From here you can also make out the crater of the Astroni and the ridges that bound the Agnano basin, and with a little luck you may see birds of prey in flight.
From the summit, on the Soccavo side, the eye takes in the gulfs of Naples, Pozzuoli and Gaeta, the Sorrento peninsula, the long promontory of Posillipo with the island of Nisida, the Roccamonfina massif, the Pontine Islands and the Matese plateau.
On the highest point stands the Camaldoli hermitage, founded in 1585 by Giovanni d'Avalos on the ruins of a much older chapel, and partly visible from the sea. The church, by Domenico Fontana, has a high altar designed by Cosimo Fanzago and canvases by Luca Giordano, Cesare Fracanzano and Antiveduto Gramatica, a Caravaggesque painter.
Around it extends the Camaldoli Urban Park, established in 1980 and opened to the public in 1996: about 135 hectares of woodland, with three entrances. In the undergrowth grow broom, cyclamen, periwinkle and Saint Joseph's lily; in autumn it is a destination for those who come to gather chestnuts.
The name comes from the hermitage itself: before, the hill was called Monte Prospetto, for the view you enjoy from up there. The Camaldolese monks were driven out in 1807 by Joseph Bonaparte, and again in 1866 by the Savoys, who let them return in 1885.
Since 1998 the monks have been replaced by the Brigittine sisters, who came from Sweden. Because of its altitude, the area above 350 meters is 3-4 degrees colder than the rest of the city: now and then it snows here, and Neapolitans come up to see the flakes.
Don't miss
• The Belvedere Grande.
• The hermitage and its church.
• The park's chestnut woods.
• The panorama over the gulf and Vesuvius.
Did you know?
• In February 1929 the temperature here fell to 7 degrees below zero (Celsius).
• In January 1985 a snowfall cut off the area: the roads were covered by 20 centimeters of snow and ice.
The hill was born about 35,000 years ago, from the violent eruptions of the Phlegraean Fields. Today its two slopes are very different: the south one drops sheer with tuff cliffs, the north one is a gentle slope covered by a thick coppice wood.
The best spot is the Belvedere Grande, a few meters from the hermitage: a balcony over Naples, Vesuvius and the hermitage itself. From here you can also make out the crater of the Astroni and the ridges that bound the Agnano basin, and with a little luck you may see birds of prey in flight.
From the summit, on the Soccavo side, the eye takes in the gulfs of Naples, Pozzuoli and Gaeta, the Sorrento peninsula, the long promontory of Posillipo with the island of Nisida, the Roccamonfina massif, the Pontine Islands and the Matese plateau.
On the highest point stands the Camaldoli hermitage, founded in 1585 by Giovanni d'Avalos on the ruins of a much older chapel, and partly visible from the sea. The church, by Domenico Fontana, has a high altar designed by Cosimo Fanzago and canvases by Luca Giordano, Cesare Fracanzano and Antiveduto Gramatica, a Caravaggesque painter.
Around it extends the Camaldoli Urban Park, established in 1980 and opened to the public in 1996: about 135 hectares of woodland, with three entrances. In the undergrowth grow broom, cyclamen, periwinkle and Saint Joseph's lily; in autumn it is a destination for those who come to gather chestnuts.
The name comes from the hermitage itself: before, the hill was called Monte Prospetto, for the view you enjoy from up there. The Camaldolese monks were driven out in 1807 by Joseph Bonaparte, and again in 1866 by the Savoys, who let them return in 1885.
Since 1998 the monks have been replaced by the Brigittine sisters, who came from Sweden. Because of its altitude, the area above 350 meters is 3-4 degrees colder than the rest of the city: now and then it snows here, and Neapolitans come up to see the flakes.
Don't miss
• The Belvedere Grande.
• The hermitage and its church.
• The park's chestnut woods.
• The panorama over the gulf and Vesuvius.
Did you know?
• In February 1929 the temperature here fell to 7 degrees below zero (Celsius).
• In January 1985 a snowfall cut off the area: the roads were covered by 20 centimeters of snow and ice.