Neapolitan Courtyards

The historic centre of Naples is densely populated.

and has been for 3,000 years. The locals adapted by designing their apartment blocks with central courtyards.

In the grandest buildings the courtyards are gated like this one on Via Foria near the Botanical Gardens.

But most are open like this one off the Spaccanapoli.

This courtyard of shops is off the street of Christmas creches (via San Gregorio Armeno).

Here is a private courtyard glimpsed from the same street.

This elegant courtyard is in the San Lorenzo Quarter.

John and I returned to this neighbourhood often. San Lorenzo felt like a personal discovery.

The streets are narrow,

but regularly open onto light-filled courtyards.

Laundry and parked motorbikes are standard features. Notice the exit onto a parallel street in the distance.

Some courtyards are more colourful than others.

But every courtyard is unique and always worth a look.