The Atlas Obscura Guide To Naples

34 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Naples, Italy

Updated August 13, 2026

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Unusual Attractions in Naples

A staircase excavated from the tuff leads to a depth of 120 feet (40 meters).

Naples, Italy

Naples Underground

A labyrinth of ancient tunnels hidden below the city holds the ruins of 2,500 years of history.

Toledo Art Station of the Naples Metro.

Naples, Italy

Toledo Art Station

This shining multicolored metro station deep under Naples is said to be the most beautiful in Europe.

Tunnel and vintage cars.

Naples, Italy

Bourbon Tunnel

Dug as a secret royal escape route, the tunnel became a wartime bomb shelter and dumping ground for vintage cars.

Itiphallic Satyr, c. 410 BC

Naples, Italy

Gabinetto Segreto

The once forbidden "secret cabinet" of erotic art from excavations of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

An anatomical model.

Naples, Italy

The Anatomical Machines of Cappella Sansevero

These "anatomical machines" are only one of the many strange items in this Italian crypt.

Naples, Italy

Gaiola Island

This magical-looking island is notorious for the misfortunes suffered by its owners.

Catacombs of San Gennaro.

Naples, Italy

Catacombs of San Gennaro

An underground paleo-Christian burial site composed of the remains of several cemeteries and Basilicas.

See All 34 Things To Do in Naples

Cool Places to Eat & Drink in Naples

Naples, Italy

Birthplace of the Pizza Margherita Plaque

A popular legend claims that the famous pizza was invented at a restaurant in this alley.

The pizza here is as old-school as they come.

Naples, Italy

Via Port’Alba

This 17th-century passageway is home to numerous bookshops, a witch legend, and the oldest pizzeria in the world.

This shrine allegedly contains a real lock of the soccer star’s hair.

Naples, Italy

Bar Nilo

Locals pay their respects at a shrine to soccer player Diego Maradona—which claims to contain a real lock of his hair.

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Explore Naples, Italy

Sacred Spaces 8

Subterranean Sites 6

Architecture 6

Catacombs And Crypts 6

Churches 5

Museums 4

Underground 4

Relics And Reliquaries 4

Subterranean 4

History & Culture 3

Saints 3

Ecosystems 3

Statues 3

History 3

Ruins 3

Design 3

Caves 3

Tombs 3

Religion 3

Art 2

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Stories About Naples

Pizza Diavola - tomato, fiordilatte, salame piccate, basil

In Search of Pizza Related Joy

Chasing the memory of the perfect Neapolitan pizza, New York Edition

by Maddy, Community Contributor

August 13, 2026

Kircher’s map of the Earth’s core and volcanoes, from Mundus Subterraneus, is richly detailed.

Stare Into the Belly of the Earth With 17th-Century Polymath Athanasius Kircher

How a visit to Vesuvius shaped his prescient vision of a hot core.

by Jessica Leigh Hester, Atlas Obscura

A Neapolitan pizza maker.

The Traditional Pizza Making of Naples Now Has Heritage Status

Good news for Neapolitans, however you slice it.

by Natasha Frost, Atlas Obscura

December 7, 2017

Poor Neapolitans rush to pillage this Cuccagna, built for the birth of Prince Phillip.

The Forgotten Italian Tradition of Building Monumental Food Palaces

Then destroying them in a literal hunger games.

by Anne Ewbank, Atlas Obscura

October 27, 2017

King Ferdinand I of Aragon had colorectal cancer.

Italian Renaissance Aristocrats Were Susceptible to Cancer, Too

Mummified evidence that cancer might not be a disease of the modern world.

by Vittoria Traverso, Atlas Obscura

October 4, 2017

Eating Spaghetti by the Fistful Was Once a Neapolitan Street Spectacle

Tourists flocked to see the "macaroni eaters" cram noodles into their mouths.

by Adee Braun, Atlas Obscura