The Mediterranean by Grant Allen

The Bay of Naples -- Vesuvius -- Characteristic scenes of street life -- The _alfresco_ restaurants -- Chapel of St. Januarius -- Virgil's Tomb -- Capri, the Mecca of artists and lovers of the picturesque -- The Emperor Tiberius -- Description of the Blue Grotto -- The coast-road from Castellamare to Sorrento -- Amalfi -- Sorrento, "the village of flowers and the flower of villages" -- The Temples of Paestum.

Naples in itself, apart from its surroundings, is not of surpassing beauty. Its claim to be "the most beautiful city in Europe" rests solely on the adventitious aid of situation. When the fictitious charm which distance gives is lost by a near approach, it will be seen that the city which has inspired the poets of all ages is little more than a huge, bustling, commonplace commercial port, not to be compared for a moment, aesthetically speaking, with Genoa, Florence, Venice, or many other Italian towns equally well known to the traveller. This inherent lack is, however, more than compensated for by the unrivaled natural beauties of its position, and of its charming environs. No town in Europe, not Palermo with its "Golden Shell," Constantinople with its "Golden Horn," nor Genoa, the "Gem of the Riviera," can boast of so magnificent a situation. The traveller who approaches Naples by sea may well be excused for any exuberance of language.