The mysterious and beloved Italian pseudonymous writer Elena Ferrante’s releases are met with wild fervour and excitement but she remains best-known for her four Neapolitan Novels, starting off with My Brilliant Friend (L’amica geniale), which was adapted into a highly successful television series with four seasons following the plots of each of the novels. While we know very little about the real person behind Ferrante, we do know that she herself is a Naples native and was raised there by a seamstress mother alongside her four sisters. Naples, of course, has much to see and do and discover but for massive Ferrante fans it is somewhat of a pilgrimage site. Book one of our vacation rentals in Campania today and you can come see the city that made Ferrante and that features so prominently in her work.
While the Naples of the Neapolitan Novels is the Naples of the past and of imaginings, key places from the works remain and can be visited by fans looking to get closer to the story. The neighbourhood of the two protagonists still exists on the eastern outskirts of the city and is called Rione Luzzatti. Familiar landmarks such as the Sacra Famiglia church, the girls’ schools, the library, the tunnel that leads out to the sea, and more all can be visited. So, too, can locations from the books in other parts of the city such as the beautiful Piazza dei Martiri, where Lila has a shoe shop; the seafront at Via Caracciolo where Lenù looks out at Vesuvius; and more.
For fans of the books and the show, Naples offers a wonderful opportunity to follow the vivid protagonists around a city thrumming with life and character. Browse our holiday rentals in Campania and then look ahead to a holiday in which you can plan day-trips and pilgrimages in to Naples to the key locations that you have in mind!