Naples

Naples is Italy turned up to 11. The intense sensuality of the place can be overwhelming. The sights: from Bourbon palaces to the heart-stopping Bay of Naples; the sounds: non-stop car horns and squawking street kids; the flavours: from pizza marinara to sfogliatella pastries; and the unselfconscious physicality of the people, all form the tapestry of life - one which Neapolitans live with a passion that suggests every day might be their last.

And indeed it might. What Mount Vesuvius did to Pompeii in AD79, it could just as easily do to Naples tomorrow. Fortunately, the next time the volcano blows its top, Neapolitans believe that they will at least have advance warning. Local tradition has it that if the blood of the patron saint, San Gennaro, fails to liquefy three times a year, disaster looms.

You can watch the ritual take place in the 13th-century Gothic cathedral in May, September and December - it provides an insight into the highly superstitious nature of the city's people.

Naples grew out of the Greek settlement Neapolis ("new city") which was expanded by the Romans and later occupied by the Normans, the Hohenstaufen dynasty from Germany, and the Angevins. All have left their traces but it is the legacy of the Aragonese and Bourbon rulers between the 15th and 18th Centuries which is most visible today.

You can get a sense of the city's early history in the Museo Archaeologico Nazionale, where there are finds from nearby Roman sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum. There are three imposing medieval castles (two on the waterfront and one up the hill), numerous fascinating churches covering a range of architectural styles and several grand palaces, such as the 17th-century Palazzo Reale.

If you want a proper taste of authentic (a euphemism for 'poor') Naples, wander around the backstreets of the Spanish quarter. Here you'll find run-down apartment blocks crammed so tightly there's barely space for a Vespa to tear up the alleyway between them, hear fierce exchanges in the impenetrable local dialect, and see elderly faces that express a lifetime of everyday sacrifice.

True to their out-there nature, the Neapolitans are crazier about football than any other fans in Italy. Unfortunately, they have not had much to celebrate recently. SS Calcio Napoli went bust in 2003 and a new club, Napoli Soccer, began life in Serie C. Yet they are set to enjoy 2006/07 in Serie B and better days may lie ahead.

In the meantime, fans keep the fire alive with memories of Diego Maradona, the Argentine genius who led the club to league titles in 1987 and 1990. The Neapolitans cheered when Maradona helped eliminate Italy from the 1990 World Cup in Napoli's San Paolo stadium. It showed their depth of gratitude to the player but also demonstrated their estrangement from the idea of Italy.