The Spanish Quarter, built in the sixteenth century to house the Spanish garrison that occupied Naples. A dense grid of narrow lanes running steeply up the hill west of Via Toledo, its streets are some of the most intensely Neapolitan in the city — washing strung between balconies, shrines to Maradona alongside shrines to the Madonna, street food vendors, and the particular shouts and smells of a neighbourhood that has changed less than almost anywhere else in southern Italy.
The Quartieri Spagnoli has a rough reputation that is partly deserved and partly outdated. It is worth walking through in daylight, ideally with purpose — there are good pizza spots, pastry shops, and the irreplaceable experience of simply being in a place this alive. Via Speranzella has some of the best street-food options.