Santa Maria del Carmine Maggiore rises near Piazza Mercato, away from the more polished museum-and-palace circuit. Its tall bell tower is a useful landmark, and the church's history is bound up with the crowded, working Naples around the old market district.
The appeal is partly architectural and partly historical. This was the neighbourhood of Masaniello's 17th-century revolt, and the church still feels connected to the city's popular memory rather than to courtly Naples. Step inside if you are walking between the station, the market area, and the waterfront.