Naples Entertainment

‘La dolce vita’ is a mantra of Naples and this city certainly does like to enjoy itself. It has a rich legacy of fine arts, a wonderful theatre where visitors can enjoy opera, and classical music seasons almost all year round. Then there is the nightlife, with numerous discos and bars open late in the summer, full of tourists and glamorously dressed locals alike.

Nightlife

Many music bars are found in Piazza dei Martiri, Piazza Amedeo and Piazza San Pasquale. They are almost always busy, but people generally move on later in the evening to the likes of San Pasquale di Chiaia, Lungomare Mergellina and Piazza Sannazzaro, where you will find the trendy clubs. The most popular wine bars are here too, such as the Enoteca Belle donne, S'Moove and the Joyce Irish Pub. The Old City Centre is the area where many of the alternative clubs are located due to a steady patronage from the university students. White in Vico Satriano is one of the coolest lounge bars of the moment. The disco La Mela in via dei Mille is more down to earth, but incredibly popular.

Theatre and music

The San Carlo Theatre is the city’s most famous and is a tourist attraction in itself. The interior and exteriors are superbly decorated and throughout the year opera and philharmonic seasons are hosted. But getting a ticket in the height of the season might be difficult unless you book ahead, online. With such an impressive legacy of fine arts, stretching back from the prosperous times under Aragon rule in the 17th century, Naples boasts a fine tradition of opera and music which flourished during the Renaissance and still thrives to this day.

Alternatively, Theatre Diana (cira 1922) is a popular choice with locals for its contemporary productions; Cilia Theatre is a more modern theatre that hosts musical evenings; while Theatre Bellini is one of the best known and most prestigious in the city and regularly hosts musicals, plays and comedy in Italian and other languages. The Sannazzaro Theatre is a historical 18th century venue in the heart of Naples' Old Town, characterised by marvellous, Rococo-style architecture.

Festivals

Throughout the summer, there are all sorts of cultural and contemporary festivals across Southern Italy, with some of the religious celebrations dating back thousands of years. If you are prepared to travel a bit, some times as far as Bari, which has more festivals than almost any other Italian city, you will experience the ‘dolce vita’ that Italians are famous for. Almost all festivals include lots of food and wine, and a firework display.

• Carnival is a four-week extravaganza that takes place from the middle of December in Bari.
• Magi's Festival is a re-enactment of the Magi's visit to Bethlehem, which takes place in Tàranto early in January. 
• Holy Week Celebrations feature many processions with floats, with the penultimate day being the torch-lit procession at Nemoli on Good Friday. There is a Spanish feel to this festival and it includes a bizarre omelette feast in honour of Easter.
• Illustration Show is a charming and family friendly comic strip and illustration show in Naples in May.
• International Music Festival is the city’s largest, featuring foreign music, which takes place in late May.
• Madonna del Carmine is a procession in honour of this respected patron.   This runs through Piazza del Carmine in mid-July,  culminating in a firework display.
• Feast of St Anne, a torch-lit procession on the Isle of Ischia, where hundreds of fire-lit boats sparkle in the harbour in honour of this island's patron saint. Held in mid-July.
• Feast of St Pantaleone is another abundant celebration of food and fireworks in late July at Ravello.
• Neapolitan Song Contest, featuring local music and musicians at Piedigrotta, with obligatory fireworks.   This is held in early September.