Find in this travel guide for the 18th century:

• The Antiquities Trail:
  – Herculaneum and Pompeii
  – Paestum
• Practical Tips for Travellers
  – Where to Stay
  – Specialities
• Danger & Annoyances
• Money & Measurements

The Kingdom of Naples and Sicily became a popular destination for British tourists with the discovery and excavation of ancient ruins in the mid 18th century. The art found at Herculaneum and Pompeii sparked the European Neo-classicism: It was the motifs from these ancient ruins that featured on stylish furnishings in England.
Architects, artists and their rich patrons braved the inconveniences of a long journey to see the celebrated ruins themselves.

In this part of ‘Writer’s Travel Guide: The British and the Grand Tour to the Kingdom of Naples’ we discover the famous ancient sites as a travel destination for Grand Tourists of the Romantic Age. Continue reading →

Find in this travel guide for the 18th century:

• The Destination: Facts & Figures
• Getting There & Around
• Things to See & Do in Naples
  – Neapolitan Dolce Vita
  – Balls, Suppers and Assemblies
  – Culture & Entertainment
• Nature & Activities
  – Climbing Mount Vesuvius
  – Watersports

For British travellers, Italy was an essential destiny of the Grand Tour. However, most travellers didn’t go farther than Rome. Only the adventurous or scholarly continued to the South, to ‘The Kingdom of Naples and Sicily’. This was to change with the discovery and excavation of the ruins of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Paestum in the mid 18th century.

Eager to see the sites of Antiquity themselves, architects, artists and their rich patrons ventured down the long road to Naples, braving brigands, mosquitoes and heat.

• How did they travel?
• What would they see and do in 18th-century Naples?
• Which sites would they visit?
• Where would they stay?

With this post, Regency Explorer provides a travel guide to the ‘Kingdom of Naples and Sicily’ for travellers of the Romantic Age. Continue reading →