Piazza Dante

In front of you opens one of the great squares of Naples. For centuries it was the Largo del Mercatello, a market at the city gates, just outside the old walls. It owes its present look to the arrival of the Bourbons.

1Vanvitelli's forum

Between 1757 and 1765, Luigi Vanvitelli, the architect of the palace of Caserta, built the great hemicycle in front of you: the Foro Carolino, in honour of Charles of Bourbon. The twenty-six statues on the balustrade represent the king's virtues. An equestrian statue of the monarch was meant to stand in the centre, but it was never made. Today the building houses the Convitto Nazionale, a historic school.

After the unification of Italy, in 1872, the statue of Dante Alighieri was unveiled in the centre of the square, and the old market changed its name for good.

2The gate of books

To your left as you face the hemicycle is Port'Alba, a gate opened in the walls in 1625 and named after the viceroy Antonio Álvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alba. For generations, second-hand booksellers have crowded under its arch and along the street beyond, near the music conservatory and the university. Just behind it is one of the oldest pizzerias in the city.

This is where Via Toledo begins, and you will follow it towards the sea.

3What to look for

• The twenty-six statues of the virtues on top of the hemicycle.
• The statue of Dante, his hand stretched out over the city.
• Port'Alba and its book stalls.