Sixth stage of the Giro d'Italia 2023: Naples

The sixth stage of the Giro d'Italia 2023 starts in the scenic Piazza del Plebiscito in Naples.

With its "arms outstretched" between the old town and the marina, Piazza del Plebiscito invites us to discover the beating heart of the city, which is recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Naples is a treasure chest where infinite facets of a culture and a society that are among the most complex in the entire Italian landscape coexist.

A place that has been inhabited since ancient times, it has maintained, in its thousand cultural stratifications, salient aspects of the various invasions that have followed one another. It is a city that generates and regenerates itself, akin to a living organism, continuously in motion, never the same.

The Veiled Christ, the chapel of San Gennaro, the decumani and Santa Chiara are just some of the works that can be admired, but the true "masterpiece" is the unique liveliness that explodes in the popular neighbourhoods where flavours, colours and knowledge reveal details of a composite and ancient society.

On the coast, whose majesty is known throughout the world, there are extraordinary beaches and bays: from the protected marina of the Parco della Gaiola, with an area that is also open to bathers, to the "cliff" of Marechiaro, a unique and wild place, to the Submerged Archaeological Park of Baia, called "the submerged Pompeii", where it is possible to admire the remains of the city by participating in organised dives (even at night).

Even if the undisputed queen of Neapolitan cuisine is pizza, the many delicacies that characterise Neapolitan gastronomy are no less iconic: rapini, buffalo mozzarella, endive, and gattò. And how could one forget about coffee, which in Naples seems to have a unique fragrance, especially if accompanied by one of the many typical desserts: pastiera, babà, struffoli and sfogliatella.

Circumnavigating Mount Vesuvius and passing through Pompeii, the route, after passing the San Pietro hill that, at 695 m, is the highest point of the stage, reaches Amalfi. The Coast welcomes us with its breathtaking landscapes overlooking the sea, where the salty air adds unique notes to the sweet scent of the citrus blossom: a unique essence that characterises visits to the magnificent Amalfi Cathedral and its cloister.

Continuing along the coast, the route passes through Sorrento, a symbolic place of this area, where a taste of delizia al limone ('lemon delight') is a must: the dessert, created by the Sorrento pastry chef Carmine Marzuillo in 1978, has a base of sponge cake moistened with a limoncello syrup (a typical liqueur of the area). It is stuffed and covered with lemon cream, to which the grated lemon zest and a trickle of whipped cream are added.