Anyone says you to live in the centre of Naples, but not in the Pignasecca, is a shameless liar.
In fact the Pignasecca's quarter, part of Montesanto's district, represents the exact barycentre of historical Naples that, starting from the year 1500, extended herself toward west and north of the Greek-roman town, forming the new quarters of Chiaia, Vomero and Sanità.
This zone was part of a vast noble estate, propriety of the Pignatelli di Monteleone's family, called
“Biancomangiare” (white food) from the name of a delicious sort of cake, very appreciated in those times and made in this place. The estate go back probably to the Aragonese's age and was situated immediately out of the ancient “Porta Puteolana” (the city's gate toward Pozzuoli) that was placed on the lower “decumano” (one the three main street axis of the Greek-roman town), after said “Spaccanapoli” (splits Naples), where today is piazza del Gesù Nuovo.
Ancient tells report that in this estate should be a pinetree with a magpies' (“piche” in neapolitan, from the roman language) nest, where these birds used to hide their plundered objects. Guilty of the theft of some jewels, impossible to proceed with legal means, the “piche del Biancomangiare” were immediately excommunicated from the city's bishop; the sentence's paper was nailed to the pinetree that, cause of the divine condemnation, had suddenly withered: so the name of “Pignasecca” (withered pinetree) to indicate the entire zone.
The quarter, progressively occupied by less or more noble buildings, but over all religious institutes, will assume a typical commercial feature after the abolition of the so called “Mercatello”, one of the principal city's food markets, placed in the neighbouring square today called “piazza Dante”. This commercial tradition is remained and the Pignasecca is now characterized by innumerable stalls and shops with vegetables, fruits, wines, gastronomic products (over all, the more typically local) and by taverns, “trattorias” and rotisseries strictly attached to Neapolitan tradition, often with extraordinary quality and low prices.
This is the reason why the quarter is really different from the others around, like the Quartieri Spagnoli (Spanish camps) or Pontecorvo, resulting definitely more frequented and secure. Cause also of the underground stations' presence at piazza Montesanto (pleasant building, made in the early 20th century and recently very well restored, also starting point of the funicular for Vomero's district) and piazzetta Olivella, that contribute to the continuous crowding of the zone till late in the evening.
Vico Basilio Puoti is only a few metres far from the elegant via Toledo, the historical city's fundamental route, that skirts the quarter from piazza Carità to piazza Dante; one time, it was called “vico dei Sei” (six's alley), probably referring to the six artisans that in the 16th century would found the next “Ospedale dei Pellegrini” (pilgrim's hospital), whose “chiesa della Trinità” (Trinity church), by Luigi Vanvitelli, is one of the many architectural excellences that punctuate the quarter, starting by the extraordinary perspective of via Pasquale Scura, ending with the church of “S. Maria dei Sette Dolori” (saint Mary of the seven sorrows).
Certainly, they are monuments less known to the inexperienced, but Pignasecca's centrality allows you to reach, comfortably walking only few hundreds of metres, also the most famous elements of the Neapolitan outline, like piazza del Plebiscito and Castel Nuovo (better known as “Maschio Angioino”), covering via Toledo, or the magnificent “Museo Archeologico Nazionale” (National Archeological Museum), going up toward piazza Dante, or the infinite treasures of the ancient centre, walking through Spaccanapoli.
So, Le piche del Biancomangiare has the ideal position for the tourists, that want comfortably taste with all senses the extraordinary Parthenopean beauties; but also the professional men, more interested to an easy and fast accessibility to the different civic institutes, will appreciate the centrality and closeness with all principal links.
Any reason bring you in Naples, you will like Le piche del Biancomangiare without any doubt.