Via Chiaia (Chiaia street), Naples

Chiaia Street is one of Naples’ oldest and most characterful streets, linking the historic centre to the waterfront districts. Its name derives from the Latin plaga, meaning slope or shore, a reminder that this area once lay close to the sea before land reclamation reshaped the coastline. By the early modern period, Chiaia Street had become a key route connecting the Spanish Quarter and Plebiscite Square with the aristocratic neighbourhoods developing toward the west. During the Bourbon era, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries, the street gained prominence as noble residences, churches, and elegant palaces lined its length, turning it into a fashionable corridor of the city.

Today, the street is a major shopping destination, with a blend of long-established local boutiques, Italian fashion brands, cafes, and pastry shops occupying historic buildings. Architectural details often reveal older layers, from Baroque façades and decorative portals to occasional courtyards glimpsed through open gateways. A short walk away, visitors can stop at the Monument to the Martyrs in the Martyrs' Square, a 19th-century monument marked by four lions commemorating anti-Bourbon uprisings in 1799, 1820, 1848, and 1860. Nearby stands the 16th-century Cellamare Palace, built for Giovan Francesco Carafa. The distinctive pink-and-white palace later hosted Bourbon royal guests and notable figures such as writers Casanova and Goethe, adding a literary and political layer to the area’s history.

At the western end of Chiaia Street, you will find the Chiaia Bridge, built in 1636 to connect the areas of Pizzofalcone and Mortella. The bridge was designed in a Neo-Renaissance style and decorated with marble elements.