To the city of Naples numerous adjectives are attributed to it. Some call it dynamic, others mysterious or even fascinating, but the true soul of Naples is to be found precisely in its inhabitants and their traditions. One of the most interesting aspects of the Neapolitan people is related to folk rituals and the superstition.

We interviewed Gennaro Di Biase who in his novel The Disgrace of San Gennaro, interpreted in a comic key as well, deepens this way of doing things.

In fact, the novel opens with an event that would indeed be an ominous sign for any Neapolitan, even a nonbeliever: the breaking of theampoule containing the blood of the Patron Saint.

Maurizio de Giovanni said of the novel, "The dizzying, uncontrollable story of a Mystery that creates so much mystery. The taut, sequential writing of a chronicler, seasoned with the irony and depth of a heartfelt witness. A must read, absolutely."

You are also named after the city's patron saint, how much is your history as a writer linked to Neapolitan culture?

My Neapolitan-ness, like that of so many, has had a path of flight and return. When, after my university studies in Bologna, I returned to Naples, the city became a kind of "base" on which to rest the writing. Something solid and known to tell. Naples is a way for me to find a meeting point, not always easy to reach, between the writing and the lived.

What is your relationship with the terms "misfortune" and "superstition"?

To name the novella I needed a term that could represent the opposite of the miracle. In the Italian language there is no such word, since the miracle is an exceptional thing, and its opposite would therefore be "normality." The choice of the misfortune, technically, comes from here. As for my relationship with the misfortune, I hope to keep as far away from it as possible. And so I also answer your question about my relationship with the superstition. P.S. Actually, to be honest, out of misfortunes also come new social solutions. And this cannot be ignored, for better or worse.

The novel gives the opportunity to retrace different places such as Duomo, Piazza Mercato, Monteoliveto. Which of these places do you think participates most in the story?

Cathedral Street, no doubt. The road of the Cathedral turns into the San Gennaro's week: the stalls, the horn sellers, that almost lustless, all-Neapolitan excitement that transvests the crosswalks between Cavour Square and Nicholas Love Square.

What is the place in the city to which you are most attached?

I honestly don't know. For work, I'm used to treating every piece of the city as being worth exactly as much as every other piece of the city. Naples and its paths, however chronically different, are one block. Those who take Naples must take the whole block: via Scarlatti and vico del Purgatorio, via Posillipo and Piscinola, the Virgins and via Calabritto. Only out of this fruit salad comes the portrait Of the city.

Highlights of the route: the Cathedral of Naples

The Naples Cathedral, located in the heart of the city is undoubtedly the most important place in the story. From here the whole story begins, and it is the very first place that is mentioned in the novel, where the mysterious misfortune of the fall of theampoule with the blood of San Gennaro.

Right in the Naples Cathedral Every year, the faithful or even just tourists curious to see with their own eyes the melting of the blood of the Patron Saint by Naples.

Cathedral Street

In the book, the road that is the protagonist of the novel is mentioned with accurate descriptions , just via Duomo, which welcomes along its street the majestic Cathedral. During the week dedicated to the Patron, San Gennaro, this street acquires vibrancy and color. Walking down Via Duomo are many stores where you can enjoy Neapolitan food and more. Candy vendors scatter along the route making the way to the Naples Cathedral.