The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-01-04

II FATa SUNS ~ dsh my itaotAS - SPNta
little time this week in a stroll
= through Naples with me. but they
must not think that | have in this in
vitation any reference TO that old
legend, See Naples and die
There is probably no city of its size
in the union that has sent large per-
eentage of its citizens to Europe than
Birmingham, and possibly eight-tenths
of those travellers have visited Naples,
but / feel sure that 1 shall be able to
entertain you with a few unfamiliar
features that belong to this incompar-
ably locted city by the sea.
The town was at FIRST called Par
tanope after siren of that name whose
drowned body was here washed upon
the beach. though I have always been
unableto comprehend how a siren could
j ever drown
Not long ago its chief inhabitants
4 We're COWS, goats and fleas, but the
city has seen most wonderful trans
formation in the past two decades. 1t
has lost much of its filth and also
much of its picturesqueness The
charming old quai of Santa Lucia,
with its parti-colored houses and its
many-hued garments enlivening the
windows, has gone and modern hotels
occupy the old site. The COWS that
were MIXED before the doors of the
residences have completely disappeared
and one must rise quite early If he
desires to see the goats parading the
cfr o,,,t, lot tir,er dof f,ta
the heas, they are the first to extend
the glad hand to the stranger but
as there are so many strangers they
soon desert the first conner to well
come next"
The first question that exercises the
visitor to the city is the selection of
hotel for he has one of two choices
and arguments as to their respective
merits are pressed upon him-the al
bergo perched high up on the crest of
the back hills or the hostelries close to
the waters edge. The first named hotels
were so situated for the obtaining of
fresh air and the avoidance of malaria,
and before the renovating of the city
their claim was probably a good one.
Their disadvantage is their remote
: ness form the center of the shopping
district and points of interest and the
consequent time consumed in the guests
coming and going The most handsome
of these uptown hotels is by all means
Bertolini's, most charmingly situated
upon high rock and approached only
by means of elevators. To reach the
elevator (called lift) one must traverse
a tunnel cut in the solid rock some
300 feet But the passageway has moth
ing of the uncanniness of tunnel
about 1T. The sides and roof are COW
cred with glazed thing, arc lights rem
der 1t as bright as day and palms line
the aisle, while soft oriental mating
allays all sound and lends rest to the
treveler's foot. The lift rises 245 feet
& through solid rock and as one must go
TO the top, it becomes necessary for
him to use second elevator In de-
scending to his salon or bed chamber
This all requires time and nearlyx an
hour is consumed in making the jour
ney from ones apartments to the cen
ter of the city The view from Ber-
tolinfs, however. is superb and at night
the illumined metropolis lying at the
gazer's feet resembles fairyland The
dining room, the smoking apartments
and the drawing salon are all in the
top story of the hotel hence the nee
essity of descending to ones private
chambers
| have always preferred the hotels
by the sea. Independent of the con-
just west of that portion of the town
known as Toretto at the end of the Villa