Napoli's Golden Boy

Making nearly 200 appearances in a golden era for Serie A side Napoli, Diego Maradona was affectionately named "El Pibe del Oro" or "The Golden Boy" and it's not hard to see why. With 81 goals for the Italian giants, garnering two titles and a Coppa Italia, Maradona shone with Partenopei, becoming one of the greatest players in the club's history. It was in Naples that Maradona’s status as a footballing deity, at least as far as the inhabitants of this gritty southern Italian city were concerned, was confirmed.

Nowhere was Maradona's hypnotic talent and personality more adored than in Naples helping the unfancied club to usurp Milan and Juventus. It really was a match made in heaven, the diminutive street urchin from the wrong side of the tracks in partnership with a dramatic, chaotic city in southern Italy that felt undervalued and looked down upon from the great cultural cities further north, of Rome, Turin and Milan.

"Napoli non e Italia" (Napoli is not Italy), Maradona used to say. He felt right at home in a city where wealth, poverty, violence and football all co-existed on a daily basis.

He might have partied hard and with the wrong people, but the good memories are stronger and here Diego Armando Maradona will forever take his seat next to God under the "cielo azzurro" of Napoli.

It took Napoli mayor only 24 hours after Maradona's death to rename the San Paolo's football stadium in his honour: Diego Armando Maradona stadium.

Forza Napoli SEMPRE!

Curva B, in infamous fan club area of the stadium turned into an improvised Christmas shrine.

This mural dating from 1990 by Argentine artist Francisco Bosoletti has turned into a shrine since his death on Nov 25th, 2020.

The adoration is plastered across the city.... literally!

Little does it matter that Maradona played for Napoli over 30 years ago... he is still omnipresent...

... in every nook and cranny of this city...

... where even Japanese Napoli fans welcome!

This mural by street artist tvboy lasted only a few days back in 2018.

Souvenirs, souvenirs!!!

Ibiza is World Heritage

Ibiza’s claim to fame is its status as one of Europe’s most lit places to party, but there’s so much more to Ibiza Town, the Balearic Island’s capital, than raves, 24-hour clubs, and study abroad spring breakers. To start, there’s Dalt Vila, a fortified medieval old town perched on a cliff that offers sweeping views of the Mediterranean Sea atop 16th-century battlements. It’s also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Perched on a small mountain next to the sea and overlooking the town is the fortified old town of Dalt Vila which translates to "Upper Town".

Originally called Ibosim and founded by the Phoenicians, Dalt Vila has been added to by successive occupiers and was once one of the most important coastal cities in the Mediterranean. The last addition was the Renaissance defensive walls that surround it, which Kings Charles I and Philip II of Spain had constructed to defend against the French and the Ottomans.

Walking into the main square, Plaza de Vila, many restaurants, art galleries and shops are closed due to lack of tourists.

The Catalans were the first to penetrate Dalt Vila from within and by doing so, crushed Moorish rule. 

As legend has it, the brother of the Emir that controlled Ibiza was deeply jealous of his sibling and had betrayed him to the Catalan pretenders. He told them the whereabouts of a secret tunnel that came out at a small chapel, which afterwards was named in honour of San Ciriaco, the Patron Saint of Ibiza.

Inside the heart of Villa Dalt where the cost per m2 is anything between 5000 and 10'000.- Euros.

Looking down from the battlements by the Cathedral of Nuestra Señora de las Nieves, allows for a  wonderful panoramic view over the city and the harbour.

Santo Domingo church, built in the 17th century, is attached to the Monastery of the same order, and it is the second largest temple in the isle, after the Cathedral.

The Cathedral of Ibiza came about after the conquest of Ibiza by Catalan troops in 1235, and it takes up the space that, until then, had been occupied by the town’s mosque.

When the Bishopric of Ibiza was created in 1762, this was only parish on the island. It became a Cathedral and was dedicated to Saint Mary of the Snows.

Every window has its story in Paris

Week number 6 in Paris' confinement and the sun continues to shine as if to mock us. I can't help but feel like the Earth has just sent us all to our rooms to think about what we've done!

A view onto to Argentinean Embassy in Paris

Art Deco in black & white

Closed and abandoned 

But this does not mean that the world stops: Spring is in full bloom 

24% of Parisians have left town!

Let the sun shine in

Feeling patriotic

Old but not forgotten

Chou translates into cabbage, sweetheart or cream bun?

Ever been to the Bains-Douches?

Feeling desperate!

Parked on the balcony for the past 6 weeks

Paris architecture in all its beauty

Glass stained window from the 17th century 

A sneak preview onto the next fashion collection?

RF stands for "Republique Franciase"

Viewing angles in Paris

Viewing angles across the world you realize Paris has its good and it bad sides.

A courtyard with a twist

Glamour meets clochard

Grandiose and imposing

Head on!

Looking up to 130 years of history

Peeking through French heritage

#whatsupwithfrenchdogowner

Facades of Napoli

Napoli is a charming city, full of evidenced from its magnificent past: conflicting souls coexist in this place, which is rich in ancient traditions and legends that fascinate. Napoli's centro storico (historic centre) is a Unesco World Heritage Site and I am spoilt of choice among its historical and architectural beauties, its squares and churches, its museums and theaters... but what fascinates me most are the scenes of everyday Neapolitan life.

Napoli's urban sprawl can feel anarchic, tattered and unloved. But look beyond the grime, graffiti and occasional gruffness and you'll uncover a city of breathtaking frescoes, sculptures and panoramas, of unexpected elegance, of spontaneous conversations and profound humanity.