Sister Act

Italy is not all pizza and pasta, as SAM WOULIDGE discovered on a recent visit to Naples. It’s also about shopping and sequins and sisters, and lots of chilled limoncello

- 

In Naples, we decided to go our separate ways for lunch. When you’re 12 people on a family cruise in the Mediterranean celebrating the beloved matriarch’s birthday, you sometimes need to split up for a while. For everyone’s sake. My youngest brother-in-law’s girlfriend, The Girl We All Really Like, joined Jacques and Seb and me in the long queue at L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele, a historic pizzeria founded in 1870, for the best margherita pizza in Naples. Mozzarella, tomato and basil. A tricolore masterpiece – the colours and flavours of Italy. For an hour she chose pizza over passion while her boyfriend ate elsewhere. Afterwards, we met up with la famiglia to drink citrusy, orange Aperol spritzes in the sun while Seb and his cousin Indie chased the pigeons in the square.

Jacques indicated his wish to go to the National Archeological Museum. And I indicated mine not to. I toyed with the idea of finding a place that served melanzane alla Parmigiana, the classic Neapolitan dish consisting of layers of brinjal, tomato paste, basil and cheese. But the similarly flavoured pizza I’d had for lunch was weighing heavily on my mind and hips. So instead of eating, I suggested an equally pleasurable Italian pastime: