I was born in the US...Not to stereotype a whole city or region...but my parents grew up near Naples. A lot of their world view (and that of their napolitani immigrant friends) seems governed by a philosophy of "the world is out to scam you. Be very careful about the people you put your tust in"

Ive always found it difficult to reconcile the general optimism of American culture with their ever present wariness.

I recently read the extraordinary Naples 44, the diary of a British intelligence officer assigned to the place after its capture by the Allies. He talks about all of those things and more, including the theft of food from the army on a massive scale. Counterintuitively he loved the place.

Well is it really surprising that people were stealing food from the US army during WWII? I would have done it if I had trouble supporting my family.

Season world traveler, and the only place I have been scammed was Naples. The waiter pulled the "show you the receipt then take it away."

I think I was out an extra 40 euro before I realized what happened.

Edit to explain the scam:

The waiter brings you the bill, and the price looks "reasonable" at first (maybe because humans are bad at money estimation). The waiter takes the bill away before you can inspect each charge and inquire. You pay and leave before realizing you were overcharged, and only as an afterthought do you realize.

Is the scam that they've added extra charges to the bill, and therefore don't want to give you time to read it?

What is the "show you the receipt" scam?

How does that work exactly?

Yeah, it's a bit dangerous, but it's one of the most beautiful cities I've been to. I guess it's easy to be scammed as a foreigner, but I've spent quite some time in Naples and I've never been bothered by anyone. On the other hand that's not something I can say of a supersafe place like Paris.

But they make great pizza there...

I agree with you there -- and the Naples Underground (old cisterns that became bomb shelters) are neat, and Pompeii is an hour away. Those, however, are the sole 3 reasons for going. I tell my friends who visit Italy that if they pass through Naples, you go to Da Michele and get 2 pizzas, check out the underground, take a daytrip to Pompeii, and then get the away from Naples asap.

What about the Museo Nazionale Romano? The Museo di Capodimonte? Castel nuovo? Gothic and Baroque churches? Art nouveau architecture? Ischia and Procida?

You clearly haven't spent nearly enough time exploring, probably because of your preconceptions.

I forgot the Museo Nazionale. There are a lot of interesting things in Naples, but many of those things can be seen in other cities. My dislike of Naples is not a preconception, it is a conception borne from experiences I had in the city.

But thank you for the ad hominem that I "clearly haven't spent nearly enough time exploring".

How is that ad hominem? I don't know anything about your nationality, background or anything else. If I said you clearly hate Naples because you're from Milan that would be ad hominem, but I've reached this conclusion from your words only.

Not really.

they invented pizza there...