—The Totò Theater (photo) is alive and well. It opened in May, 1996, on the premises of—and after totally refurbishing—the old Ausonia cinema, (perhaps putting the brakes on the distressing cultural trend in the other direction, whereby live theaters become movie-houses). The establishment bills itself as the "comic theater of Naples" and has had successful seasons since its inception. The 631- seat theater is on the south-side of the Botanical Gardens, a few minutes' walk from a street named after the great comic (via Antonio De Curtis) and also near the Vergini/Sanità area of Naples, where he was born. The season generally runs from October through May and features comic plays and musical comedy. The theater also sponsors theater workshops for younger actors just starting out.

—There is another delay in the construction of the new metropolitana underground train line. Three crucial stations that remain to be opened are the ones at Piazza Municpio, Piazza della Borsa and via Roma; they will provide a straight shot from almost anywhere in western Naples to the train station at Piazza Garibaldi. Piazza Municipio is what it is—a gigantic undertaking, but it is proceeding. I give it three years. The other two, however, have just been "sealed" by the city over concerns for public health. Waste water from the construction sites has found its way—this, according to the city—into the aqueduct that supplies the immediate area. Site engineers deny this and have promised a quick resolution.

—It seems to me that if you can afford 2000 euros (!) a night for a hotel, you can probably afford a few more for a cab (or private helicopter) to find one well away from the main train station and the grimey industrial section of the city. That may be the problem of the Hotel Romeo on via Cristoforo Colombo in Naples. Guests find five full stars' worth of suites, pool, sushi restaurant, works of art, etc. etc., but most of it running at a mere 20% occupancy since the hotel opened on Dec. 11, 2008. In fairness, only the exclusive Japanese suite costs the Two Large; others go as low as a very competitive (for 5 stars!) 330 euros (currently about 450 dollars) a night.

—Via Partenope is the eastern extension of via Caracciolo, the panoramic road along the seafront. Specifically, it is the curved portion that swings in front of the Castel dell'Ovo. If you are a restaurant owner along that stretch, you may have set up a "gazebo," a sheltered section in front of the restaurant, covered by an awning and surrounded by some sort of a barrier that detours pedestrians around the tables. That's the problem; such structures jut out onto—indeed, occupy much of—public sidewalks and have no right to be there, at least according to the coppers who showed up on via Partenope the other morning and closed five of them down. Elsewhere in Naples, similar episodes are taking place to combat the large number of such illegal structures. The term gazebo is used in both Italian and English; the other Italian term is "tendone" (big tent), a canvas and plastic affair (sometimes glass) mounted on metal supports that have been anchored in place right where you want to walk.

—The papers are painting a generally bleak picture of the coming tourist season in Naples. (Winter tourism at sites such as Pompeii was off almost 20%, for example.) 2009 might even be worse than 2008, when the garbage crisis and the strong euro kept many away. Now, due to a financial dispute between the Campania region (of which Naples is the capital) and Gesac (Gestione Servizi Aeroporti Campani— Campania Airport Services Administration) the private firm that handles all passenger services at Capodichino airport, the Info-point has been closed. This was the friendly little information counter staffed by real, live, competent, multilingual people whose job was to find you a hotel, provide general information, and point you in the right direction in Naples. So, I have 20% off...do I hear 30%...thank you, sir...35?...yes, thank you...

—The easiest way to drive to Bagnoli from anywhere on via Posillipo, the long coast road that moves up from Mergellina, has always been to drive up to the high west end of the road and over the cliff (using the convenient Coroglio road, of course). It winds down the other side of the Posillipo hill and puts you out at the site of the old steel mill near the isle of Nisida, then on the road through Bagnoli and along the coast to Pozzuoli. The Coroglio road has always been very difficult to maintain, being subject to landslides from the cliff-face above. That cliff is webbed with steel netting for much of its length. The road is closed again after a hefty landslide and there is no realistic forecast on how long it will take to reopen.

—Neighborhood Watch patrols in Naples are about to get the go-ahead from the city government. No one is sure if it's a good idea. Theft and vandalism have been such a problem that shop-owners along the east end of Corso Umberto, near the train station, have banded together and proposed the idea of heavily armed, "Make-my-Day"-vigilantes stringing up ne'er-do-wells ...no...no... of unarmed civilian patrols whose mere presence will deter evil-doers. There is a model for this in some towns in northern Italy. The Vatican is against it, but I don't know why.

—The umpteenth on-again plans for the future of Bagnoli are now off again. The local papers report that there is no money for anything— not for building the new boat harbor (the one that never got built because Naples lost out in its bid for the 2007 Americas Cup, and certainly not for the "Napoli Studios," the film studio that was to be a "Cinecittà in the shadow of Vesuvius" (in reference to the famous film complex in Rome) built on the gigantic ex-premises of the defunct Italsider steel mill. Rest assured, says someone, that the land will be cleaned up in time to be used as a seaside venue for something called Culture Forum 2013.

—Currently running (through July 5) at the Pignatelli museum is a grand exhibit of the works of sculpture Vincenzo Gemito (1852-1929) sometimes referred to as the "Neapolitan Rodin." There will be 70 pieces of sculpture and 80 works on paper in the exhibit. Among Gemito's larger works on permanent display in the city of Naples is his statue of Charles V of Hapsburg, one of the eight statues arrayed along the west façade of the Royal Palace.

—After the first exhibit in Paris in 1957 and the second one in Venice in 1964, the Third International Exhibit for Restoration and Preservation is currently running at the Royal Palace in Naples. It is an astonishingly complete display of about 270 film-poster-sized panels, each dedicated to some aspect of the preservation and restoration of cultural artifacts currently underway in 40 countries around the world. These include everything from grand palaces to small churches to "vernacular architecture," meaning structures built by ordinary people not to be grand, but simply to be lived in. There are sections devoted, as well, to the preservation of gardens and "cultural landscapes" (things such as terraced hillsides). The exhibit is, as might be expected, heavy on Italy, with a separate section devoted to each region of the nation. Naples has its own separate display, including a section devoted to the life and work of Prof. Roberto Pane, local urbanologist, whose 3-volume work, The Historic Center of Naples (1971) was a ground-breaking and exhaustive inventory on the monuments of the inner city and their needs in terms of restoration and preservation. Runs through May 19.

—The Royal Palace at Caserta hosts an exhibition entitled "At the Court of Vanvitelli," celebrating the life and work of this famous architect, active at the royal Bourbon court from 1750 until his death in 1773. Sixty paintings are on display as well as a selection of sculpture by Giuseppe Sanmartino, creator of the remarkable "Veiled Christ." Runs through July 6.

—The State Archives of Naples are located in the ex-monastery of Saints Severino and Sossio It is one of the largest and oldest buildings in the city with origins going back to the original structure in the year 902 AD. It is occupies 25,000 sq meters and has 50,000 linear meters of shelves, many of which contain unique documents crucial to the study of the art and history of southern Italy. According to the director, 80 million euros are needed to prevent a "tragedy" due to humidity and water seepage. A proposal has been made to transfer the contents of the archives to the old Castel Capuano at the east end of via dei Tribuali, a building that used to house the city courts until they moved to the new Civic Center. Castel Capuano is large enough and now mostly unused.