Nilo

September 27, 2006

Around the corner from the Piazza San Domenico is a neighborhood in Naples known as the Nilo, after the statue in the photo below.

During Roman times, this neighborhood was home to a community of Egyptian merchants -- or, rather, Alexandrian Greeks -- and this statue of the Nile River depicted as a god was venerated as a cult object by them.

The Egyptians are long gone, but the statue remains.

Modern Naples has its own immigrant merchants:

Senegalese guys selling fake Louis Vuitton purses on every street corner.

Pakistani guys on the beach selling beers out of coolers.

Chinese guys selling plastic Chinese things off of tabletops in front of the train station.

Despite everything, it doesn't seem like the world changes much over time.