In an Octopus's Garden
One of the first things I did upon arriving in Naples was walk down the bustling Via Toledo and descend into the Toledo metro station. Numerous websites and publications proclaim this station as one of the most beautiful in Europe, so I had to see it for myself.
It was 8pm on a Saturday night and it was filled with locals & tourists going to/from the nearby bars, shops and restaurants. People were everywhere as I wandered down escalators, stairways and passageways looking for possible places to photograph. The architecture was interesting, but the scene was chaotic. I decided to wait and return when the station would be less crowded.
The next morning I returned at 6:00 am and was one of the first people through the doors. It felt completely different without the crowds. I could more easily appreciate all of the details in the architecture that were often masked by all of the moving bodies the previous day.
This area was my favorite. As you descend on the escalator, you become surrounded by colorful tiles and waves reaching out of the walls…it feels like you are submerging into an underwater cave.
Since there was no one there, I was able to take some time to capture images at the bottom. I definitely find it to be a unique and beautiful subway station.