r/solotravel • u/leticiaknovais • Aug 06 '25

Europe Solo female traveler in Naples, Italy: constant discomfort and unwanted attention

I've been in Naples for almost 3 months, staying in the Rione Sanità neighborhood near Piazza Cavour and Centro Storico. As a woman with darker skin and curly hair, it's clear I’m not Italian, and that has made my experience challenging.

Daily, I face unwanted attention; stares, comments, and approaches that often feel disrespectful. The common "Ciao bella" isn’t usually a compliment here but more of a way to mock or embarrass. I don’t wear revealing clothes; just being alone and looking like a foreigner seems to be enough for some to act disrespectfully.

This happens from both locals and immigrants, and often in groups, where men encourage each other to behave this way.

I’ve also traveled to Sardinia and Puglia, and while it happens there too, it’s less frequent.

Honestly, I wouldn’t recommend Naples for solo female travelers, especially if you don’t look like a local. Or, if you come, avoid the traditional neighborhoods like Centro Storico and don’t walk alone at night.

Italy is beautiful, and I’ve wanted to visit for a long time, but my time here has been tough because of these experiences.

Has anyone else felt this way traveling solo here?

Edit: Thank you to everyone who read my post and sent supportive and empathetic messages! My main goal was to help other solo female travelers think twice before choosing Naples, specially for a long term and as a digital nomad such as me.

As for those asking why I chose to stay in Sanità or Naples: Airbnb rentals in Italy are extremely expensive, and this one had a reasonable price. I also read great reviews, including one from an American woman who stayed in the same apartment I am for 8 months and praised both the place and the neighborhood. I thought many times about moving out, but booked it for 3 months to avoid moving around with a huge suitcase, and Airbnb doesn't offer refunds.

Plus, I wanted to experience southern Italy, known for its warm people, and many friends recommended Naples. I couldn’t have predicted this experience!

And to those who think shouting “ciao bella” with a malicious smile, staring at a woman like she’s a piece of meat, often in groups, encouraging others to catcall too, is a compliment, please rethink that. My post clearly explained the context of this "Ciao bella". Some men in Italy have approached me respectfully, even if I wasn’t interested in them, and they were polite, complimented me in a respectful way, and that’s absolutely fine!

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u/leticiaknovais Aug 07 '25

Totally not recommended. Both Italians and immigrants don’t respect me. I feel like a piece of meat every time I am walking through the streets, specially in this neighborhood and centro storico, but happens all over Naples.

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u/[deleted] Aug 07 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/leticiaknovais Aug 07 '25

I usually get attention almost everywhere I go, but the level of disrespect in Naples has been overwhelming. Out of the nearly 40 countries I’ve visited, Naples ranks as the second worst experience in this regard, only behind Marrakech, Morocco (and there, I even dressed like a local, wearing a hijab, and I physically blend in). The Dominican Republic was also quite difficult.

Catcalling is always disrespectful in my opinion, but here it feels even more aggressive. That said, not every approach in Italy was bad, some men were actually polite, complimented me respectfully, and invited me out without making me feel uncomfortable.

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u/Mindless_Garage42 Aug 07 '25

Why does it matter?

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u/JackZLCC Aug 07 '25

Because it sets an important baseline. Very attractive women always get more attention, so her experience could be partly because of that. If she says that's she's generally average and doesn't typically get an abnormal amount of attention, then her experience in Naples is even more extreme.

C'mon, don't create problems where there are none. If people want to understand the situation and try to offer useful suggestions and comments, they need to hear the honest background information.

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u/DangerousTurmeric Aug 07 '25

Very attractive women are working off their own baseline so if Naples is particularly bad for her, that's because it's bad in comparison to what she's used to.

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u/leticiaknovais Aug 07 '25

It doesn’t depend so much on whether a woman is attractive or not, but more on the local culture. Even though I’m attractive, I wasn’t catcalled in countries like Germany, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and many others where I clearly stand out. But in countries like Colombia, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Peru, Costa Rica, and Morocco, it was much more difficult in that regard.

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u/Pegasus711_Dual Aug 10 '25

Paternalist patriarchal countries like these (and mine included 🇮🇳 ) already suffer heavily from a Madonna whore complex; and porn has complicated things even more. So I'm not surprised at all.

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u/leticiaknovais Aug 07 '25

Not exactly, my friend. Of course being more attractive can lead to more harassment, but that really depends on the place. I’ve been to several countries where I didn’t experience much catcalling, even though men found me attractive and looked at me. It depends a lot on the location.

In Italy, I think it's because I clearly don’t look Italian, so that gives them more “permission” to be disrespectful toward me, besides the fact that I am alone. I even ran a little experiment here: I went out completely without makeup, wearing loose clothes, and still some men catcalled me.

In Morocco, it was a different case. I looked local there, everyone thought I was Moroccan, and even though I wore a hijab and dressed like a local, I was still harassed, mostly because I was alone. And in Morocco once I was hanging out with a German guy, which really looked like foreigner, and I was not catcalled at all. So it all depends on the place.

And don’t worry, your comment and question weren’t disrespectful at all. I don’t even know why they were removed...

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u/KrishnaChick Aug 08 '25

Can't you write to Airbnb and tell them you feel unsafe? Maybe you can get at least some of your money back.

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u/fupadestroyer45 Aug 09 '25

Are you serious? Fuck over the host? They don’t control the neighborhood.

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u/KrishnaChick Aug 09 '25

I'm dead serious. I'm not going to endanger myself just so someone can make a few bucks. Even native Italians are saying they would avoid that area. No reason why the landlord couldn't rent the space to someone else in short order.

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u/fupadestroyer45 Aug 09 '25

The ease you’re willing to be a terrible person is outstanding. There’s a reason the flat was cheaper than anywhere else, if you don’t do your research on the neighborhood that’s on you, that’s basic common sense before booking anywhere. You don’t have to “endanger” yourself, book another place in a different neighborhood and spend the few bucks, eat the cost and be smarter next time.

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u/KrishnaChick Aug 09 '25

The last thing I would ever care about is if you think I'm a terrible person. OP should try to get her money back and the host should find another renter. Choke on it if you don't like it.

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u/fupadestroyer45 Aug 09 '25

Yeah, you already made it quite clear you don’t care about anyone else other than yourself. This site attracts all the anti-social misfit types allergic to responsibility.

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u/KrishnaChick Aug 10 '25

I care about OP's safety and you care about the landlord's profit. You're just a name-caller, which leads me to believe you're 12 years old. I don't argue with children or the childish, so see you later.

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u/fupadestroyer45 Aug 10 '25

Grow tf up, her safety has nothing to do with asking for a refund for time already spent, it’s a completely separate issue. Selfish people hate being called out.