“See Naples and die!” The famous saying, popularised by 18th-century German writer Goethe, is an affectionate nod to the beauty of the southern Italian port city, enveloped by its cerulean bay and crowned by Mount Vesuvius. But nowadays, the catchphrase has taken a whole new meaning. As the much-maligned epicentre of Italy’s ferocious Camorra gang, Naples often tops tourists’ naughty list of no-go cities.

While Naples may have once been the glorious capital of a kingdom - testified by its opulent architecture and esteemed culinary creations - much of this has faded in comparison to the incessant trashing it gets in the press. News of the city is often accompanied by lurid images of urban decay and squalor.