Tales of the Urban Explorer: The Italian Restaurant

in Urban Exploration4 years ago (edited)

The most interesting thing about this abandoned Italian restaurant is that the very next day after we visited it was completely re-sealed.

I was pre-informed that to get inside Bella Napoli you needed to slip through some bars in one of the windows.

24_IMG_3322_24.jpg

Fat explorers would be disappointed and I know some other dudes who came before me couldn't get in as they were too wide!

It's all a moot point now as it is off-limit and besides, I found a better access point than those skinny bars (which I did spot, and YES I would have been too FAT!).

23_IMG_3320_23.jpg

Now if there was a stash of blow-up dolls, racks of magazines containing BBW’s or even a few odd relics from the last decade then Bella Napoli might have been interesting.

You have to understand that not everywhere we go contains items of interest, and if you missed out on your visit to this restaurant, then you are not missing much.

21_IMG_3318_21.jpg

Almost next door to Bella Napoli was another pub, full of people enjoying the sun. I’m sure the owners were delighted when this restaurant went bust and closed.

The thing is the closure is nothing new, and I spotted the place around February 2019 while passing by.

22_IMG_3319_22.jpg

Some digging tells me the property is a lot older than it looks, was built in 1734, and has been recently been listed for sale at £500,000.

2_IMG_3299_2.jpg

3_IMG_3300_3.jpg

Once inside we found ourselves in the kitchen area. A slightly collapsing ceiling and an old microwave oven were all that was left.

1_IMG_3298_1.jpg

Open fires and slightly garish wallpaper; there was nothing behind the bar.

4_IMG_3301_4.jpg

5_IMG_3302_5.jpg

6_IMG_3303_6.jpg

For a large looking place it didn’t seem so big inside, and that Christina with her cleaning list might have been a nightmare to work with.

7_IMG_3304_7.jpg

8_IMG_3305_8.jpg

The upstairs area was quite stable with no fear of falling through the floor for once, that is if you have eyes.

9_IMG_3306_9.jpg

10_IMG_3307_10.jpg

…'avoid the big holes and you will be perfectly fine'…

13_IMG_3310_13.jpg

14_IMG_3311_14.jpg

The did like their open fireplaces at Bella Napoli, almost every room contained one, as well as more horrible wallpaper.

12_IMG_3309_12.jpg

Just above this corridor was a loft, but with no way to access it. I mean you can’t jump up into big holes in the roof?

16_IMG_3313_16.jpg

A handy chair placed below it helped and I managed to get my upper body in the small hole.

Getting any farther was a struggle with me wiggling my legs into fresh air and @dizzydiscovery falling over with laughter, bastard!

17_IMG_3314_17.jpg

It had better be worth it, I was thinking.

19_IMG_3316_19.jpg

Someone had made an office out of it, but there little to see besides an old insurance quote. Ten years ago and one of those micro-cars.

18_IMG_3315_18.jpg

If I got one good snap from the place, it is this. Maybe the red bucket should have been placed better. The floor was creaky as hell up there.

20_IMG_3317_20.jpg

This is looking down into the corridor from the small attic. Getting down was a whole lot easier... with me gaining just a few scrapes.

25_IMG_3323_25.jpg

I figure @grindle knows about this one as it is in his locale. It was an explore, but nothing compared to the next one we did that day.

RedLine.png

Do you like posting your Urbex content and photography for FREE on Facebook and YouTube? I like to get some form of reward for my work and every time I create I do just that. Take a look at The Urbex Community on HIVE.

If you want to keep creating for FREE then ignore what you are reading. If you want to be like me and gain something other than BUGGER ALL for your work then click here and learn about posting on the HIVE blockchain.

RedLine.png

  • Earn FREE EOS from Coinbase by taking partaking in a simple quiz here
  • Earn FREE Orchid from Coinbase by taking partaking in a simple quiz here


CurieCurator.jpg

RedLine.png

Drooling Maniac.JPG

If you found this article so invigorating that you are now a positively googly-eyed, drooling lunatic with dripping saliva or even if you liked it just a bit, then please upvote, comment, rehive, engage me or all of these things.

Sort:  

Huh. That is in pretty good shape for it's age-unlike me. I can't imagine $500,000 for it. Unless the area is that good and there's a bit of property with it?

Pretty straight forward, maybe remarkable in it's undamaged state.

The price could be related to the age and history I suppose. I don't know whether it is grade listed (can't be demolished). Finding info on this one was tough, and sparse.

That was sunny funny that day buddy, I wasn't just laughing? I was crying....

LOL, I remember it only too well. One of the better memories about Bella Napoli!

Fat explorers would be disappointed

Firstly that it was so difficult to get in, and secondly that there was no food in there...Or so I assume.

I always find dilapidated and old places quite interesting. Makes me wonder who was there and where they went...In this case I wonder what the final specials were. Not that it matters I guess.

As it turned out, it was a walk-in as there was an 'alternate entrance'. Part of what makes this exciting is looking for the way in. If there isn't one, you need to walk away.

I still feel like a cat burglar scrambling through open windows though.

I try and grab some history about places sometimes, it depends on what and where they are. If it's a time capsule then I won't as the whole UX community may see my post and descend.., and possibly wreck the place.

The wrecking part applies to the dickheads who are not really UX peeps and like to trash places, and there are lots of those.

Everyone deserves a cat-burgularish feeling at some point so I hope you're basking in the feeling. 🙂

Have a good weekend.

Looking at the water damage, rot and decay theres no way to gut that place and restore it. Needs to be bulldozed and something fresh put in.

Question did you need to wear a face mask to deal with mold or odors. Id need to. Dry rot smell drives me crazy.

That being said i love reading your urban explorer posts i feel like im going along on the adventure. A lot of fun.

You said the forthcoming one about the location you visited later that day turned out pretty interesting. I look forward yo reading it.

need to wear a face mask to deal with mold or odors.

I don't, we are both well used to the small. It doesn't bother me. Many of them have both dry and wet rot.

That being said i love reading your urban explorer posts

Thanks!

You said the forthcoming one about the location you visited later that day turned

Yes, the next one was a little special.

Ahem! Yes visited last year, I thought it would have had more treasure I was disappointed. Never did the roof space. All I seem to remember was a lurid mural in the bogs

Did you? I can't remember seeing a post.., maybe the name of the pub was missing. I missed the bogs, it was disappointing and the roof was the best... though still crap!

Nah not bothered uploading my pix Probably the most boring thing I have ever done

Very nice for a place to have so many fireplaces!

Holy crap, some interesting colour choices have been made over the years. £500,000 sounds like a lot of money for somewhere needing so much work. I can't see a record of it being listed though so I guess a plot for developers as opposed to renovation.

Bad coloured wallpaper? I have to agree!

Welcome to Marco Marco - Our little corner of Italy :)

Our corner, without a floor.. more like!

Wow, that is a pretty unique name for an Italian restaurant... :) Okay, so I lied to you. The post you have been waiting for will probably happen on Tuesday now. I had to split today's post into two separate ones. Looks like you got some nice pictures here and lucky you were able to get in before they boarded it all back up.

One day, they will board it up while we are inside and then we will be trapped forever!

This is true urban exploration.

The pink room is my personal favorite. The color is still so vibrant.

Wallpapers, past and present. Many places I visit don't have any left. It falls off after being subjected to damp over the years.

"Fat explorers would be disappointed and I know some other dudes who came before me couldn't get in as they were too wide!"

As soon as you said "bars on windows" the first thing I thought was... "Some fat dude is going to get stuck and it will be the start of a horror movie...

"old microwave oven"

Does it still work? I could use a new one, or in this case, a new old one.

I used to be a skinny lad, but not anymore! I was doubting whether I could squeeze through the bars. No idea about the Microwave, I did not look too closely.

Wonder if it will be worth trying to rehab it. Sometimes it seems it is easier and cheaper to start with new.

Why all the holes in the floor? I would not have pegged it as being that old. Another 'dooer-upper' :)

Inspection holes maybe? Or perhaps when they were going bust they needed wood for the fireplaces?

It all depends on how long it's been empty. Why the holes? I can't answer that question..., the solid parts were solid, no bad roof on this one.

I'm surprised there was no dank cellar or basement from something that old. Being up since 734 is quite the achievement. Here's hoping that someone buys it and makes a go of it into something, although half a mill is quite a lot!

In these dark times that we live in, I fear there is little hope of a sale at half a million quid. I can't recall a cellar, or maybe it was blocked or locked. We generally do them, they can hold 'interesting' things!

They can indeed!

Yeah, no chance of that just now. Not until the economy is booming again if it ever will!

Pink room glamorous! The color still looks vibrant. Surprising!

Congratulations, your post has been added to Pinmapple! 🎉🥳🍍

Did you know every user has their own profile map?
And so does every post as well!

Want to have your post on the map too?

  • Go to Pinmapple
  • Click the get code button
  • Click on the map where your post should be (zoom in if needed)
  • Copy and paste the generated code in your post (Hive only)
  • Congrats, your post is now on the map!