Johnnie Shand Kydd (an exhibitor at Charles Saatchi's seminal 1997 exhibition Sensation, and whose photographs are in the permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery in London) fell in love with the city of Naples ten years ago and has been visiting ever since to document its strange rituals and enchanting population. Here he talks to NOWNESS about his home away from home, the subject of his latest exhibition, Siren City.

Naples sounds very different from the rest of Italy.

Honestly—Rome is an hour and twenty minutes away by train and it’s like going from Geneva to Mumbai. It’s two entirely different universes. Naples is blessed by its reputation for being dangerous, which keeps most people away, meaning when you’re in Naples, you rarely hear English or German or French spoken.

Are there particular places that you love to go in Naples?

There’s an area called Sanità—it’s quite a poor part of the city and has a reputation for being a bit rough. In Sanità, there’s an amazing place called La Fontanelle, where the original Greek city of Naples was supposedly built. In the 17th century a terrible plague broke out and so many died that the people didn’t know what to do with all the bodies. They ended up stockpiling them in these quarries and then sealed up the front of the caves. Later, the local population, which was pagan, broke in, and the cult of worshiping souls in purgatory started. Each skull would be polished and arranged. If you get into La Fontanelle today there are mountains of skulls—it’s absolutely extraordinary, and very few people really go there.

Any favorite restaurants?

When I first went there (in 2000) it was immensely cheap, delicious and really simple peasant food. Then several years ago I noticed the arrival of the square plate. Then the square plate ended up with bits of parsley scattered on its rim, and I thought “Oh no! They’ve discovered presentation.” There’s a restaurant called Europeo Mattozzi [Via Campodisola Marchese 4] that’s got great food. Also, Campagnola [Piazzetta Nila 22] is very straight forward—you write what you want on a bit of graph paper and they tick it off. Marinated anchovies; pasta with potatoes; pasta with chickpeas; pasta with beans: it’s absolutely delicious and very, very simple.

Is there a picture you wish you’d taken?

There was one time when I was walking down the Via Toledo, the main drag, and I saw a lot of people standing around on the side of the road. I knew something was going on but I didn’t know what it was. I stood there and I had my fishing bag with my camera in it over my shoulder and suddenly this car came zooming out of the courtyard. Inside was a recently arrested Camorra boss and sitting half-out of each of the four windows were these balaclava-clad policemen holding revolvers in the air. It was such a fabulous Neapolitan melodrama and I just watched it. I should have taken a picture.