Naples’ last living number painter

De Stefano working on a sign and; (below one of the placards on display at Romeofruit, a produce vendor in the Sanita neighbourhood of Naples. — Pontus Berghe/The New York Times

BUILT in the shadow of an active volcano, Naples is a city where life explodes into the streets.

Locals banter in the boisterous Neapoli­tan dialect, mopeds zigzag through crowds and vendors summon shoppers to stands heaped with Mediterranean bounty.