Naples

For other uses, see Naples (disambiguation).

Naples Napoli
City and regional capital
Naples
Interactive map of Naples
Coordinates: 40.835833°N 14.248611°E / 40.835833; 14.248611
Country	Italy
Region	Campania
Metropolitan city	Naples
Founded	8th century BC by the Greeks
Founding name	«Νέα Πόλις»
Government
• Mayor	Luigi de Magistris (DemA)
Area
• Total	117.27 km2 (45.28 sq mi)
Population  (2018)
• Total	959,188
Demonym(s)	Neapolitan (in Italian, napoletano or partenopeo)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Vehicle registration	NA
ISTAT code	063049
Climate	Mediterranean climate
Subdivisions	10 municipalità
Patron saint	Saint Januarius and 51 other co-patrons
Main festivals	September 19
Distances	54 km to Salerno 227 km to Rome 260 km to Bari 314 km to Palermo 474 km to Cagliari
Member of	Organization of World Heritage Cities, Naples metropolitan area
Twin cities	See sister cities here
Organization of the Catholic Church	Archdiocese of Naples
United States Navy	Sixth Fleet / Naval Forces Europe (under the operational command of the United States European Command)
Anthem	<phonos file="It-Napoli.ogg">Listen</phonos>
Website	www.comune.napoli.it

Naples (in Italian Napoli, in Neapolitan Napule) is the most populous city of Southern Italy, capital of the region of Campania and of the Metropolitan City of Naples. Somewhat fewer than one million inhabitants live within the limits of the Municipality of Naples, a figure which, together with those of the metropolitan city, rises to more than three million. It is located midway between Mount Vesuvius and another volcanic area, the Phlegraean Fields. It gives its name to the gulf on whose shores it stands.

It has an enormous historical, artistic, cultural and gastronomic wealth, which led UNESCO to declare its historic center a World Heritage Site. Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Normans, French and Spaniards have left their mark on Naples. It was briefly under Austrian rule in the first decades of the 18th century, after which it became the political center of the independent Kingdom of Naples and, later, of the Two Sicilies, ruled by the Bourbons. In 1861 it became part of the Kingdom of Italy. In the 20th century, during the Fascist period and in the reconstruction following the Second World War, a large part of the outskirts was built. In recent decades, Naples has acquired a financial district with skyscrapers, the so-called Centro Direzionale di Napoli (CDN), and infrastructure such as the high-speed train to Rome and Salerno, in addition to having a metro network in the process of expansion. On the other hand, it is also beset by major problems such as organized crime, which constitutes a brake on economic and social development; or, of another nature, telluric forces: the city has suffered great earthquakes and volcanic activity is constantly monitored.

Identity elements

Toponymy

Naples was built a few meters from an existing city, "Parthenope" or "Palaepolis" (old city). In Greek mythology, Parthenope was the youngest of the three sirens who, from the rocks of Capri, tried to seduce Odysseus with their songs; he tied himself to the mast of his ship, thus becoming one of the few mortals to enjoy their beautiful songs without drowning afterward. The siren, in despair, drowned herself out of grief and her body reached the coast of the old city. The Greek settlers, however, preferred a nearby area which they named Νέα Πόλις or Νεάπολη (Neapolis), the new city. Later the term came to be pronounced Napule in Neapolitan and Napoli in Italian.

Symbols

Main article: Coat of arms of Naples

The coat of arms of the City of Naples consists of a Samnite shield divided in half into two fields, the upper one gold and the lower one red. It is ensigned with a mural crown. Its origins are lost in legend: according to an ancient thesis, the two colors symbolize the sun and the moon, cults very present in the Greco-Roman era of the city.

The gonfalon is divided per pale of gold and red, charged with the municipal coat of arms, with the inscription in gold «Comune di Napoli», and decorated with the Gold Medal of Military Valor, for the sacrifices of the population and for its activities in the anti-Fascist resistance during the revolt known as «The Four Days of Naples».

The flag derives directly from the coat of arms, so it has the same composition, being gold at the hoist and red at the fly.

Physical geography

Main article: Geography of Naples

The main features of the relief are the Gulf of Naples and the mountain chain surrounding the city, where Mount Vesuvius is located.

Climate

Naples has a climate transitional between the Mediterranean climate (Csa) and the humid subtropical climate (Cfa) according to the Köppen climate classification, because only two summer months have less than 40 millimeters of rain. Owing to its proximity to the sea, like most cities washed by the Tyrrhenian and Mediterranean seas, the climate of Naples is generally mild, although its winter is cool. The average temperature is 8.1 °C in January and 23.7 °C in August. Precipitation amounts to approximately 1,000 mm per year, with rainfall concentrated at the beginning of the winter period; nevertheless, Naples is one of the sunniest cities in Italy.

Climate data for Naples
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	12.5 (54.5)	13.2 (55.8)	15.2 (59.4)	18.2 (64.8)	22.6 (72.7)	26.2 (79.2)	29.3 (84.7)	29.5 (85.1)	26.3 (79.3)	21.8 (71.2)	17.0 (62.6)	13.6 (56.5)	20.4 (68.7)
Daily mean °C (°F)	8.1 (46.6)	8.7 (47.7)	10.5 (50.9)	13.2 (55.8)	17.3 (63.1)	20.9 (69.6)	23.6 (74.5)	23.7 (74.7)	20.8 (69.4)	16.7 (62.1)	12.3 (54.1)	9.3 (48.7)	15.9 (60.6)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	3.8 (38.8)	4.3 (39.7)	5.9 (42.6)	8.3 (46.9)	12.1 (53.8)	15.6 (60.1)	18.0 (64.4)	17.9 (64.2)	15.3 (59.5)	11.6 (52.9)	7.7 (45.9)	5.1 (41.2)	10.4 (50.7)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	104.4 (4.11)	97.9 (3.85)	85.7 (3.37)	75.5 (2.97)	49.6 (1.95)	34.1 (1.34)	24.3 (0.96)	41.6 (1.64)	80.3 (3.16)	129.7 (5.11)	162.1 (6.38)	121.4 (4.78)	1,006.6 (39.63)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm)	9.9	9.8	9.5	8.8	5.7	4.0	2.3	3.8	5.8	8.1	10.8	10.7	89.2
Mean monthly sunshine hours	114.7	127.6	158.1	189.0	244.9	279.0	313.1	294.5	234.0	189.1	126.0	105.4	2,375.4
Source: World Meteorological Organization

Vesuvius

Main article: Mount Vesuvius

Vesuvius seen from a satellite.

Vesuvius (from the Latin Mons Vesuvius, in Italian Monte Vesuvio) reaches a height of 1,281 m, and is located at 40°49 north latitude and 14°26 east longitude. It lies on the Bay of Naples, in Campania, Italy. It is an active volcano of the Vesuvian composite cone type, to which it gives its name. It is characterized by alternating eruptions of pyroclasts with eruptions of lava flows, giving rise to an overlapping in strata that causes this type of volcano to reach large dimensions. Other Vesuvian-type volcanoes are Teide and Fujiyama.

It is a characteristic «humpbacked» mountain, consisting of a Great Cone partially surrounded by the steep rim of a summit caldera caused by the collapse of earlier periods, and it was originally higher. This structure is called Monte Somma. The Great Cone originated during the eruption of the year 79. For this reason, the volcano is also called Somma-Vesuvius.

The caldera began to form during an eruption some 17,000 years ago (or 18,300), enlarged by ancient and violent eruptions ending with that of 79. This structure has taken its name from the term «somma volcano», which describes a volcano with a summit caldera surrounding a recent cone. The height of the main cone has changed constantly through eruptions (when it formed it was higher than 3,500 m), but at present it is 1,281 m above sea level. Monte Somma is 1,149 m above sea level, and is separated from the main cone by the valley of Atrio di Cavallo, some 5 km long. The slopes of the mountain are marked by lava flows, with abundant vegetation, with scrubland at higher elevations and vineyards at the lower ones. Vesuvius is an active volcano, although its current activity produces little more than steam emanating from the fissures at the foot of the crater.

Vesuvius is a composite volcano, located on the convergent boundary where the African Plate begins to be subducted beneath the Eurasian Plate. Its lava is composed of viscous andesite. Layers of lava, scoria, ash and pumice make up the mountain. It is the only volcano on the mainland of the European continent to have erupted in the last hundred years, although it is not currently erupting. The other two Italian volcanoes, Etna and Stromboli, are located on islands. It lies about 9 km east of Naples and a short distance from the seashore. It stands out visually in the landscape of the Bay of Naples, seen from the sea, with Naples in the foreground. Vesuvius was consecrated by the Greeks and Romans to the hero and demigod Hercules/Heracles, eponym of the city of Herculaneum, built at its base.

The Gulf of Naples

The Gulf of Naples from Posillipo.

Main article: Gulf of Naples

The Gulf of Naples (Golfo di Napoli, in Italian) is located on the southwestern coast of Italy. On the gulf lie, to the north, the city of Naples and the city of Pozzuoli. Notable places include the ancient Roman city of Pompeii and the volcano Vesuvius, located to the east of the gulf. To the south, closing the gulf, is the Sorrentine Peninsula, whose main city is Sorrento. This peninsula separates the Gulf of Naples from the Gulf of Salerno. This tiny gulf lies in the Tyrrhenian Sea, which in turn belongs to the Mediterranean.

History

Main article: History of Naples

Archaeological Park of Posillipo.

The history of the city begins with the Greeks of Euboea, who at the beginning of the 8th century BC founded, on the island of Ischia, what was probably the first Greek colony in the West: Pithekoussai. In that same century, the settlers, fleeing major geological phenomena, abandoned the island and founded the city of Cumae. The people of this city founded a century later (7th century BC) the city of Parthenope on the hill of Pizzofalcone. Later, at least from the 5th century BC, the Greeks called the place «Neapolis». The cults of Demeter and of the siren Parthenope were probably the most prominent in the ancient city.

The 16th century was one of the most prosperous periods in Neapolitan history. The Spanish Viceroys, who governed the kingdom in the name of Ferdinand II of Aragon, Charles I and later Philip II, restored order among the local nobility.

View of Naples and its Gulf in 1727 with details of its castles, of the view from the sea and of the peninsula of Gaeta.

But without a doubt Naples reached its best times during the 18th and 19th centuries as capital of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Under the Bourbon dynasty the great majority of the city's palaces and museums were built, and it became one of the most important cultural and industrial development hubs in Europe. However, after the unification of Italy, successive poor administrations caused the city to fall into decline.

After the Second World War, Naples became a large agglomeration that greatly overflows its old historic perimeter. In the old city, typically Mediterranean, the offices of large national and international companies and administrative headquarters rub shoulders with a poor population devoted to traditional handicrafts and the underground economy. On November 23, 1980, an earthquake occurred that brought about profound transformations: from then on the city began to spread toward the south, toward the east, into the district of Nola and the belt of towns at the foot of Vesuvius, and toward the north, as far as Caserta and along the coast. Since 1994, when it hosted the G8 summit, Naples has undertaken a policy of restructuring that has profoundly changed the profile of the city.

Demographics

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1861	484,026	—
1871	489,008	+1.0%
1881	535,206	+9.4%
1901	621,213	+16.1%
1911	751,211	+20.9%
1921	859,629	+14.4%
1931	831,781	−3.2%
1936	865,913	+4.1%
1951	1,010,550	+16.7%
1961	1,182,815	+17.0%
1971	1,226,594	+3.7%
1981	1,212,387	−1.2%
1991	1,067,365	−12.0%
2001	1,004,500	−5.9%
2011	962,003	−4.2%
Source: ISTAT

Population, immigration and age

View of the western neighborhoods of the city.

Naples is the largest city in Southern Italy and one of the largest cities in Italy, with a population of 959,188 inhabitants. In the last two decades it lost a great deal of population, with a constant decrease since 2014. The Metropolitan City of Naples has a population of 3,085,225 inhabitants.

In 2018, there were 60,260 foreigners in Naples, 6.3% of the total population. The following are the main countries from which the immigrants come:

• Sri Lanka 15,756
• Ukraine 8,652
• China 5,562
• Pakistan 2,847
• Romania 2,623
• Philippines 1,982
• Bangladesh 1,832
• Nigeria 1,379
• Poland 1,332
• Dominican Republic 1,145
• Senegal 1,089
• Russia 1,087
• India 1,024

Age profile

• 0–14 years of age: (140,081) or 15.5%
• 15–64 years of age: (637,550) or 65.1%
• 65 years and over: (188,513) or 19.4%

Naples, like the other southern cities, experiences large exoduses of young people who leave the city for the North of the country, which offers greater job opportunities. In recent years, the Italian demographic decline has been more severe in the southern regions than in those of the North.

Metropolitan area

Aerial view of Naples and its surroundings.

The metropolitan area of Naples is formed by the city of the same name and some neighboring cities, some of which also belong to other provinces of Campania. This area is called Grande Napoli. Its population is approximately 3.1 million inhabitants, which makes it the third Italian metropolitan area, behind Milan and Rome.

Other sources indicate that it has up to 4,121,397 inhabitants and an area of 2,171 km²; or 6,400,000 inhabitants over 4,300 km². If so, it would be the second metropolitan area in Italy in terms of population, after Milan, surpassing Rome.

Quality of life

In the 2019 dossier compiled annually by the economic newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore on the quality of life in the 107 capitals of the Italian provinces, Naples ranks 81st, between Ragusa and Lecce, improving by 13 positions compared with the previous year. By category, the city ranks 23rd for demographics and society, 32nd for culture and leisure, 83rd for environment and services, 89th for business and employment, 102nd for justice and security and 104th for wealth and consumption.

Language

Main article: Neapolitan language

Giambattista Basile (1566–1632), one of the first writers in the Neapolitan language.

As in the rest of Italy, in Campania there survives an evolution of Vulgar Latin different from standard Italian. It should be borne in mind that what is known today as Italian is a derivation of the Florentine vernacular, chosen for its cultural prestige as the language of Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio, which established itself throughout Italy as the main language of culture and education from the 15th century onward and as the sole language of formal communication since unification. It came, however, to have a generalized diffusion in all spheres (formal and informal) only in the second half of the 20th century.

Neapolitan continues to have many speakers in the Parthenopean city and its region. To these must be added the users of a large number of southern dialects closely linked to Neapolitan, which together with it form a linguistic group known as Neapolitan-Calabrian. Its area of diffusion extends from southern Lazio to central-northern Calabria, with a number of speakers estimated at 5.7 million.

Although the dialetto shows small differences even between neighboring towns, there are controversies as to the status of Neapolitan. While UNESCO considers it a language, most linguists hold that it is a dialect.

Napulitano, despite being the variety in which the Placiti Cassinesi were written—parchments dating from between 960 and 963, written, as a novelty, in Romance rather than in Latin—and despite having come to be proposed as the language of the Kingdom of Naples, never became the official language, Spanish, Catalan or standard Italian being used in the administration in the first half of the 18th century. This has not prevented a respectable number of literary works or songs from being written in Neapolitan, which was used by Gabriele D'Annunzio, a native of Pescara, and sung by Enrico Caruso. On the musical level, the canzone napoletana dates back to the 13th century and has been one of the most important channels for the diffusion of Neapolitan, very present in the world of Italian song until the Sanremo Music Festival eclipsed the Naples Festival, which ceased to be held in 1970.

On the morphological level, the language shows influences from practically all the cultures that have passed through Naples over the course of history: from the Oscans, of course the Romans with the Latin root, the Greeks and Byzantines up to the 12th century, the Normans and the Spaniards—who directly ruled the city from 1503 to 1707—and even the Americans, present since the Second World War, have contributed some words.

Economy

File:Centro direzionale di Napoli.jpg

The Centro Direzionale di Napoli, the city's modern financial district designed by the Japanese architect Kenzo Tange.

The GDP per capita of the metropolitan area was €17,500 in 2001, well below the figures for the Roman metropolis (€29,500) or the Milanese one (€43,800), but above other southern cities such as Palermo (€15,900) or Reggio di Calabria (€15,300). At the European level, Campania recorded in 2003 a GDP per capita equivalent to 72.1% of the community average of the European Union of 25, which makes it an Objective 1 region of the community Structural Funds.

This statistic does not, of course, include the underground economy, very important in the city, which is estimated at 12.4% of total Italian GDP. The unemployment rate is 31.39% for the city, according to data from the city council for 2001, although once again depending on the accuracy of the statistics, which try to account for the relatively large number of people working in the underground economy, not necessarily in illicit activities. Employment in the province of Naples across the various sectors is distributed as follows:

• Public services and public administration: 30.7%;
• Industry: 18%;
• Commerce: 14%;
• Construction: 9.5%;
• Transport: 8.2%;
• Financial and real estate services: 7.4%;
• Agriculture: 5.1%;
• Hospitality: 3.7%;
• Other activities: 3.4%.

Transport

Urban

The public transport network.

Piazza Garibaldi is the place from which most buses depart and where Naples Central Station (Stazione di Napoli Centrale), the city's main railway station, is located. The urban network is made up of a conglomerate of integrated transport: the Naples Metro, consisting of one metro line proper (Line 1) and one light rail line (Line 6), plus 4 urban railways, 8 suburban railways, 3 tram lines, 8 trolleybus lines and 236 bus lines. The public transport network is completed by four funiculars, very necessary given the city's terrain, three of which connect the neighborhood of Vomero with other parts of the city.

Pending completion of the extensive planned metro network, traffic problems are a constant on several roads, although less so than in many other large European cities. The age and narrow layout of many streets in the historic center aggravate the situation.

External

The port of Naples.

There are 370 companies with more than 5,200 employees in the Port of Naples. Collectively, their sales volume amounts to about 516 million euros. The main services are: ship repair, storage, provisioning, packaging services, shipping brokers and agents, tourist agents, and insurance brokers.

In 2017, more than 22 million tonnes of goods were loaded and unloaded. The main goods loaded were: mineral oils, minerals, foodstuffs, machinery and vehicles. The goods unloaded were: mineral oils, cereals, paper and cellulose, wood, cement. In 2017, there were 927,458 cruise passengers and passenger traffic to the islands reached 6,684,772. The port of Naples has recently stood out for its ever-increasing trade, which is making it the most important logistics hub in the Mediterranean.

The international airport of Naples-Capodichino is the most important in Southern Italy in terms of air traffic. Approximately 170 flights arrive at or depart from Naples airport daily.

By road, the city has a fairly complete network of motorways, among which the Naples Ring Road (A56) stands out, carrying a daily traffic of some 270,000 vehicles.

The city has a notable railway tradition, being the first in Italy to inaugurate a railway line, the Naples–Portici line in 1839. In 1889 the Ferrovia Cumana was inaugurated, a partly underground railway that provided a metro-type service, connecting the center of Naples with Bacoli (in the Phlegraean Fields). In 1890 the Circumvesuviana railway opened, which still today connects the city with the Vesuvian area. In practice, it was also the pioneering city in Italy in acquiring a metro, when the passante ferroviario opened in 1925. In December 2005 the Rome–Naples high-speed railway entered service and, in June 2008, the Naples–Salerno high-capacity railway was completed. These lines have the stations of Naples Central and Naples Afragola (the latter located within the municipal territory of Afragola).

Education

Universities

Faculty of Law of the University of Naples Federico II.

Naples has seven universities.

Four public universities:

• The Federico II (it. Università degli Studi di Napoli "Federico II"), founded in 1224.
• The Orientale (it. Università degli Studi di Napoli "L'Orientale"), founded in 1732.
• The Parthenope (it. Università degli Studi di Napoli "Parthenope"), founded in 1920.
• The Luigi Vanvitelli (it. Università degli Studi della Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli"), founded in 1990 as an «offshoot» of Federico II, under the name "Second University of Naples".

Two private universities:

• The Suor Orsola Benincasa, (it. Università degli Studi "Suor Orsola Benincasa"), founded in 1895.
• The Pontifical Theological Faculty of Southern Italy, (it. Pontificia Facoltà Teologica dell'Italia Meridionale), founded in 1969.

One private distance-learning university:

• The Pegaso, (it. Università Telematica "Pegaso"), founded in 2006.

In addition, the city has:

• the Academy of Fine Arts of Naples, founded in 1752;
• the San Pietro a Maiella Music Conservatory, founded in 1806.

Heritage

Naples is a much-visited city, not only in its own right, but also as a starting point for other nearby destinations such as Pompeii, the Royal Palace of Caserta, the islands of Capri and Ischia or the Amalfi Coast. The Campanian capital also possesses a vast artistic and architectural heritage, which since the 1990s has been relaunched with activities such as the "May of the Monuments" and by its being declared part of the World Heritage by UNESCO in 1995.

Castles

Naples is the only city in the world that has seven castles within its urban perimeter, which formed an impressive defensive system: Castel dell'Ovo, Castel Nuovo, Castel Sant'Elmo, Castel Capuano, Castello del Carmine, Castello di Nisida and the Forte di Vigliena. This earned it the nickname of «the city of the seven castles».

The Castel dell'Ovo on the islet of Megaride, where the Greek settlers who would found Cumae presumably landed in the 7th century BC.

The Castel dell'Ovo (in English «Egg Castle») is part of the panorama of the Gulf of Naples. It is so called because, according to legend, Virgil hid inside the castle an egg that would support the structure of the building, and which, if broken, would cause the collapse of the fortress and great catastrophes for the city. It is located on the islet of Megaride, where in the 7th century BC the Cumaeans who founded Parthenope landed. The castle was part of the villa of the Roman Lucius Licinius Lucullus, which was fortified by Valentinian III and which housed the deposed Romulus Augustus, the last Roman emperor, who died shortly afterward. A luxurious villa in the times of the Empire, it was fortified in the 5th century and razed by the Neapolitans themselves in the 10th century to prevent its capture by the Saracens. The Aragonese carried out the last significant restructuring. Later the castle was rebuilt and restructured by the Normans (1128) and by the Spaniards in their respective occupations. Today the public is allowed to enter. One can appreciate the majesty of the fortress, the terrace with cannons and the very characteristic seaside village at the foot of the castle.

The Castel Capuano was built by William I of Sicily, the first King of the Kingdom of Naples founded by the Normans. Its name is due to its lying on the route leading to the city of Capua. When the Holy Roman Empire conquered the kingdom, the capital moved to Palermo, and the building deteriorated through neglect. But when the Aragonese dynasty conquered southern Italy and the capital returned to Naples, a great remodeling of the castle began. In the following five centuries, the building was used as the seat of the courts; today it offers a notable architectural contrast, being located in the vicinity of the skyscraper area, the Centro Direzionale.

View of Sant'Elmo on the hill of San Martino around 1860. A church in the 10th century, a Norman watchtower known as Belforte, besieged numerous times and ordered rebuilt by Charles V of Naples, the Castel Sant'Elmo dominates the Gulf, the city and the entrances to it from Capodichino to Capodimonte; it is of the utmost strategic importance as well as offering impressive views.

The Castel Nuovo, also known as Maschio Angioino (Angevin Keep), was built between 1279 and 1282 by Charles I of Anjou, a real record, being the royal palace of his dynasty. In the times of Robert of Anjou, one of the most notable patrons of his time, great figures of the arts and letters stayed at the castle, such as Petrarch or Boccaccio, who wrote the Decameron within its walls. No remains survive from this first stage, owing to the restructuring immediately after the arrival of the Aragonese. The castle has five towers that are the junction points of the thick walls (Torre di Guardia, Torre di Mezzo, Torre di San Giorgio, Torre del Beverello and Torre dell'Oro), and a marble triumphal arch (Arco d'Alfonso d'Aragona), which was built in the 13th century to celebrate the entry of Alfonso V of Aragon (I of Naples) into the city on February 26, 1443. The central hall of the castle is the monumental Sala dei Baroni (Hall of the Barons), so called because in 1487 the Barons who conspired against Ferdinand I of Naples were arrested there. This hall today hosts the meetings of the city council and the Museo Civico. Another notable historical episode took place in 1504: after conquering the city for the Crown of Aragon, the Great Captain served as Viceroy, until he was stripped of the title by Ferdinand the Catholic, with whom, despite his conquests (or precisely because of them), he maintained a certain enmity. Proof of this is the story of the Accounts of the Great Captain, which allegedly took place within the walls of this castle. The reforms that Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba began in the army shortly after the conquest are considered the embryo of the Tercios, five of which had their base in the city. In connection with this circumstance, a saying circulated:

España fue mi natura, (Spain was my birth,)

Italia mi ventura, (Italy my fortune,)

Flandes mi sepultura. (Flanders my grave.)

Part of the military character of 16th- and 17th-century Naples was due to the dangers of the Mediterranean, infested with pirates and corsairs from Barbary. Although, of course, the troops quartered in the city contributed greatly by harassing Arab vessels.

The Castel Sant'Elmo has dominated from the top of the Vomero hill since 1275, the work of Charles I of Anjou. It was completely restored between 1538 and 1546 by the Valencian engineer Pedro Luis Escrivá, when Pedro de Toledo was Viceroy. The base, which was previously square, has since then had a star shape. This castle was the scene of the last, desperate defense of the Neapolitan Republic against the Bourbon occupation.

Historic palaces

Main page: Category:Palaces in Naples

The Royal Palace of Naples seen from the Basilica of San Francesco di Paola. At the sides are the equestrian statues of Charles III and Ferdinand I, symbolizing the Bourbon reigns before and after the Napoleonic interlude. It was precisely Murat who was responsible for giving Piazza Plebiscito its current configuration, in addition to embellishing the Palace with Neoclassical decorations and additions from the Tuileries.

The Royal Palace of Naples was begun in 1603 by the Viceroy of Naples, the Count of Lemos, in anticipation of a possible visit by King Philip III of Spain to the city, which never took place. The initial project was entrusted to the architect Domenico Fontana, who had already carried out important works in Rome for Pope Sixtus V. However, the project underwent numerous changes and was not considered finished until the middle of the 19th century, although from the very moment the foundations began to be laid, the Royal Palace of Naples was the center of Neapolitan political and social life. From 1734, the year in which the court settled permanently in Naples, restoration works were carried out on the Palace, which was in a very poor state of conservation. From then on, progressive modernizations were commissioned which adapted the Palace to a more Baroque style. Throughout the reign of Ferdinand II of Naples, Monarch of the Two Sicilies, there was a tendency toward the centralization of the powers of the State, characteristic of absolutism. Since 1919 it has housed the National Library.

The Royal Palace of Capodimonte was built by order of Charles VII, King of Naples and Sicily (who would later be Charles III, King of Spain). Its construction began on September 9, 1738 under the direction of Giovanni Antonio Medrano, who was also responsible for the monumental San Carlo Theater of Naples. King Charles built Capodimonte expressly to house the fabulous Farnese art collection, which he had inherited from his mother, Elisabeth Farnese, the last descendant of the sovereign ducal house of Parma. Construction had to be halted on various occasions owing to lack of money, since the Royal Palace of Caserta was also being built at that time. In 1760, Ferdinand IV commissioned the architect Ferdinando Fuga to enlarge the palace and design the gardens. After the Napoleonic occupation lasting a decade, during which it served only a residential function, in 1828 the western façade was restored and the Palazzina dei Principi was built, intended for the apartments of the Crown Prince, surrounded by a botanical garden designed in the English style.

Museums

Main page: Category:Museums in Naples

Salone della Meridiana, National Archaeological Museum.

The National Archaeological Museum of Naples began to take shape with marble pieces that Charles of Bourbon had inherited from his mother. After the discovery of Roman architectural pieces found in Pompeii, the museum grew. Today it holds an enormous quantity of marbles, mosaics and artifacts from the Roman era and some of the best-preserved mummies in the world.

The National Museum of Capodimonte houses works by Giovanni Bellini, Sandro Botticelli, Caravaggio, Annibale Carracci, Artemisia Gentileschi, Francisco de Goya, Simone Martini, Masaccio, Titian, among others.

Religious architecture

Main page: Category:Churches in Naples

Looking at the city from above, the first thing one can observe is the enormous number of domes and crosses that distinguish its many churches. In the 18th century Naples was called «the city of the 500 domes», but owing to earthquakes, fires and the 181 bombings in the Second World War, some 60 churches were lost. Nevertheless, the city still has a greater number of churches than any other town in the world, with more than 400 churches.

Jean-Jacques Bouchard, a French traveler who visited Naples in 1632, recorded his impressions of that journey in his diary (now preserved in Paris):

«The churches of this city hold the greatest beauty and the greatest magnificence... I do not doubt that the churches of Naples equal, and even surpass, those of Rome in grandeur, beauty of architecture, gilding and other embellishments, but above all in the sumptuousness of the silver ornaments, all of them being adorned with great hangings, velvets and gilded silks. I believe that the churches of Naples also surpass those of Rome in number».

The façade of the Cathedral of Naples, or of San Gennaro. Gothic in style, it was restored at the end of the 19th century, but preserves the 14th-century entrance.

The Cathedral of Naples (Duomo di Napoli, in Italian) is a whole historical compendium of architectural styles. Probably, in Antiquity, a temple of Apollo stood on its site, and the first Christian church was consecrated in the times of Constantine, in the 4th century. To reach the origins of the present building we must go back to 1299, to the reign of the Anjou. Having been remodeled in the following centuries, it has various architectural styles: the Neo-Gothic façade of 19th-century Italian purism, its doors are Gothic and the main hall Baroque. The cathedral houses the oldest baptistery in the West.

An example of the Baroque style in this church is the Chapel of the Treasure, which holds the statue of San Gennaro and 51 other silver statues. The treasure is made up of various donations from wealthy devotees, among which the silver miter with precious stones donated by Matteo Treglia stands out; owing to its grandeur (according to a team of experts, with its 21,000 jewels it is even richer than the British Crown Jewels and those of the tsars of Russia), its items are kept not only in the chapel, but also in the Museo del Tesoro di San Gennaro and in a vault of the Bank of Naples. In the chapel are capsules containing the saint's blood. Every September 19, the anniversary of the saint's death, the blood liquefies; this miracle attracts thousands of faithful every year, and is one of the first cases of liquefied blood, together with that of Saint Charbel Makhlouf in Lebanon or that of Saint Pantaleon (Monastery of the Incarnation, Madrid).

Majolica tiles in the cloister of Santa Chiara.

Among the main churches of the city is also the Monastero di Santa Chiara, in the heart of the city's historic center, built between 1310 and 1340 by Robert of Anjou. The original Gothic structure underwent a Baroque restructuring in the 17th century. In 1943 it was practically destroyed by Allied bombing, and later completely restored to its original Gothic form. Inside lie King Robert of Anjou, Maria Cristina of Savoy and the national hero Salvo D'Acquisto.

The Basilica of San Domenico Maggiore, located in the square of the same name, was built between 1283 and 1324 by Charles II of Anjou; it was restored after great disasters, in the Baroque style in the 17th century, and in the Neo-Gothic style in the 19th century. In this church is an ancient tablet of Saint Thomas Aquinas on theology.

Another important church in Naples is the Basilica santuario di Santa Maria del Carmine Maggiore (Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel). It is located in the area where the revolt of Masaniello took place in 1647; during which, it is said, a miracle occurred: a projectile entered the church heading straight for the cross of Christ, but Jesus changed the course of the shot, damaging only the crown of thorns. Inside is preserved the tomb of Prince Conradin of Hohenstaufen.

Basilica of San Francesco di Paola in Piazza Plebiscito.

But perhaps the most famous church in Naples is the Basilica of San Francesco di Paola, located in Piazza del Plebiscito, opposite the Royal Palace of Naples. It is the most important Italian church of the Neoclassical period. The church, with its circular form, recalls the Pantheon of Agrippa. The façade is preceded by a pronaos formed by six columns and two pillars of the Ionic order.

The Sansevero Chapel, or Temple of Piety, from the 18th century, where a famous Veiled Christ by Giuseppe Sanmartino is preserved, together with some strange "anatomical machines" linked to the dark history of Prince Raimondo di Sangro.

To conclude, mention must be made of the Basilica of San Lorenzo Maggiore, built by Charles of Anjou in the 13th century. Inside are the tombs of Catherine of Austria, Carlo and Giovanna di Durazzo and Robert of Artois. In this church Giovanni Boccaccio found his love, Fiammetta, and Petrarch prayed on the night of November 4, 1343, terrified by a hermit's prediction of a disastrous storm. The archaeological excavations of 1976 beneath San Lorenzo show remains of the macellum (market) of the Greco-Roman city. The stratification of these excavations, although rather complex, makes it possible to reliably reconstruct different historical stages of the city, with Greek structures so ancient that they date from the 4th century BC.

Naples is also home to a Spanish national church, the Pontifical Royal Basilica of Santiago de los Españoles, built by Viceroy Pedro de Toledo in 1540.

Squares, streets and typical places

Via Toledo.

Among the main streets of the center of Naples is Via Toledo, a few years ago called Via Roma. It bears its name in memory of Viceroy Pedro Álvarez de Toledo, who built it in 1536. This street is one of the main commercial arteries of the city, where the shops of the leading designers are located. It is also a tourist attraction, being lined with numerous palazzi such as the headquarters of the Bank of Naples, the Doria d'Angri Palace, the Colonna di Stigliano, the church of Spirito Santo, the eastern entrance to the Galleria Umberto I, Piazza Trieste e Trento and the church of San Fernando. Beyond Piazza Dante, the street keeps its old name, Via Roma.

Galleria Umberto I. Intersection of its two streets.

One of the largest squares, and perhaps the most notable in the city, is Piazza del Plebiscito. This square lies between the Royal Palace and the Teatro San Carlo, forming an ellipse in the middle of which stand two equestrian statues, one of Charles III, the work of Antonio Canova, and one of Ferdinand I, commemorating the return to power of the House of Bourbon after the Napoleonic occupation and the government of Murat. Since 1994, when Naples hosted the G7 summit, the square has ceased to be used as a car park and has recovered its former importance as a public space, where concerts, demonstrations and even opera performances at Christmas are frequently held.

In this square is the Basilica of San Francesco di Paola. With the demolition in 1809 of the convents in the Largo di Palazzo, Murat freed the spacious land that today forms the square, conceived as a forum in which a grandiose civic building in the shape of a hemicycle would face the Royal Palace. With the rise to power of Ferdinand I, the building was assigned to religious use, and in 1824 the complex was completed, 53 m high, with 38 Doric columns and a monumental pronaos facing the Royal Palace. The architect's intention was to recover the square as the center of the political, religious, economic and cultural activities of the city.

Older is Piazza Dante, known in the 16th and 17th centuries as the Mercatello, as it housed a large number of market stalls, although between 1757 and 1765 it was completely rebuilt by Luigi Vanvitelli, who planned it with a statue of Charles III at its center, which never came to occupy that place. When Napoleon invaded the city, the tree of liberty was raised here, and since Italian unification the statue that gives its name to the square has been that of Dante Alighieri. Behind the poet is the church of San Michele with its hemicycle wings crowned by twenty-six statues, as many as the virtues attributed to King Charles. In 2002 the square was restored by the architect Gae Aulenti; it is now more spacious and equipped with a showy glass entrance to the metro.

Via San Gregorio Armeno.

The area of San Gregorio Armeno attracts tourists from all over the world between November and January. Here is located the great market of the Neapolitan crib, a local Christmas tradition, where the most refined and singular figures of the Infant Jesus, Mary, Joseph, shepherds, saints and many other pieces that help to represent the Nazareth of the time can be found. The street takes its name from the important church of the same name built between 1574 and 1580 with interior frescoes by Luca Giordano. Every Tuesday the miracle of the liquefaction of the blood of the tooth of Saint Patricia is commemorated.

Another important artery is Spaccanapoli, corresponding to the ancient lower decumanus of the Greco-Roman city. It gained importance between the Middle Ages and the 19th century for housing convents of various religious orders and residences of powerful families. It is formed by several streets, such as Via Benedetto Croce, where the Palazzo Filomarino and the Italian Institute for Historical Studies are located.

In Piazza del Gesù Nuovo stands the church of the same name, and in the center is the Obelisk of the Immaculate, 34 meters high, with a statue of the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception erected in 1747; on December 8 of each year, the ceremony of the Immaculate Conception is celebrated by placing a laurel crown on the Virgin.

The longest stretch of the Naples seafront takes the name of Via Caracciolo, in honor of Admiral Francesco Caracciolo. The street is recent, from the 19th century, and is separated from the Riviera di Chiaia (a name deriving from the Neapolitan word chiaja, in English «beach») by the Villa Comunale.

At 1.3 kilometers in length, Corso Umberto I (also known as Rettifilo, since it runs in a straight line) is a fundamental artery of the city, connecting Piazza Garibaldi with Piazza Bovio. The street was laid out during the Risanamento, a great urban intervention at the end of the 19th century that involved the demolition of working-class neighborhoods and old buildings.

Parks and leisure

Villa Comunale.

The Villa Comunale is a recreation area on the waterfront with statues, fountains and various trees. It was built in 1780 and has been a place much favored by Neapolitans since it was remodeled in the 1990s. Inside is the Anton Dohrn Zoological Station, which houses the Naples Aquarium, the oldest in the world and one of the famous ones in Europe.

The Capodimonte Park is the city's main green lung; it was created by Friedrich Dehnhardt in 1833.

Villa Floridiana.

The Villa Floridiana, which takes its name from Lucia Migliaccio, Duchess of Floridia, is the seat of the National Ceramics Museum.

Another important park is the Virgilian Park, which looks out over the small volcanic islet of Nisida and which was named after the classical Roman poet Virgil, author of the Aeneid, who received part of his education in the city.

Virgil's Tomb is located in the Vergilian Park at Piedigrotta, also famous for housing the tomb monument of the poet Giacomo Leopardi and the entrance to the Neapolitan Crypt.

The Bay of Trentaremi seen from the viewpoint of the Virgilian Park.

The Neapolitan coast is the only one in the Mediterranean that has an underwater archaeological park, that of Gaiola: many ruins from the Roman era were submerged owing to marine erosion, which sank seven meters of the Neapolitan coast. The park is adjacent to another archaeological site, the Archaeological Park of Posillipo, which houses a Roman villa from the 1st century BC, a theater with capacity for 2,000 spectators, an odeon for small performances, a nymphaeum and a bath complex.

On the outskirts of the city are the Vesuvius National Park, the Phlegraean Fields and the islands of Capri, Ischia, Procida and Vivara.

Leisure is of great importance in the neighborhoods of Bagnoli, home to discotheques, restaurants and bars, and of Fuorigrotta, where the Stadio San Paolo is located, which serves as the usual home of the football club SSC Napoli, as well as the multi-sport arena PalaBarbuto, where Napoli Basket plays. A short distance away is the Olympic swimming pool Felice Scandone, which was used at the 1963 Mediterranean Games and the 2019 Summer Universiade and serves as the usual home of the historic water polo clubs Circolo Nautico Posillipo and Circolo Canottieri Napoli, among the most decorated in Italy.

Also located in Fuorigrotta is the amusement park Edenlandia, the oldest in Italy, founded in 1965 and recently renovated. In the area are the Zoological Garden, founded in 1940, a bowling alley that hosts numerous tournaments, a multiplex cinema with nine screens, fast food and a games room, and football and tennis fields.

Business district

Viale della Costituzione, one of the streets of the CDN.

Centro Direzionale di Napoli is the name given to the skyscraper area near the Stazione Centrale. Planning began in the mid-1960s with the twofold aim of decongesting the historic center and providing new offices for the public administration.

Its construction began in 1985 and featured designs by architects as prestigious as Renzo Piano. The tallest building is the Torre Telecom Italia (the tallest building in Italy until 2010), which reaches 129 m, followed by the Torri Enel 1 & 2 at 122 m. The regional government of Campania occupies the 115 m Consiglio Regionale Campania.

The Centro Direzionale di Napoli tends to surprise tourists, given how widespread the stereotype of Naples as a decadent and scarcely industrialized city is, a cliché it shares with the whole of southern Italy.

Underground Naples

Main article: Catacombs of San Gennaro

Proscenium of the Roman theater of Neapolis.

Underground Naples is a complex of catacombs and galleries located beneath the city. In antiquity it was a veritable underground city; many streets had their parallel galleries below ground.

In the Roman era, many Christians who were persecuted took refuge in these catacombs. One such case was that of the martyr San Gennaro, who was persecuted for preaching Christianity in an Italy that was officially pagan.

During the Second World War, these catacombs were used as shelters from the Allied bombing of the city.

Today, although many passages are blocked, these catacombs are used for tourism purposes. Tours are conducted in which tourists are informed about the history of this underground Naples. It can be accessed from Piazza San Gaetano and from Via Santa Anna di Palazzo.

Culture

Festivals

• April–May: Comicon – International Comics Fair of Naples
• May: Gran Premio Lotteria di Agnano, an international horse-racing event at the Agnano Racecourse; Maggio dei monumenti (May of the Monuments).
• July: Neapolis Festival, concerts with international stars.
• July 15–16: feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Carmine), popular celebrations in the Piazza del Mercato and in the church of the Carmine.
• September: Pizzavillage; feast of Piedigrotta.
• September 19: feast of Saint Januarius in the cathedral, where the phenomenon of the liquefaction of the saint's blood takes place.
• December 31: New Year's Eve in Piazza Plebiscito and on the seafront with music, dancing and fireworks.

Art

Throughout its history, the city has had a first-rank artistic presence. Today, efforts are made to keep this tradition alive. The Academy of Fine Arts, founded by Charles III of Bourbon in 1752, was the center of activity of the School of Posillipo in the 19th century and has been directed by personalities such as Domenico Morelli, Vincenzo Petrocelli, Saverio Altamura and Gioacchino Toma. Today it offers courses in painting, decoration, sculpture, scenography and restoration.

Historic is the tradition of the San Pietro a Maiella Conservatory, in the heart of the city, founded in 1826 by Francis I of the Two Sicilies. The city's main theater is the San Carlo Theater, from the 18th century: inaugurated on November 4, 1737, it is the oldest active opera house in the world and was the model for subsequent theaters in Europe.

Painting

Main article: Neapolitan School

Castel dell'Ovo from the beach, by Anton Sminck van Pitloo (19th century).

Neapolitan painting took on its own identity in the 17th century with some famous painters such as Battistello Caracciolo, Aniello Falcone, Mattia Preti and Luca Giordano, who followed in the footsteps of Caravaggio, who lived in Naples between 1607 and 1610 teaching his art.

In the 18th century Neapolitan painting drew closer to the European currents of the century: the Enlightenment and a continuation of the Baroque (Late Baroque), with greater interest in decoration.

Neapolitan painting was completely transformed in the 19th century; the Late Baroque was abandoned in a vast artistic movement that moved on to Romanticism. Its main expression was the School of Posillipo between 1820 and 1850.

Music

Naples has played an important and vibrant role over the centuries, not only in Italian music, but in the general history of the musical traditions of Western Europe. This influence extends from the 16th century, in the music of Alessandro Scarlatti during the Baroque and the operas of Pergolesi, Piccini, Rossini, Paisiello, Donizetti and Mozart. The particular character of Neapolitan popular music of the 19th and early 20th centuries produced songs such as 'O sole mio, Funiculì, Funiculà, Core 'ngrato and 'O surdato 'nnammurato.

The Neapolitan song is a musical genre of popular origin to which songs such as 'O sole mio, Torna a Surriento, Funiculì, Funiculà, etc. belong. The first institution devoted to the promotion of the Neapolitan song was created in the first third of the 19th century, when at the Festa di Piedigrotta (in honor of Santa Maria di Piedigrotta) a song contest was created which was won, in its first edition, by a work by Gaetano Donizetti.

Theater

Interior of the Teatro San Carlo, the oldest active opera house in the world. It was the model for subsequent theaters in Europe.

Neapolitan theater is one of the most important artistic traditions of the city. Among its main exponents are Antonio Petito, Raffaele Viviani, Eduardo Scarpetta and the siblings Eduardo, Titina and Peppino De Filippo. Among the most important comedies are Il sindaco del rione Sanità, Natale in casa Cupiello, Filomena Marturano, Uomo e galantuomo and Questi fantasmi. Very important in Neapolitan theater is Pulcinella (Pulcinella, in Italian), always dressed in white and with a pointed cap; he had an aquiline nose and a prominent chin, with a nasal and loud voice.

The most important theater in Naples is the San Carlo Theater (Teatro San Carlo), with capacity for 3,000 people. It was built in less than a year and inaugurated on November 4, 1737, being the oldest active opera house in the world. Because of its dimensions and structure, it was the model for subsequent theaters in Europe. In 1816 it was restored after a fire. Among the conductors and composers who have appeared at the theater are Gioachino Rossini and Gaetano Donizetti.

Contemporary art

The Parthenopean city is surely the most active Italian city in the field of contemporary art, with numerous shows and temporary exhibitions. All this led to the inauguration of two museums in 2005. On the one hand, in the restored Palazzo Roccella, which houses the PAN (Palazzo delle Arti di Napoli), and on the other the MADRE (Museo d'Arte Contemporanea Donna Regina), located in the Palazzo Donnaregina, restructured by Álvaro Siza.

Another striking project is the Metrò dell'Arte, as Line 1 of the city's metro is known. The project encompasses a refurbishment of the entire surroundings of the entrances as well as exhibitions in the stations, with the participation of famous painters such as Joseph Kosuth, Mimmo Rotella or Mario Merz, in addition to young emerging artists.

Finally, international events are held in the city. In 2005 it hosted the «Meeting of Young Artists of Europe and the Mediterranean», in which 700 young people took part.

Gastronomy

Main article: Neapolitan cuisine

Neapolitan cuisine, like that of the rest of Italy, has five courses: the antipasto (a snack before the meal), the primo piatto (usually a pasta dish), the secondo piatto (the main course, usually fish, meat or chicken, among others), dessert and the dolce (sweet pastries accompanied by a limoncello).

Pizza

Main article: Pizza

Pizza Margherita.

Pizza is a typical dish of Neapolitan cuisine with a registered designation called Specialità Tradizionale Garantita (STG; in English: «Traditional Speciality Guaranteed»). In its basic form, a pizza is a flat bread, generally circular in shape, cooked in a wood-fired oven for about 2 or 3 minutes and topped with various ingredients. The basic ingredients for preparing a pizza margherita are: mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce, olive oil and basil. Other ingredients can be used, such as salami, ham, peppers, olives, onions, mushrooms and anchovies. Pizza can be eaten hot (generally at lunch or dinner) or cold (generally at a picnic). The traditional way of serving it is in triangular slices separated with a special pizza cutter; the slices are generally one sixth or one eighth of the size of the whole pizza. It is typically eaten by holding it in the hand by its outer edge, which forms a kind of rounded thickening that the toppings do not reach.

Pasta

Spaghetti alle vongole

Main article: Pasta

Neapolitan pasta is varied: spaghetti, vermicelli, fusilli, tortiglioni, rigatoni, ziti, maccheroni and many others are made. The sauces that accompany the pasta are also varied. The most typical and simplest dish is spaghetti seasoned with tomato and the fragrant Neapolitan basil. There are also very elaborate dishes such as ragù: the sauce is prepared especially with tomato, veal stuffed with cheese, parsley, garlic, pine nuts and grapes; this sauce accompanies a pasta dish.

Desserts

Among the most typical desserts is the pastiera napoletana, flavored with ricotta and orange. It is one of the main dishes of Neapolitan food and is also very widespread in the United States.

Sfogliatelle.

Also important is the sfogliatella, a sweet pastry filled with ricotta cream, semolina, cinnamon, vanilla, citron and candied orange peel.

The babà is another mushroom-shaped dessert soaked in liqueur and brushed with apricot jelly.

Struffoli are a typical Christmas sweet and consist of small pearls (5 to 10 mm in diameter) made of fried dough dressed with honey, generally decorated with confetti of various colors called "little devils" (diavulilli in Neapolitan or diavoletti in Italian).

The graffa is a fried sweet, torus-shaped, made with flour and potatoes and covered with sugar. Although typical of Carnival, it can be found all year round.

Folklore

Pulcinella

Main article: Pulcinella

A Pulcinella.

Pulcinella (Pulcinella, in Italian) is a character of Italian farces and pantomimes, of burlesque character. He takes his name from his presumed creator, Puccio d'Aniello, a famous comedian from 16th-century Naples.

To put things in context, during the 16th and 17th centuries a theatrical style became popular in Italy in which the characters were always the same, and the plots varied according to the improvisation of the characters in keeping with their personalities. Little theater shows were held in the streets and squares, attended by a large part of the populace. Thus, over time, the characters acquired their own personalities and came to be distinguished by their costumes.

Pulcinella, for his part, always dressed in white and wore a pointed cap. He had an aquiline nose and a prominent chin, with a nasal and loud voice. Sometimes he also had a hump. He was a cunning bully who never parted with his cudgel, with which to give a beating to anyone who did not think as he did.

This Neapolitan character achieved great success and popularity, his fame reaching France, where he was well received until the character Guignol appeared on the scene, which would be the cause of his decline. In Spain he was known as Don Cristóbal Polichinela.

Neapolitan nativity scene

Main article: Neapolitan nativity scene

The presepio or presepe napoletano is a blend of devotion and history, religious fervor and local traditions. Beside the Infant Jesus, the Holy Family and the shepherds, one can admire a representation of life in the Naples of 1700, in the time of the Bourbons: ladies and gentlemen of the nobility, representatives of the bourgeoisie of the time, vendors with their stalls where one can admire miniatures of cheeses, bread, lambs, pigs, ducks, grapes. And all the people one could find strolling through an 18th-century market: Gypsy women telling fortunes, people playing cards, housewives doing their shopping, dogs, cats and hens. Whether it is called a Crib, a Nativity or a Belén, Naples is its world capital. Every year, from the last Sunday of November, hundreds of buses arrive at the City of Vesuvius and thousands of people fill the streets of San Gregorio Armeno and Spaccanapoli to visit the exhibitions organized by the many artisan workshops in the heart of Spanish Naples.

Libraries

Main article: National Library of Naples

A page from a 7th-century book in the Naples library, dealing with the mandrake.

In 1804 the then-named «Royal National Library of Naples» was opened to the public in the Palace of Studies, now the seat of the National Archaeological Museum. Before unification it was called the «Royal Bourbon Library». It holds two million books, 20,000 manuscripts, 8,000 periodicals, 4,500 incunabula and 1,800 papyri from Herculaneum brought in 1910. During the Second World War, the books were removed from the library for fear of damage from bombing and looting. They were moved to a nearby town until 1945, when the war ended and the library reopened. Today the National Library of Naples is the third largest in Italy, after those of Florence and Rome. The library holds an enormous number of texts on the ancient Far East. Bernardo Bertolucci did research in this library for the film The Last Emperor in 1987.

Science

The Orto Botanico di Napoli was founded in 1807 during the Napoleonic domination by the architects De Fazio and Paoletti. During the Second World War it fell into decay, but between the 1960s and 1980s it was remodeled and improved. Today its 12 hectares of land hold 25,000 plant specimens. It is currently managed by the University of Naples Federico II.

The Casa del Salvatore (former Jesuit Collegio Massimo) houses the main Neapolitan scientific museums:

Casa del Salvatore.

• The Museum of Zoology, with a large collection of birds and mammals, and in particular the collection of oysters and snails, the largest and most varied in the world.
• The Museum of Paleontology, with about 50,000 fossil remains, most of them from Campania; and a grand complete skeleton of an Allosaurus.
• The Museum of Anthropology, with mummies from all over the world, including some from Troy, and a human skeleton from the Paleolithic.
• The Museum of Mineralogy, with a total of 3,500 specimens of minerals and stones from all over the world.

In the field of astronomy, the Astronomical Observatory of Capodimonte can be mentioned. Inaugurated in 1819, it is located on the hill of Capodimonte, 150 meters above sea level. It has powerful telescopes of its own, as well as connections with other important observatories worldwide, and collaborations on projects such as Cassini–Huygens or observations through the Hubble. It can be visited by booking in advance.

Sports

The Stadio San Paolo, the city's main sports facility.

As throughout Italy, the most popular sport in Naples is football. The main club is SSC Napoli. Over the course of its history, at the national level it has won two Italian Leagues (1986/87, 1989/90), six Italian Cups (1961/62, 1975/76, 1986/87, 2011/12, 2013/14, 2019/20) and two Italian Super Cups (1990, 2014); at the international level, one UEFA Cup (1988/89), one UEFA Intertoto Cup (2008), one Cup of the Alps (1966) and one Anglo-Italian League Cup (1976). The club reached its highest levels with the Argentine Diego Armando Maradona, who played for the Neapolitan team from 1984 to 1991.

Napoli plays its home games at the Stadio San Paolo. Inaugurated in 1959, it now has, due to construction works, an approved capacity of 55,000 spectators and is the fourth largest in Italy after the Giuseppe Meazza in Milan, the Olympic Stadium in Rome and the San Nicola in Bari; the playing field measures 110x68 m. This stadium was a venue of the 1960 Rome Olympic Games, the 1963 Mediterranean Games, UEFA Euro 1968, UEFA Euro 1980, the 1990 FIFA World Cup and the 2019 Summer Universiade. The tifosi are very typical of Neapolitan football: the city always offers its team loyal and passionate support, with choreographies and never-ending chants.

The main women's football club is Napoli Femminile, which was champion of Serie A2 in 2011/12, Serie B in 2007/08 and 2019/20, and Serie C in 2004/05.

The Neapolitan sport with the most extensive record of honors is water polo: Circolo Nautico Posillipo has won eleven championships, one Italian Cup, three Champions Leagues, one European Super Cup, two European Cup Winners' Cups and one LEN Euro Cup; Circolo Canottieri Napoli eight championships, one Italian Cup and one Champions League; Rari Nantes Napoli five championships.

America's Cup World Series 2012.

Another very popular sport in Naples is basketball. Partenope Napoli won the 1968 Italian Cup and the 1970 European Cup Winners' Cup; S.S. Basket Napoli won the 2006 Italian Cup. Currently, the city's main club is Gevi Napoli Basket, which won the 2017 LNP Italian Cup.
In women's basketball, the defunct Guf Napoli was crowned league champion in 1941. In the 2000s it was the turn of Napoli Basket Vomero, which won the 2007 league, two Serie A2 Italian Cups, the 2005 EuroCup and the 2007 Italian Super Cup. Dike Basket Napoli was crowned champion of the women's Serie A2 Italian Cup in 2014.

The city's fencing school is the oldest in the country and the only one in Italy where a fencer can acquire the title of "master of swords" and then teach the art of fencing. The final of the 1998 World Championships in Switzerland saw two Neapolitans face each other, Raffaello Caserta and Luigi Tarantino, while Sandro Cuomo won the gold medal in épée at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.

The Naples section of shooting is the most decorated in Italy, holding the record of having won the national championship for twelve consecutive years (from 1996 to 2007).

Also worth mentioning are: Partenope Rugby, which won two consecutive championships in 1965 and 1966; Centro Ester Pallavolo, a women's volleyball club that won a CEV Cup and a Serie A2 Italian Cup; Napoli Beach Soccer, which won the 2009 league; and Briganti Napoli, which won the American football Silverbowl in 2009.

Also considerable is the cohort of Neapolitan athletes who have given Italy European, world and Olympic titles: the brothers Giuseppe and Carmine Abbagnale, rowing champions (seven world titles and two Olympic golds); the boxer Patrizio Oliva (three European titles, one world title and a gold medal in Moscow); the judoka Giuseppe Maddaloni (two European titles, a world cup and a gold medal in Sydney); the swimmer Massimiliano Rosolino (seven European titles, one world title and gold in Sydney); the shot putter Assunta Legnante (one European title); and the young swimmer Caterina Giacchetti (one European title).

Main sports facilities

Stadium	Inauguration	Capacity	Sports
Stadio San Paolo	1959	55,000	Football, athletics
Agnano Racecourse	1935	30,000	Equestrian sports
Stadio Arturo Collana	1925	12,000	Football, women's football, rugby, American football
PalaBarbuto	2003	5,500	Basketball, volleyball, boxing
Piscina Felice Scandone	1963	4,500	Water polo, swimming

Camorra and urban decay

The Camorra

Main article: Camorra

According to the most widely accepted theories, the Neapolitan mafia, known as the Camorra, was born in Campania in the 16th–17th centuries, although it took shape as a secret criminal organization only at the beginning of the 19th century. It has been speculated that its formation was due to the lack of interest of the Spaniards and of the Bourbon monarchy in the creation of a state, leaving the administration of justice and internal security in the hands of local bosses and thugs. The Spanish origin of the word camorra (quarrel, row, fuss) and the epithet of guappo, given to certain characters engaged in pimping and gambling, provide arguments to the defenders of this theory. Its members, called camorristi, were associated with activities of smuggling, extortion (the famous tax or pizzo), bribery, robbery and murder. Unlike the Sicilian Mafia, the Camorra has (except for sporadic cases) stayed away from politics and the armed forces; only under Ferdinand IV and Francis II of the Two Sicilies was there a timid attempt at collaboration, but in the long run it brought no benefits to either party. The Camorra prospered during the disorders that occurred in Italy in the struggle for Italian unification: the organization allied itself with the forces of the Italian nationalist Giuseppe Garibaldi and helped to expel the ruling house, the Bourbons, from the country. In the period following the unification of Italy (1861), a brief and fruitless attempt was made to employ the camorristi in the police force. The power of the Camorra was greatly weakened when its members were accused of murder and brought to trial in 1911. This association was eliminated in 1922 by the fascist government of Benito Mussolini.

Another significant difference from the Sicilian Mafia is the relative lack of hierarchy in the highest ranks, although in the 1970s and 1990s there were successive attempts to establish a hierarchy within the Camorra, driven by the boss Raffaele Cutolo, founder of the Nuova Camorra Organizzata. At the beginning of the 21st century, the Camorra is characterized by its high fragmentation, which leads to numerous clashes between the criminal families over succession in their leadership and the conquest of areas of influence. 2004 was the most violent year, with 139 dead in the "war of Scampia", a neighborhood that at the time was considered the most important drug hypermarket in Europe (a sad record that currently belongs to the Rogoredo neighborhood of Milan).

Urban decay

The two neighborhoods with the greatest Camorra presence are indisputably Scampia and Secondigliano, located on the northern outskirts of the city and built with notable deficiencies in transportation and services. Secondigliano was originally planned from scratch on the basis of the principles of fascist architecture, as a new district of the city. But District No. 15 developed mainly after the Irpinia earthquake that shook all of Campania, causing almost 3,000 deaths and the construction of 150,000 homes for those affected. Immediately after the earthquake, the neighborhood received 17,000 people in very precarious conditions, and the booming construction activity that followed greatly benefited the Camorra, which came to control the territory in practice, sustaining its inhabitants, who were hard hit by unemployment and school dropout, with the profits of drug trafficking and smuggling.

In 2008, the Italian film Gomorrah, by Matteo Garrone, dealt with the various problems of the city caused by the mafia, including the high crime rate, largely caused by the war between the clans, as well as the corruption very present among local elected officials.

Between 1994 and 2012, in the city and in the rest of the Campania Region, there was a state of emergency regarding waste management, which was also partly controlled by the Camorra, with serious shortages of landfills and incinerators, in addition to frequent strikes in the collection service. At the beginning of 2008, both the city and the metropolitan area suffered the interruption of the collection service when the landfills filled up. The solution was the reopening of some previously closed landfills on the periphery and the mandatory construction of incinerators. The reopening of these landfills was strongly rejected by residents, so the police had to intervene to carry it out. Other undesired consequences were the indiscriminate burning of the garbage piled up in the streets, with the consequent emission of dioxins, and the costly export of garbage to Germany and to other Italian regions.

All these problems have been widely publicized through the media, creating a very negative image of the city and of southern Italy in general. Institutions and certain notable figures emphasize the unfairness of the cliché, deeply rooted in the northern regions of the country, which tends to prevail over many other positive aspects of the city and its inhabitants.

Twin cities

• Acapulco (Mexico)
• Asunción (Paraguay)
• Baku (Azerbaijan)
• Buenos Aires (Argentina)
• Kolkata (India)
• Caracas (Venezuela)
• Cartagena de Indias (Colombia)
• İzmir (Turkey)
• Gafsa (Tunisia)
• Kagoshima (Japan)
• Le Mans (France)
• Madrid (Spain)
• Montpellier (France)
• Montevideo (Uruguay)
• Nablus (Palestine)
• Salvador de Bahía (Brazil)
• Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
• Valencia (Venezuela)
• Zhengzhou (China)
• Tripoli (Libya)

Notable people

Main page: Category:People from Naples

See also

• Pompeii
• Mount Vesuvius
• Eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD
• The Last Days of Pompeii
• Destruction of Pompeii
• Herculaneum
• Oplontis
• Pompei
• Campania
• Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii
• Torre Annunziata
• Volcanic explosivity index
• List of largest volcanic eruptions
• List of volcanic eruptions by death toll
• List of highest volcanoes in the world

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Naples.

• Official website of the City Council of Naples (in Italian and English).