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| Naples | |||
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| Coordinates: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Region | Campania | ||
| Province | Province of Naples | ||
| Founded | 600 BC"Naples", Britannica.com, 8 January 2008. | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor | Rosa Russo Jervolino | ||
| Area | |||
| - City | 117 km² (45.2 sq mi) | ||
| Population (December 2006)"Demographics of Naples", Faculty.ed.umuc.edu, 8 January 2008. | |||
| - City | 1,046,987 (3rd) | ||
| - Density | 8,334.5/km² (21,586.3/sq mi) | ||
| - Metro | 3,082,756 | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| Postal codes | 80100 | ||
| Area code(s) | 081 | ||
| Patron saints | Saint Januarius | ||
| Website: http://www.comune.napoli.it | |||
Naples (Italian: Napoli, Neapolitan: Nàpule) is a historic city in southern Italy, the capital of the Campania region and the province of Naples. The city is noted for its rich history, art, culture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,500 years old. Naples is located halfway between two volcanic areas, the volcano Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, sitting on the coast by the Gulf of Naples.
Founded by the Ancient Greeks as Neapolis, meaning New City, it held an important role in Magna Graecia and then as part of the Roman Republic in the central province of the Empire. Naples was the capital city of a kingdom which bore its name from 1282 until 1816 in the form of the Kingdom of Naples, then in union with Sicily it was the capital of the Two Sicilies until the Italian unification.
In the modern day, the historic centre of the city is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The metropolitan area of Naples is the second most populated in Italy and one of the largest in all of Europe with around 3.8 million people. In the central area, the city itself has a population of around 1 million people, the inhabitants are known as Neapolitans or poetically partenopei, the language spoke by its inhabitants, the Neapolitan language is spoken with similar variations throughout most of Southern Italy.
The city is synonymous with pizza, due to the food originating in it. A strong part of Neapolitan culture which has had wide reaching effects is music, including the invention of the romantic guitar and the mandolin as well as strong contributions to opera and folk standards. There are popular characters and figures who have come to symbolise Naples, this includes patron saint of the city Januarius, Pulcinella and the Sirens from epic Greek poem the Odyssey.
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The history of the city can be traced back to the 7th century BC when inhabitants of nearby Greek colony Cumae founded a city called Parthenope, Cumae itself had been founded by people from Euboea, Greece."Greek Naples", Faculty.ed.umuc.edu, 8 January 2008. The exact reasons for doing so are not known for certain, but the Cumaeans built Neapolis (meaning New City) next to the old Parthenope, around this time they had held off invasion attempts from the Etruscans."Napoli (Neapolis)", Archeona.arti.beniculturali.it, 8 January 2008. The new city grew thanks to the influence of powerful Greek city-state Siracusa and at some point the new and old cities on the Gulf of Naples merged together to become one."Greek Naples", Faculty.ed.umuc.edu, 8 January 2008.
The city became an ally of the Roman Republic against Carthage, the strong walls surrounding Neapolis stopped invader Hannibal from entering."Antic Naples", Naples.Rome-in-Italy.com, 8 January 2008. During the Samnite Wars, the city now a bustling centre of trade, was captured by the Samnites, however the Romans soon took it off them and made Neapolis a Roman colony."Antic Naples", Naples.Rome-in-Italy.com, 8 January 2008. The city was greatly respected by the Romans as a place of Hellenistic culture, the people maintained their Greek language and customs. Elegant villas, aqueducts, public baths, an odeon, a theatre and the Temple of Dioscures were built, many powerful emperors chose to holiday in the city including Claudius and Tiberius."Antic Naples", Naples.Rome-in-Italy.com, 8 January 2008. It was during this period that Christianity came to Naples; apostles St. Peter and St. Paul are said to have preached in the city, also St. Januarius who would become Naples\' patron saint was martyred there.
"Naples" in the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia..
Gothic War on Vesuvius.
Following the decline of the Western Roman Empire, Naples was captured by the Ostrogoths, a Germanic peoples and incorporated into the Ostrogothic Kingdom.Wolfram, Herwig. The Roman Empire and Its Germanic Peoples. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0520085114. However Belisarius of the Byzantine Empire (also known as the Eastern Roman Empire) took the city back in 536 after famously entering the city via the aqueduct,"Belisarius - Famous Byzantine General", About.com, 8 January 2008. the Gothic Wars waged on and Totila briefly took the city for the Ostrogoths in 543, before finally the Battle of Mons Lactarius on the slopes of Vesuvius decided Byzantine rule.Wolfram, Herwig. The Roman Empire and Its Germanic Peoples. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0520085114. Naples was expected to keep in contact with the Exarchate of Ravenna, which was the centre of Byzantine power on the Italian peninsula.Kleinhenz, Christopher. Medieval Italy: An Encyclopedia. Routledge. ISBN 978-0415221269. After the exarchate fell a Duchy of Naples was created: though Naples continued with its Greco-Roman culture, it eventually switched alligence under duke Stephen II to Rome rather than Constantinople, putting it under papal suzerainty by 763.Kleinhenz, Christopher. Medieval Italy: An Encyclopedia. Routledge. ISBN 978-0415939294.
Pandulf IV (right).
The years between 818 and 832 were a particularly confusing period in regards to Naples\' relation to the Byzantine Emperor, with feuding between local pretenders to the ducal throne.McKitterick, Rosamond. The New Cambridge Medieval History. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521853606. Theoctistus was appointed without imperial approval, this was later revoked and Theodore II took his place, however the general populance chased him from the city and instead elected Stephen III, a man who minted coins with his own initials not that of the Byzantine Emperor. Naples gained complete independence by 840.McKitterick, Rosamond. The New Cambridge Medieval History. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521853606.
The duchy was under direct control of Lombards for a brief period, after the capture by Pandulf IV of the Principality of Capua, long term rival of Naples, however this only lasted three years before the culturally Greco-Roman influenced dukes were reinserted.McKitterick, Rosamond. The New Cambridge Medieval History. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521853606. By the 11th century, like many territories in the area Naples hired Norman merecenaries, the Christian descendants of the Vikings, to battle their rivals: duke Sergius IV hired Rainulf Drengot to battle Capua for him.Bradbury, Jim. The Routledge Companion to Medieval Warfare. Routledge. ISBN 978-0415221269. By 1137, the Normans had grown hugely in influence controlling previous independent principalities and duchies such as Capua, Benevento, Salerno, Amalfi, Sorrento and Gaeta: it was this year that Naples, the last independent duchy in the southern part of the peninsula came under Norman control. The last ruling duke of the duchy Sergius VII was forced to surrender to Roger II, who had proclaimed himself King of Sicily seven years earlier, this saw Naples joining the Kingdom of Sicily where Palermo was the capital."Kingdom of Sicily, or Trinacria", Britannica.com, 8 January 2008.
Early kings ruled from Castel Nuovo.
After a period as a Norman kingdom, the Kingdom of Sicily was passed on to the Hohenstaufen\'s who were a highly powerful Germanic royal house of Swabian origins."Swabian Naples", Faculty.ed.umuc.edu, 7 October 2007. The University of Naples Federico II was founded by Frederick II in the city, the oldest state university in the world, making Naples the intellectual centre of the kingdom."Italy: PhD Scholarships in Various Fields at University of Naples-Federico II", ScholarshipNet.info, 7 October 2007. Conflict between the Hohenstaufen house and the Papacy, led in 1266 to Pope Innocent IV crowning Angevin Dynasty duke Charles I as the king of the kingdom:"Sicilian History", Dieli.net, 7 October 2007. Charles officially moved the capital from Palermo to Naples where he resided at the Castel Nuovo."Naples - Castel Nuovo", PlanetWare.com, 7 October 2007. During this period much Gothic architecture sprung up around Naples, including the Naples Cathedral which is the main church of the city.Bruzelius, Caroline. "ad modum franciae": Charles of Anjou and Gothic Architecture in the Kingdom of Sicily. The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians.
In 1281 with the advent of the Sicilian Vespers, the kingdom split in half. The Angevin Kingdom of Naples included the southern part of the Italian peninsula, while the island of Sicily became the Aragonese Kingdom of Sicily."Sicilian History", Dieli.net, 7 October 2007. The wars continued until the peace of Caltabellotta in 1302, which saw Frederick III recognised as king of the Isle of Sicily, while Charles II was recognised as the king of Naples by Pope Boniface VIII."Sicilian History", Dieli.net, 7 October 2007. Despite the split Naples grew in importance, attracting Pisan and Genoese merchants,Constable, Olivia Remie. Housing the Stranger in the Mediterranean World: Lodging, Trade, and Travel. Humana Press. ISBN 1588291715. Tuscan bankers and with them some of the most championed Renaissance artists of the time such as Boccaccio, Petrarch and Giotto."Angioino Castle, Naples", Naples-City.info, 7 October 2007. Alfonso I conquered Naples after his victory against the last Angevin king, René, Naples was unified for a brief period with Sicily again."Aragonese Overseas Expansion, 1282-1479", Zum.de, 7 October 2007.
Revolutionary Masaniello.
Sicily and Naples were separated in 1458 but remained as dependencies of Aragon under Ferrante."Ferrante of Naples: the statecraft of a Renaissance prince", Questia.com, 7 October 2007. The new dynasty enhanced Naples\' commerce by establishing relations with the Iberian peninsula, Naples also became a centre of the Renaissance with artists such as Laurana, da Messina, Sannazzaro and Poliziano arriving in the city."Naples Middle-Ages", Naples.Rome-in-Italy.com, 7 October 2007. During 1501 Naples became under direct rule from France at the time of Louis XII, as Neapolitan king Frederick was taken as a prisoner to France, this lasted only four years."Spanish acquisition of Naples", Britannica.com, 7 October 2007. Spain won Naples at the Battle of Garigliano and as a rule Naples became under direct rule as part of the Spanish Empire throughout the entire Habsburg Spain-period."Spanish acquisition of Naples", Britannica.com, 7 October 2007. The Spanish sent viceroys to Naples to directly deal with local issues: the most important of which was Pedro Álvarez de Toledo, who was responsible for considerable social, economic and urban progress in the city, he also supported the Inquisition."Don Pedro de Toledo", Faculty.ed.umuc.edu, 7 October 2007.
Bourbon Royal Palace, inside.
During this period Naples became Europe\'s second largest city after only Paris."Naples Through the Ages", Fodors.com, 7 October 2007. It was a cultural powerhouse during the Baroque-era as home to artists Caravaggio, Rosa and Bernini, philosophers such as Telesio, Bruno, Campanella and Vico, and writers such as Battista Marino. A revolution led by local fisherman Masaniello saw the creation of a brief independent Neapolitan Republic though this last only a few months before Spanish rule was regained."Spanish acquisition of Naples", Britannica.com, 7 October 2007. Finally by 1714, the Spanish ceased to rule Naples as a result of the War of the Spanish Succession, it was the Austrian Charles VI who ruled from Vienna, similarly with viceroys."Charles VI, Holy Roman emperor", Bartleby.com, 7 October 2007. However, the War of the Polish Succession saw the Spanish regain Sicily and Naples as part of a personal union, which in the Treaty of Vienna were recognised as independent under a cadet branch of the Spanish Bourbons in 1738 under Charles VII."Charles of Bourbon - the restorer of the Kingdom of Naples", RealCasaDiBorbone.it, 7 October 2007.
Ferdinand, Bourbon king.
During the time of Ferdinand IV, the French Revolution made its way to Naples: Horatio Nelson himself arrived in the city in 1798, the Neapolitan army was raised to combat him, though Ferdinand was forced to retreat and fled to Palermo where he was protected by a British fleet."The Parthenopean Republic", Faculty.ed.umuc.edu, 7 October 2007. Naples\' lower classes the lazzaroni were strongly pious and Royalist in favour of the Bourbons, in the melee that followed they fought the Neapolitan Republican sympathising aristocracy breaking out a civil war."The Parthenopean Republic", Faculty.ed.umuc.edu, 7 October 2007. The Republicans conquered Castel Sant\'Elmo and proclaimed a Parthenopaean Republic, secured by the French Army."The Parthenopean Republic", Faculty.ed.umuc.edu, 7 October 2007. A counter-revolutionary religious army of lazzaroni under Fabrizio Ruffo was raised, they had great success and the French surrendered the Neapolitan castles and were allowed to sail back to Toulon."The Parthenopean Republic", Faculty.ed.umuc.edu, 7 October 2007.
Ferdinand IV was restored as king, however after only seven years Napoleon conquered the kingdom and instated Bonapartist kings including his brother Joseph Bonaparte."Austria Naples - Neapolitan War 1815", Onwar.com, 7 October 2007. With the help of the Austrian Empire and allies, the Bonapartist were defeated in the Neapolitan War and Bourbon Ferdinand IV once again regained the throne and the kingdom."Austria Naples - Neapolitan War 1815", Onwar.com, 7 October 2007. The Congress of Vienna in 1815 saw the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily combined to form the Two Sicilies,"Austria Naples - Neapolitan War 1815", Onwar.com, 7 October 2007. with Naples as the capital city. Naples became the first city on the Italian peninsula to have a railway in 1839,"La dolce vita? Italy by rail, 1839-1914", Questia.com, 7 October 2007. there were many factories throughout the kingdom making it a highly important trade centre."Why Neo-Bourbons", NeoBorbonici.it, 7 October 2007.
After the Expedition of the Thousand led by Giuseppe Garibaldi, culminating in the controversial Siege of Gaeta, Naples became part of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 as part of the Italian unification ending Bourbon rule. Two Sicilies was wealthy and 80 million ducats were taken from the banks as part of the new Italian treasury, while other former states in the Italian unification were forced to pay far less."Why Neo-Bourbons", NeoBorbonici.it, 7 October 2007. The ecomony of the area formerly known as Two Sicilies collapsed, leading to an unprecedented wave of emigration,"Italians around the World: Teaching Italian Migration from a Transnational Perspective", OAH.org, 7 October 2007. with estimates claiming at least 4 million of those who left from 1876–1913 were from Naples or near Naples."Social Networks and Migrations: Italy 1876-1913", Enrico Moretti, 7 October 2007.
Naples was the most bombed Italian city of World War II."Bombing of Naples", Faculty.ed.umuc.edu, 7 October 2007. Though Neapolitans did not rebel under Italian fascism, Naples was the first Italian city to rise up against German military occupation; the people rose up and freed their own city completely by October 1, 1943."Contemporary Time", Naples.Rome-in-Italy.com, 7 October 2007. The symbol of the rebirth of Naples was the rebuilding of Santa Chiara which had been destroyed in a United States Air Force raid."Bombing of Naples", Faculty.ed.umuc.edu, 7 October 2007. Special funding from the Italian government\'s Fund for the South from 1950 to 1984, helped the economy to improve somewhat, including the rejuvenation of the Piazza del Plebiscito and other city landmarks."North and South: The Tragedy of Equalization in Italy", Frontier Center for Public Policy, 7 October 2007. Naples still has some issues however, high unemployment and landfill management problems, the latter of which has been attributed to the Camorra by the media, a loose confederation of organised crime networks."Naples at the mercy of the mob", BBC.co.uk, 7 October 2007.
The most prominent forms of architecture in Naples are from the Medieval, Renasissance and Baroque periods."historical centre", INaples.it, 7 October 2007. The historic centre of Naples is typically the most fruitful for architecture and is in fact listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site."Historic Centre of Naples", UNESCO, 8 January 2008. A striking feature of Naples is the fact that it has 448 historical churches, making it one of the most Catholic cities in the world."Naples", Red Travel, 8 January 2008.
The central and main open city square or piazza of the city is the Piazza del Plebiscito. It was started by Bonapartist king Joachim Murat and finished by Bourbon king Ferdinand IV. It is bounded on the east by the Royal Palace and on the west by the church of San Francesco di Paola with the colonnades extending to both sides. Nearby is the Teatro di San Carlo, which is the oldest and largest opera house on the Italian peninsula."Naples: View across the Piazza del Plebiscito", Telegraph.co.uk, 8 January 2008. Directly across from San Carlo is Galleria Umberto, a shopping centre and active centre of Neapolitan social life in general.
Naples is famous for its historic castles: the ancient Castel Nuovo is one of the most notable architectural representatives on the city, also known as Maschio Angioino, it was built during the time of Charles I the first ever king of Naples. Castel Nuovo has hosted some historical religious events, for example in 1294 Pope Celestine V resigned as pope in a hall of the castle, following this Pope Boniface VIII was elected pope here by the cardinal collegium and immediately moved to Rome.
The castle which Nuovo replaced in importance was the Norman founded Castel dell\'Ovo, it\'s name means Egg Castle and it is built on the tiny islet Megarides where the Cumae colonists founded the city. The third most noted castle is Sant\'Elmo which was completed in 1329 and is built in the shape of a star. During the uprising of Masaniello the Spanish took refuge in Sant\'Elmo to escape revolutionaries.
Naples hosts a wealth of historical museums and some of the most important in the country. The Naples National Archaeological Museum is one of the main museums, considered one of the most important for Roman Empire artifacts in the world."Napoli", Best.unina.it, 8 January 2008. It also hosts many of the ruins unearthed at Pompeii and Herculaneum, as well as some artifacts from the Greek and Renaissance periods."Napoli", Best.unina.it, 8 January 2008.
Previously a Bourbon palace, now a museum and art gallery the Museo di Capodimonte is probably the most important in Naples. The art gallery features paintings from the 13th to the 18th century including major works by Simone Martini, Raphael, Titian, Caravaggio, El Greco and many others including Neapolitan School painters Jusepe de Ribera and Luca Giordano. The royal apartments are furnished with antique 18th century furniture and a collection of porcelain and majolica from the various royal residences: the famous Capodimonte Porcelain Factory was just adjacent to the palace.
The Certosa di San Martino was formerly a monastery complex but is now a museum and remains one of the most visable land marks of Naples. Displayed within the museum are Spanish and Bourbon-era artifacts, as well as displays of the nativity scene, considered to be among the finest in the world. Pietrarsa railway museum is located in the city, Naples has a proud railway history and the museum features amongst many other things the Bayard, the first locomotive in the Italian peninsula."La dolce vita? Italy by rail, 1839-1914", Questia.com, 7 October 2007. Other museums include the Villa Pignatelli and Palazzo Como.
The Catholic faith is highly important to the people of Naples and there are hundreds of churches in the city."Naples", Red Travel, 8 January 2008. The Cathedral of Naples is the most important place of worship in the city because each year on September 19 it hosts the Miracle of Saint Januarius, the city\'s patron saint."Saint Gennaro", SplendorofTruth.com, 8 January 2008. In the miracle which thousands of Neapolitans flock to witness, the dried blood of Januarius is said to turn to liquid when brought close to relics said to be of his body: this is one of the most important traditions for Neapolitans."Saint Gennaro", SplendorofTruth.com, 8 January 2008. Below is a selective list of some of the most important churches, chapels, monastary complexes and religious structures in Naples;
