Naples

Alternate uses: See Naples (disambiguation)

Naples (Italian Napoli, Neapolitan Napule, from Greek Neapolis/Νεάπολις) is the largest town in southern Italy, capital of the region of Campania. The city has a population of about 1 million, and together with its suburbs the metropolitan area has 3 million inhabitants (Neapolitans). It is located just half way between the Vesuvius volcano and another unrelated volcanic area, the Campi Flegrei.

It is rich in historical, artistic and cultural traditions and gastronomy. Neapolitan is by its own right a particular language. The language is known in Naples as Nnapulitano.

It was probably founded by inhabitants of the Greek colony Cuma, around the eighth century B.C., just a few kilometres from the more ancient town Partenope. For this reason it was named Neapolis (from Greek, meaning New City). Its buildings, museums and even the language spoken by natives bear traces of all periods of its history, from its Greek birth, until the present days.

It was in Naples, in the 'Castel dell'Ovo' (Castle of the Egg), that Romulus Augustus, the last Emperor of the Western Roman Empire, was imprisoned after being deposed in 476. In the sixth century, Naples was conquered by the Byzantines during the attempt of Justinian I to recreate the Roman Empire, and was one of the last duchies to fall in Norman hands in 1039, as they founded the Kingdom of Sicily.

Frederick II Hohenstaufen founded its university in 1224. In 1266 Naples and the kingdom of Sicily were assigned by Pope Clement IV to Charles of Anjou, who moved the capital from Palermo to Naples. In 1284 the kingdom was split in two parts, with an Aragonese king ruling the island of Sicily and the Angevin king ruling the mainland portion; while both kingdoms officially called themselves the Kingdom of Sicily, the mainland portion was commonly referred to as the Kingdom of Naples. This kingdom was much larger than just the city; it covered about the southern third of the boot of the Italian peninsula.

The two parts would stay separate until 1816, when they would form the kingdom of Two Sicilies. The two kingdoms were united under spanish rule 1501, until 1715, when Naples became Austrian until 1734. Under the enlightened Bourbon monarch Charles, king of both Sicilies (Utriusque Siciliarum) (later known as Charles III of Spain), gained independence. In 1799, a Jacobin revolution (backed by the French Army) gave birth to a short-lived republic (January - June 1799).

Naples is the home of the San Carlo, the oldest active opera house in Europe, which opened its doors on November 4, 1737.

In 1861, the kingdom was conquered by the Garibaldines and was handed over to the king of Sardinia. In October 1860 a plebiscite sanctioned the end of the kingdom of Sicily and the birth of the state of Italy.

Castel dell'Ovo

The opening of the funicular railway to Mount Vesuvius was occasion to the writing of the famous song Funiculì Funiculà, one more song in the centuries long tradition of Neapolitan songs. Many Neapolitan songs are also famous outside of Italy, as for example "'O Sole Mio", "Santa Lucia" and "Torna a Surriento".

On April 7, 1906 nearby Mount Vesuvius erupted, devastating Boscotrecase and seriously damaging Ottaviano. In 1944 the activity closed with a spectacular and devastating eruption, images from this eruption were used in the film The War of the Worlds.

It is still well connected to Sicily and Palermo. Naples has an important port that connects it, for example, to Cagliari, Genoa and Palermo. Naples has good ferry connections to nearby islands and Sorrento, and fast rail connections to Rome and the south. It is famous for the light railway Circumvesuviena.

The mafia-like organised crime rooted in Naples is named camorra.

Naples is by tradition the home of pizza. Neapolitans claim that the "real Pizza" is available only in their town. They also claim that the best coffee in the world is made in their town thanks to special kind of Neapolitan air and water. See also Neapolitan ice cream.

Famous Neapolitans from history include:

External links

Satellite image of Naples and Vesuvius at NASA's Earth Observatory