Probably the most famous of Napolitan songs "O sole Mio"
Naples is an Italian municipality of 962 260 inhabitants, capital of
the homonymous metropolitan city and Campania region. It is the
third largest municipality in Italy by population, Naples is among
the most populous and densely populated metropolitan areas of the
European Union.
Founded by the Cumans in the 8th century BC ,
it was one of the most important cities of Magna Græcia, thanks to
its privileged relationship with Athens, and exerted a significant
commercial, cultural and religious influence on the surrounding
Italic peoples so as to become the seat of the Epicurean school of
Filodemo di Gadara and Sirone. After the collapse of the Roman
Empire, in the 8th century the city formed an autonomous duchy
independent of the Byzantine Empire; later, from the thirteenth
century and for about six hundred years, it was the capital of the
Kingdom of Naples; with the Restoration it became the capital of the
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies under the Bourbons until the Unification
of Italy. For cultural, political, historical and social reasons it
has been, from ancient times up to the present day, one of the
cardinal cities of the West.
Seat of Frederick II, the oldest
state university in Europe, also houses the Oriental , the oldest
university of Sinological and Oriental studies of the continent and
the Nunziatella, one of the oldest military academies in the world,
elected historical and cultural heritage of Mediterranean countries
by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean. Place of origin
of the Neapolitan language, has exercised and exerts a strong role
in numerous fields of knowledge, culture and collective imagination
at national and international level.
Center of the
naturalistic philosophy of the Renaissance and European illuminist
center, it has long been a global reference point for classical
music and opera through the Neapolitan musical school, giving to the
comic opera.
Town impressive tradition in the field of fine
arts, which has its roots in the ' classical era, gave rise to the
original architectural and art movements, such as the Neapolitan
Renaissance and Neapolitan Baroque, the Caravaggio, the school of
Posillipo and the Neapolitan Liberty, as well as minor arts but of
international importance, such as the Capodimonte porcelain and the
Neapolitan crib.
It is at the origin of a distinctive form of
theater, of a world-famous song and of a peculiar culinary tradition
which includes foods that take on the role of global icons, such as
Neapolitan pizza, and the art of its pizza makers which has been
declared by UNESCO as the intangible heritage of humanity.
In
1995 the historic center of Naples was recognized by UNESCO as a
world heritage of humanity , for its exceptional monuments, which
testify to the succession of cultures of the Mediterranean and
Europe. In 1997 the Somma - Vesuvio volcanic system was elected by
the same international agency (with the nearby Miglio d'Oro, which
also includes the eastern neighborhoods of the city) among the world
biosphere reserves.
Naples rises almost in the center of the gulf of the same name, dominated by the volcanic massif of Vesuvius. The historic city has been developing predominantly on the coast and its territory is mainly made up of hills, but also of islands, inlets and peninsulas overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea. Naples enjoys a Mediterranean climate, with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers.
Enjoying a mild climate all year round, the city can be visited at
any time. Being a seaside city, a seaside holiday in Naples and its
beautiful surroundings is ideal from spring to autumn. Even during
the Christmas period, however, the city takes on an incomparable
charm, the smell of incense, the colors and the voices of the
nativity scenes are truly magical. Climatically, daytime
temperatures are around 15°C in the three winter months and 30°C
from June to September inclusive. April, May and October enjoy
daytime temperatures generally between 20 and 27 °C. In March and
November, the daytime temperature generally reaches 20 °C. These
characteristics make Naples an ideal destination to visit in all
seasons.
In spring, precisely starting from the last Sunday
of April to the first Sunday of June for every weekend in May, the
city is colored with a thousand events thanks to the "Maggio dei
Monumenti": live concerts (jazz, classical music, tarantella ) on
the street, in the square or in historic buildings open for the
occasion, themed guided tours often also thanks to the collaboration
of lively school groups as expert "guides", theatrical and food and
wine events, exhibitions and above all the possibility of visiting
all those places of culture that otherwise remain difficult to
access. Also in this period, the Vitigno Italia review in the
suggestive setting of Castel dell'Ovo gives the opportunity to taste
the excellent wines of Campania and other Italian regions. In
summer, but not only, it is possible to sunbathe and swim along the
entire coast of Posillipo and Mergellina and dive near the
magnificent and suggestive Marine Protected Area "Submerged Park of
Gaiola".
The rich and historic popular tradition of Naples and its millenary culture have determined over time a feeling of Neapolitanness that summarizes the different habits and beliefs of the local people. These elements, some of which are also picturesque, thus determine in the Neapolitan the acquisition of a solid identity and a strong sense of belonging to the city. Pizza, sun, tarantella and mandolin, four symbols of Naples, are in fact recognized as the most classic symbols. Many others, on the other hand, are words or images that summarize and represent the stereotyped Neapolitan identity: like Vesuvius; the horn or the munaciello, testifying to popular superstition; mozzarella, symbol together with pizza of Neapolitan and Italian cuisine; bingo, a typical Christmas game that is accompanied by the grimace, another popular Neapolitan invention, the latter also used for the lottery game, very popular in the city; then there is Pulcinella, one of the most famous Italian masks and often used to represent Italian; finally there is the classic iconography of the Neapolitan alley, dominated by the low and the clothes hanging along the street. Among the religious rites, on the other hand, the historic Neapolitan art of nativity scenes dominate, to represent the scene of the Nativity; the miracle of San Gennaro, which bears witness to all the religious devotion of the people and the love for this saint. The most important festival is the Piedigrotta festival. The Bourbon domination left the city with many significant monuments that can be visited, starting from the hill of Poggioreale up to the seafront: Cemetery of the 366 graves, Albergo dei Poveri, Reggia di Capodimonte, Royal Factory of Capodimonte ceramics, Foro Carolino (currently Piazza Dante ), Teatro San Carlo, Piazza del Plebiscito, renovation and expansion of the Royal Palace, Bourbon Tunnel.
In the Campania capital, the spoken language is Italian. However, the Neapolitan language is often used in colloquial speech, which has its roots in ancient languages such as Greek and Latin, subsequently undergoing the influences of modern languages such as French and Spanish.
The central station of Naples overlooks Piazza Garibaldi. Here begins
Corso Umberto I, better known as Rettifilo which crosses the center
diagonally to finish after 1.3 km in Piazza Giovanni Bovio dominated by
the monumental Palazzo della Borsa.
A little further west is the
irregularly shaped Piazza del Municipio dominated by the Maschio
Angioino, one of the seven castles of the city of Naples. Via Medina
begins from the square. Its continuation, via San Carlo, flows into
piazza del Plebiscito dominated by the neoclassical Basilica of San
Francesco di Paola between two large colonnades in the shape of a
hemicycle
Another important artery in the center is via dei
Tribunali corresponding to the ancient Decumano Maggiore. The road
starts from Castel Capuano, not far from the central station of Naples
and ends in Piazza Bellini, one of the major meeting places in the city
thanks to the proximity of the University. Halfway through and in
correspondence with the crossroads of via San Gregorio Armeno, famous
for its crib shops, piazza San Gaetano opens up on the site of the
ancient agora of the Greek era.
Via Toledo (also called via Roma)
runs north-south and is just over 1 km long. It was opened in 1536 and
today it is the shopping street thanks also to the monumental Umberto I
gallery from 1890. Via Toledo, which borders the Spanish quarters to the
west, connects piazza Dante to the north with piazza Trieste e Trento to
the south until reaching piazza del Plebiscite.
Mergellina — The seafront area consisting of via Caracciolo and via
Partenope. Mergellina extends at the foot of the Posillipo hill and in
front of the Castel dell'Ovo. It is part of the Chiaia district;
Posillipo - The hill of Posillipo is located north-west of the city and
is a residential area with a unique panorama;
Vomero — The Vomero
hill is a residential and commercial area, on top of which stands Castel
Sant'Elmo and there are also many examples of architecture from various
historical periods;
Fuorigrotta - It is the district of the western
area of the city, it represents the sports and scientific center of the
city. Here is the Stadio San Paolo;
Poggioreale — Currently an
industrial area known since ancient times for the presence of
cemeteries; there are in fact: the cemetery of the 366 graves built by
Ferdinando Fuga under the regency of Ferdinando IV at the behest of
Charles III; the choleric cemetery; the avenue of illustrious men; the
new and the brand new. It is also the neighborhood where the prison of
the same name is located. Within the limits of the Poggioreale district
is the Centro Direzionale di Napoli, a complex of modern skyscrapers
designed by the Japanese architect Kenzo Tange.
The Golden Mile — The
area along the SS18 Tirrena Inferiore which crosses the districts of San
Giovanni a Teduccio and Barra and then continues up to Torre del Greco.
The Golden Mile is characterized by monumental villas built starting
from the eighteenth century by exponents of the Bourbon nobility.
Naples is full of places of historical, cultural and environmental
interest:
Old Town
Toledo/Spanish Quarters
Chiaia
Caracciolo
seafront / Mergellina
Posillipo
Vomer
Capodimonte Palace
Historical and monumental cemeteries of Poggioreale.
Health District
Via Duomo the street of the Museums
Along via Duomo you can admire
seven wonders which are now identified by the path "La Via dei Musei".
Going up via Duomo to the crossroads with via Foria, the "Via dei Musei"
includes: San Severo al Pendino museum complex, Gaetano Filangieri Civic
Museum, Pio Monte della Misericordia – Church and picture gallery, San
Gennaro Treasure Museum, Girolamini National Monument , Donnaregina
Monumental Complex – Diocesan Museum, Madre – Donnaregina Museum of
Contemporary Art.
1 San Severo al Pendino Museum Complex (San
Severo al Pendino Museum Complex), Via Duomo 286, ☏ +39 081 20 20 53.
Mon-Sat 9am-6.30pm.
2 Gaetano Filangieri Civic Museum, Via Duomo 288.
Tue-Fri 9.00-18.00.
3 Pio Monte della Misericordia – Church and
picture gallery, Via dei Tribunali, 253,
segreteria@piomontedellamisericordia.it.
4 Museum of the Treasure of
San Gennaro, Via Duomo 149, ☎ +39 338 3361771,
ordini@museosangennaro.it.
5 Napoli Sotterranea, Piazza San Gaetano,
68 (next to the Basilica of San Paolo Maggiore), ☎ +39 081 29 69 44, +39
081 01 90 933, +39 334 36 62 841, +39 340 46 06 045, +39 334 36 62 841,
info@napolisotterranea.org. Mon-Sun 10:00, 11:00, 12:00, 13:00, 14:00,
15:00, 16:00, 17:00, 18:00 (Thursday 21:00 by reservation only, reaching
a minimum of 10 people). The tour shows the former stone quarries used
for the buildings of the city, later transformed into a water
distribution network, waste disposal pits and finally a war shelter. You
will visit several increasingly large areas connected by narrow paths:
be careful if you are claustrophobic! Also, the tour shows the remains
of the nearby Greco-Roman theater.
6 Church of the Girolamini,
entrance from via Duomo.
7 Mural of the Madonna with Pistol by
Banksy, Piazza Gerolomini, 106/115. This is the only Banksy mural
produced in Naples, and represents a Madonna with a gun on her head. The
work is now protected by a display case.
8 Donnaregina Monumental
Complex – Diocesan Museum, Largo Donna Regina, ☎ +390815571365
9
Donnaregina Contemporary Art Museum, Via Settembrini Luigi, 79 (Closest
metro station: Cavour).
10
Naples Cathedral ( Duomo di Napoli, Cattedrale
di Santa Maria Assunta or Cattedrale di San Gennaro) (Naples
Cathedral), Via Duomo 147. Free. Access to the Tesono di San Gennaro
chapel costs €3. Cathedral of Naples and seat of the archdiocese of
Naples. The construction began in the thirteenth century and was
completed in the Middle Ages, for this reason it presents an overlapping
of several architectural styles starting from the Gothic, up to the
neo-Gothic of the nineteenth century. Three times a year the ritual of
dissolving the blood of San Gennaro is held, kept in ampoules in the
Cathedral. The Cathedral also houses the royal chapel of the Treasure of
San Gennaro, which preserves the relics of the city's patron saint.
The current Cathedral stands on a religious complex from the 9th
century. Today two buildings of early Christian origin remain of this
original complex: the baptistery of San Giovanni in Fonte, the oldest in
the West, and the primitive basilica of Santa Restituta.
11 Basilica
of Santa Restituta (Santa Restituta), Via Duomo 147. Basilica of early
Christian origin, built by order of the emperor Constantine in the 4th
century on a site previously occupied by the temple of Apollo. It is the
oldest Neapolitan basilica and primitive cathedral of the city. Today it
constitutes the third chapel of the left aisle of the cathedral of
Naples.
12 Baptistery of San Giovanni in Fonte (Early Christian
Baptistery), Via Duomo 147. 2 EUR. Of paleo-Christian origin, the
baptistery of San Giovanni in Fonte is located to the right of the apse
of the basilica of Santa Restituta and was built by the emperor
Constantine together with the basilica. The building consists of two
parts: the baptismal hall, with a square plan, in the center of which is
the baptismal font, and a rectangular portico. The vault of the room is
covered with mosaics from the 5th century, made by local artists, which
are now partially preserved.
13 Church of San Gregorio Armeno (Church
of Saint Patrizia), Via San Gregorio Armeno, 1, ☎ +39 081 552 0186.
free. Mon-Sat 09:00-12:00, Sun 09:00-13:00. The church was completed in
1640, in honor of San Gregorio d'Armenia and represents, together with
the adjacent monastery, one of the most important Baroque complexes in
Naples. The interior is decorated with 52 frescoes by Luca Giordano and
is characterized by a single nave with five side porches and chapels, in
an impressive triumph of Baroque decorations.
14 Basilica of San
Lorenzo Maggiore, Via Tribunali, 316 (Piazza Cavour metro station).
15 Church of S. Domenico Maggiore, Piazza San Domenico Maggiore, 8, ☎
+39 081 459 188. 10am-7pm. Undoubtedly one of the most important
churches in Naples. This Gothic church from 1283 incorporates a smaller,
original church built on this site in the 10th century, San Michele
Arcangelo a Morfisa. The attached monastery has been home to prominent
names in the history of religion and philosophy. It was the original
site of the University of Naples, where Thomas Aquinas, a former monk of
San Domenico Maggiore, returned to teach theology in 1272. The
philosopher monk, Giordano Bruno, also lived here. The sacristy houses a
series of 45 sepulchres of members of the Aragonese royal family,
including that of King Ferdinand I.
16 Obelisk of San Domenico,
Piazza San Domenico Maggiore.
17 Church of Sant'Angelo a Nilo.
18
Statue of the god Nile, Largo Corpo in Naples. It is a marble sculpture
from the Roman era that can be dated between the 2nd and 3rd century AD.
The history linked to the sculpture dates back to the times of
Greco-Roman Naples, when many Egyptians from Alexandria of Egypt settled
in the area where the monument still stands. During the second post-war
period, two of the three putti that surrounded the deity below as well
as the head of the sphinx that characterized the block of marble were
detached and stolen, probably to be resold on the black market. The head
of the sphinx will be found in 2013. The sculpture depicts the God Nile
as a bearded and half-naked old man lying on the waves of the river,
with his feet placed near the head (no longer visible) of a crocodile,
symbol of Egypt, and which he leans with his left arm on a sphinx,
holding a cornucopia in his right hand. Instead, the only surviving
putto of the original composition tries to climb to his chest, probably
depicting a tributary of the river.
19 Sansevero Chapel Museum, Via
Francesco De Sanctis, 19/21. Whole €8. Children aged 10 to 25: €5.
Children up to 9: free. Audio guide €3.50 (Jul 2020). Wed–Sun
9:00-19:00. A chapel built in 1590, it contains sculptures and other
18th-century works of art, such as the extraordinary Veiled Christ by
Giuseppe Sanmartino. It is also of great scientific interest because it
houses the anatomical machines of Raimondo Di Sangro, an eminent
scientist and alchemist of the Renaissance. In addition, there are two
models of human veins in the basement, which seem to be carved. Due to
the small size of the site, the waiting line may be longer than at other
attractions in Naples.
20 Church of San Giovanni a Carbonara, Via
Cardinale Seripando (Closest metro station Cavour). The church is
introduced by the "splendid pincer staircase" by the great 18th century
architect Sanfelice who was entrusted with the task of redesigning the
access. The church is hidden to its left and can be accessed from a side
entrance. Made between 1343 and 1418 through the works of art present in
it, it tells, among other things, the story of the last Angevins of the
Durazzo branch "Ladislao I" and "Giovanna II" as well as of the
Caracciolos, a powerful and noble Neapolitan family .
Unusual and
original is the mausoleum that Giovanna II dedicates to her brother
Ladislao which is located behind the altar, the result of unknown local
workers even if traditionally attributed only to Andrea da Firenze.
Through it you enter the Caracciolo del Sole chapel, with frescoes and
majolica floor from the 1400s, dedicated to Sergianni Caracciolo, great
seneschal and lover of Giovanna II, who had him killed in 1432.
Equally beautiful are the Caracciolo di Vico chapel, a fine example of
the Neapolitan Renaissance and the Somma chapel designed by Giovanni
Domenico D'Auria and Caccavello with frescoes from the sixteenth
century.
In the church you can admire works by the masters Giovan
Tommaso Malvito, Diego De Siloe, Bartolomé Ordóñez, Annibale Caccavello,
Giovanni Domenico D'Auria, Giorgio Vasari (a Crucifix from 1545),
Lorenzo Vaccaro, Michelangelo Naccherino.
21 National
Archaeological Museum (Museo Archeologico Nazionale), Piazza Museo,
19 (Metro stop Museum).
22 Church of Santa Maria della Sapienza, Via
Santa Maria di Costantinopoli.
23 Church of Santa Maria of
Constantinople.
24 Church and cloister of S. Chiara, Via Santa
Chiara, 49/c (Less than 10 minutes on foot from the University metro
station and Piazza Dante).
25 Church of Sant'Eligio Maggiore, Piazza
del Mercato.
26 ilCartastorie (Museum of the Banco di Napoli
Historical Archive), Via dei Tribunali, 214 (at Palazzo Ricca), ☎ +39
081 449400, info@ilcartastorie.it. Full: €5, reduced: €3, groups: €4,
schools: €2, children under 12: free. Guide +2€. Mon-Tue and Thu-Sat
10am-6pm, Sun 10am-2pm. In 2016 the ilCartastorie Foundation was born,
an instrumental body of the Banco di Napoli Foundation, in order to
pursue one of the latter's statutory purposes: the care, conservation,
management, maintenance and promotion of the archive. The cultural
heritage guarded by the Archive is enhanced through the homonymous
museum project, ilCartastorie, based in the historic center of Naples,
also home to the Banco di Napoli Foundation and formerly the
headquarters of the Banco dei Poveri.
The wealth of information in
the archive, contained in the detailed payment descriptions of the
ancient public banks of the city, is a historical and cultural wealth
which, thanks to the quality and quantity of its writings, allows an
original dissemination of the economic, social, artistic history of
Naples and the South. It is this consideration that generated the
ilCartastorie project thanks to which about 80 kilometers of cards can
tell the stories contained in bank payments even to a non-specialist
audience.
The museum is a museum project that consists of a permanent
offer, activity cycles and individual events. The common thread of the
offer, permanent or not, is storytelling: the stories contained in the
pages of the Archive are adapted and conveyed through all communication
channels, as well as available artistic and expressive forms, addressing
the different segments of the public in different ways creating for them
an experience of wonder and amazement. Thus, the stories contained in
the archive folders give rise to theatrical performances, artist
residencies, creative writing workshops, comics, traditional and
theatrical guided tours, multimedia productions, concerts, historical
themed events and much more.
The Kaleidos multimedia itinerary,
inaugurated on 30 March 2016, is the heart of the museum and constitutes
its permanent offer. It develops on the first floor and consists of a
sensory experience made up of images and sounds between pop-ups, touch
screens and other interactive tools that tell some stories contained in
the folders of the Archive. Seven intervention spaces in which, starting
from the writings, the Treasure of San Gennaro, Raimondo di Sangro
Prince of Sansevero and the Veiled Christ, the plague of 1656, slavery
and many other stories involving well-known names and not of the history
of Naples and Southern Italy.
For its enhancement work, the museum
was awarded the EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards
2017, the most important in the sector at European level.
27 Palazzo Zevallos Stigliano, Via Toledo 185.
28 Church of the
Holy Trinity of the Spaniards (Spanish Quarters).
29 Church of San
Carlo alle Mortelle (Spanish Quarters), vico San Carlo alle Mortelle 7.
The church of San Carlo alle Mortelle is one of the monumental churches
of Naples, it owes its name to a grove of myrtle trees present in that
place until throughout the sixteenth century.
The church represents
one of the main reference points of Baroque art in the city.
30
Palazzo Mastelloni, piazza Carità.
31 Basilica of the Holy Spirit,
Piazza Sette Settembre.
32 Church of Santa Maria della Concezione in
Montecalvario (Quartieri Spagnoli).
33 Church of Sant'Anna di
Palazzo, Piazzetta Rosario di Palazzo (Spanish Quarters).
34 Church of San Vincenzo de' Paoli, Via Vergini,
51, ☎ +39 081 454811.
35 Augustan Aqueduct of Serino Archaeological
Site, Via Arena Sanità, 5, ☎ +39 340
7031630,associazioneverginisanita@gmail.com. 5 EUR. Guided tours on
Saturday and Sunday at 10.30 and 12.00, closed on Mondays, visits by
reservation from Tuesday to Friday. The Augustan aqueduct of Serino is
one of the largest infrastructural works of the Roman Empire, born from
the need to bring drinking water to the Piscina mirabilis, a cistern for
supplying the Roman fleet in the port of Miseno. In its course of about
100 km, the aqueduct also supplied the cities of Nola, Acerra, Atella,
Naples, Pozzuoli, Baia, and Cuma.
In 2011 two sections of the ancient
aqueduct were discovered in the underground rooms of Palazzo
Peschici-Maresca, built in two different periods as demonstrated by the
different construction techniques. The archaeological site has a series
of pillars and arches built in bricks alternating with tuff and held
together by cement.
Over the centuries, the remains of the Augustan
aqueduct were first buried due to the raising of the ground level due to
the floods to which the place is subject, and then, in about the
sixteenth century, with the expansion of the city outside the walls,
were used as a base on which to support the foundations on which Palazzo
Peschici-Maresca still stands today. The spaces created by the arches of
the aqueduct together with the foundations of the building were used
over the centuries as storage rooms, and as a refuge from bombing during
the Second World War. In the post-war period, the premises were filled,
presumably with the remains left by the bombing of the city and then
abandoned, until they were rediscovered in recent years.
The highly
suggestive site is managed by the Associazione VerginiSanità which takes
care of its maintenance, enhancement, study and research. The site can
only be visited with a guided tour organized by the association.
36 Church of Sant'Anna dei Lombardi (Santa Maria di Monteoliveto),
Piazza Monteoliveto. The cultural and economic vitality of the Kingdom
of Naples between the 15th and 16th centuries is demonstrated by the
beauty of this church which represents one of the most surprising
examples of Tuscan Renaissance art in Naples. Begun around 1411, thanks
to the good relations that the Aragonese had with the Medici and the
Estensi, the construction of the church could count on the intervention
of prestigious masters. In it you can admire works of absolute artistic
value, among others we mention "The Sacristy of Vasari", an ancient
refectory frescoed by Giorgio Vasari in 1545; the Lamentation over the
Dead Christ from the end of the 15th century, a life-size terracotta
work by Guido Mazzoni and the Piccolomini chapel, the most significant
example of the figurative culture of the last 15th century in Tuscany in
Naples.
The Church took on its current name (Sant'Anna dei Lombardi)
during the 19th century when it was occupied by the Archconfraternity of
the Lombards who moved there following the unavailability of their place
of worship (the Church of Sant'Anna operates in the ' 500 by Domenico
Fontana). The Arciconfraternita dei Lombardi, founded at the end of the
15th century, was a point of reference for all those who moved to the
capital of the Kingdom of Naples from the territories of Veneto and
Lombardy, attracted by the possibility of starting commercial activities
or being able to find work.
In Piazza del Plebiscito a game between tourists and newcomers is in
vogue. You have to go blindfolded through the square starting from the
door of Palazzo Reale and pass the two lions. This operation, which
seems simple, actually does not succeed easily because as the square is
downhill it tends to take a different direction making mistakes easily.
37 Maschio Angioino (New Castle), Piazza Municipio.
38 Basilica
of San Francesco di Paola, Piazza del Plebiscito. Free. Built on the
model of St. Peter's in the Vatican.
39 Underground Naples, Vico S.
Anna di Palazzo 52, ☎ +39 081 400 256, +39 333 9729875,
laes@lanapolisotterranea.it. Mon-Fri 10am, 12pm, 4.30pm. Sat 10am, 12pm,
4.30pm, 6pm. Sun and public holidays 10am, 11am, 12pm, 4.30pm, 6pm. With
gathering in Piazza Trieste e Trento - (Bar Gambrinus). The excursions
last approximately 60 minutes.
40 Galleria Borbonica, Vico del
Grottone, 4, ☎ +39 081 764 5808, mail@galleriaborbonica.com. €10 (Jul
2020). Fri-Sun 09:30-13:00 and 14:30-17:00. A tour of an old tunnel that
connects the palace to the military barracks, used as a bomb shelter
during WWII. Several paths are possible.
41 Palazzo Reale, piazza del
Plebiscito 1, ☎ +39 081 5808255, ☎ +39 848082408, fax: +39 081 40356,
pm-cam.palazzoreale-na@beniculturali.it. Full price €6, reduced price €2
(Jul 2020). Thurs-Tues 9:00-20:00, last admission 19:00. Courtyards and
romantic garden 9:00-19:00, last admission 18:00. One of the four
residences used by the Bourbon kings of Naples during the reign of the
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (1730-1860). The Royal Palace stands on the
site of an earlier building intended to house King Philip III of Spain,
who however never made a trip there. The architect chosen for that
building was Domenico Fontana. The building was built on the site of an
even older Spanish viceroy residence in the early 16th century. The
17th-century palazzo visible today is the result of numerous additions
and modifications, including some by Luigi Vanvitelli in the mid-18th
century and then by Gaetano Genovese.
42 Pawnshop.
43 Mural of the
Madonna with Pistol by Banksy, Piazza Gerolomini, 106/115.
44 Murales
della prudicizia, Via Emanuele de Deo, 46. It represents a female statue
covered in white fabrics. All around there are other murals on Napoli
football and Maradona.
45 Castel dell'Ovo (Mergellina).
46 Pignatelli Museum (Inside the
villa of the same name).
47 Anton Dohrn Zoological Station.
48
Posillipo archaeological park.
49 Villa Rosebery (Posillipo).
50
Church of Santa Maria di Piedigrotta (Piedigrotta).
51 Parco
Vergiliano in Piedigrotta (park of the Tomb of Virgil), ascent of the
Grotto, 20 (behind the church of the same name). Wed-Mon: 16 October-15
April 10:00-14:50; April 16-October 15, 9:00-19:00. It is a park in
Naples famous because it preserves the sepulcher that popular tradition
has it of Virgil, and also the sepulchral monument that contains what is
assumed to be the remains of Giacomo Leopardi. In hell there is the
Crypta Neapolitana, also called Grotta di Pozzuoli or Grotta di
Posillipo, an imposing tunnel from the Roman era that connects
Mergellina with Fuorigrotta, but also the conduit of the Augustan
aqueduct of Serino.
52 Certosa di San Martino, Largo San Martino (Vomero hill).
53
Castel Sant'Elmo (Vomero hill). 2.5€. Mon-Sun 9:00-18.00. News relating
to the Castle dates back to the second half of the 1200s. At the behest
of King Robert of Anjou, the great Sienese sculpture architect of the
1300s Tino di Camaino worked on its expansion. From Piazza d'Armi in
Castel Sant'Elmo you can enjoy a breathtaking view of the Gulf of Naples
and Pozzuoli. It houses the Museo del'900 (1910-1980) with works of the
first (1914-1920) and second Futurism in Naples.
54 Floridiana Villa
and Museum, Via Domenico Cimarosa, 77, 80127 Naples (Vomero Hill.
Closest metro station Vanvitelli).
55 Museo e Real Bosco di
Capodimonte (National Museum of Capodimonte), Via Milano 2 (Underground
line 1 Museum stop then by bus: 168 and 178 (Porta Piccola stop, via
Miano); C63 (Porta Grande stop, via Capodimonte); 604 (Viale Colli
Aminei stop, about 200 m from Porta Piccola)), ☎ +39 081 7499111,
mu-cap@beniculturali.it. 14 EUR full price, reduced 8 EUR for visitors
between the ages of 18 and 25, 6 EUR on free Sundays and on other free
admission days, free for under 18s. The ticket also includes access to
temporary exhibitions. Thu-Tue 8:30-19:30. Museum located inside the
palace of the same name, historical residence of the Bourbons. It houses
paintings from the 13th to the 18th century, including important works
by Simone Martini, Raphael, Titian, Caravaggio, Masaccio, Sandro
Botticelli, Lorenzo Lotto, Giovanni Bellini, Giorgio Vasari, El Greco,
Jacob Philipp Hackert. It also houses the works of the most important
Neapolitan painters, such as Jusepe de Ribera, Luca Giordano, the
Neapolitan Caravaggisti.
56 Capodimonte Park. October and
February-March: 7am-6pm, November-January: 7am-5pm, April-September:
7am-7.30pm.
57 Catacombs of San Gennaro, Via Capodimonte, 13 (Take
the bus to Capodimonte. Entrance adjacent to the Basilica del Buon
Consiglio). Adults €9, Students/Over 65s/Police Forces €6, minors €5.
The ticket is valid for the Catacombs of San Gennaro and San Gaudioso
(Jul 2020). Mon-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 10am-2pm. A large area of two-story
catacombs restored and maintained by a few dozen local groups. Tombs,
frescoes, mosaics, etc. are visible.
58 Catacombs of San Gaudioso,
Piazza Sanità, 14 (On the road to the catacombs of San Gennaro, get off
at the bridge and take the lift. It is also possible to exit right from
the chapel of San Gennaro and walk along the road. At the Basilica Santa
Maria della Healthcare). Adults €9, Students/Over 65s/Police Forces €6,
minors €5. The ticket is valid for the Catacombs of San Gennaro and San
Gaudioso (Jul 2020). Mon-Sun 10am-1pm. An area of catacombs where a
gruesome "drain" ritual was performed. Some remains of skulls in the
walls, parts of skeletons and wall paintings are shown. The history of
the "upstairs" church is also on display.
Church of S. Gaetano.
St
Paul's Church.
59 Cemetery of the 366 graves (Cemetery of Santa Maria
del Popolo), Via Fontanelle Al Trivio (It is located on a natural
terrace located halfway up the slope near the Poggioreale area, more
precisely on the hill of Cupa Lautrec. From the central station in
Piazza Garibaldi: 27 minutes on foot or by car/taxi: 9 minutes).
Testimony of the Bourbon period, the first public cemetery in Europe and
perhaps in the world, it was designed and built by the architect
Ferdinando Fuga in the mid-18th century, under the regency of Ferdinand
IV at the behest of Charles III to house the bodies of the less well-off
class of the capital of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Since then it
has been owned by the Archconfraternity of Santa Maria degli Incurabili.
An "architectural machine" of a rationalist matrix conceived to house
death, therefore complementary to the nearby and mammoth Albergo dei
Poveri, it is an open-air quadrilateral with 19x19 pits and the plaster
portico which contains 5 more, so as to obtain 366 for a total of 80X80
meters per side.
It has this structure because a different pit was
opened each day for each day of the year. They all have the same
features: a parallelepiped 4x4 meters and 7 deep, 3 hooks above which
allowed the opening and a circle which represented the number of the day
and below a large beehive net with a grate. The day pit was opened at
dusk after the priest's blessing. Once placed, the corpses were covered
with lime and then closed again.
The area behind the cemetery,
currently full of vegetation, was then used temporarily during the
cholera epidemic as the pits were no longer sufficient. The whole area
of Santa Maria del Pianto could be used as an open-air museum "park of
memory of the cemetery of the 366 graves".
As soon as you enter the
cemetery, on the left there is a machine: a winch with 4 wheels, 4
pylons and a hook in the center with which a metal coffin was held,
which, upon contact with the remains of the bodies, opened and dropped
gently the body. The winch therefore allowed the deceased to be lowered
rather than thrown away. The idea of using this machine was brought by a
noblewoman who, when her handmaid died and took her to the cemetery, saw
the violent way in which the bodies of the deceased were treated. Some
components of the winch are pieces of the lamp post that once stood at
the center of the quadrilateral. Currently inside the quadrilateral and
under the entrance portico, there are niches owned by the arch-confreres
of the Incurables. Below the subsoil there is a whole underground area.
To the right of the entrance portico there is a consecrated chapel, in
which there are various niches. At the end of this chapel it is
possible, if you stay to the right, to go down into the underground area
where two roads branch off: on the right, a modern area which extends
for a length equal to that of one side of the quadrilateral and about 6
meters in height , while on the left, a corridor that has preserved the
ancient features of similar dimensions, but without niches.
60 Real
Hotel of the Poor. Descending from the cemetery with just 15 minutes on
foot, you reach Piazza Carlo III where you can admire the Real Albergo
de' Poveri (or Palazzo Fuga), also built by Ferdinando Fuga in 1751
under the regency of Ferdinand IV at the behest of Carlo III in order to
accommodate the life of the destitute people. It appears to be one of
the largest eighteenth-century buildings in Europe which extends over an
area of 103,000 m² and has a 400-metre-long façade. It is very
interesting to walk inside where there are three courtyards, the central
one where we find the cross of Saint Andrew and two lateral courtyards
used as gardens. The building is also equipped with 430 rooms of
different sizes: the largest measure 40 meters in length on all levels,
are 8 meters wide and 8 meters high. It is not always possible to visit
it inside but already the walk along the external perimeter that
overlooks the square gives an idea of its majesty.
61 Piazza Carlo
III (Located between the San Carlo all'Arena, San Lorenzo and
Poggioreale districts). It was originally known as the Piazza del
Reclusorio because the "Real Albergo dei Poveri" was called this way. In
1891, by decree of the royal commissioner Giuseppe Saredo it was named
after the Bourbon King; the square properly understood was born in the
19th century with the urbanization of the area and in particular with
the construction of corso Garibaldi The square has a hemicycle shape
into which many important arteries of the area converge: via Foria,
corso Garibaldi, via Sant'Alfonso Maria de' Liguori, via Sant'Antonio
Abate, via Giovanni Gussone, via Alessio Mazzocchi and via Don Bosco. In
the center there is an island with flower beds covered with palm trees
and with a central avenue, obtained through the reuse of the disused
railway site.
The decumani: via S.Biagio dei Librai or Spaccanapoli (Lower
Decumanus); via dei Tribunali (Decumano Maggiore); via dell'Anticaglia
(Decumano Superiore).
Capodimonte wood
San Carlo Theatre
Borgo
Marinari
Largo San Martino
Posillipo
Tomb of Leopardi and
Virgil
Plebiscite Square
Stairs of San Martino
Stairs of
Petraio
Clear sea
San Gregorio Armeno (famous via dei presepi)
Basilica of Santa Chiara and internal majolica cloister
Vomero
district: via Scarlatti, Piazza Vanvitelli, Villa Floridiana, Duke of
Martina Museum
Castel Sant'Elmo
62 Church of Santa Maria Francesca
(Santa Maria Francesca delle Cinque Piaghe), Vico Tre Re a Toledo, 13, ☎
+39 081 42 50 11, info@santuariosantamariafrancesca.it. It can be
visited on the 6th day of each month, the monthly remembrance day of the
Saint after the masses of 7:30, 9:15, 10:30 and 18:00 (on holidays 7:30,
10:30, 12:00, 18: 00). She is the object of a particular devotion in
Naples where she is considered the patroness of the Spanish Quarters and
of sterile and pregnant women.
63 Murals "Dios Umano" and "Essere
Umani", avenue 2 June. In this difficult district of the city two famous
murals were created, one with the face of Diego Armando Maradona on the
other side the face of the "scugnizzo" Niccolò. The work was created by
the artist Jorit who self-financed it by giving it to the city and the
neighbourhood. The other mural by the same artist is modesty.
Vitigno Italia, Castel Dell'Ovo, ☎ +39 0814104533,
segreteria@vitignoitalia.eu. May. Exhibition of Italian Wines and
Vineyard Territories.
May of Monuments. Throughout the period of the
event (on the weekends from the end of April to the beginning of June)
the city is colored by many free cultural events (guided walks in the
alleys, classical music concerts in the courtyards of the noble palaces
or in the street, exhibitions, theatrical performances, guided tours
etc). Many monuments or beauties otherwise inaccessible during the year
are made usable thanks to the contribution of special guides - school
groups adopt an attraction and guide tourists along the entire route,
describing it free of charge and in their own language.
By plane
The Naples-Capodichino airport (IATA: NAP), located 4.5
km from the center of Naples, is limited in its development as it is
located in a densely populated area; it is connected to the city center
with a bus system and taxi service.
Connections
The airport is
connected to the city via the Alibus bus service. From the airport, make
the stops in Piazza Garibaldi (Central Station) - Immacolatella/Porta di
Massa (inside the Port) and Molo Angioino/Beverello (Maritime Station
terminal), at a cost of €5 (Jul 2020). There is also a taxi and shared
taxi service, for more information read here.
By car
For those
arriving from the North, the main road leading to Naples is the
Autostrada del Sole Milano-Napoli. After the Caserta Sud tollbooth,
there is a junction of about 8 km which connects to the Naples ring road
which leads to the various exits towards the city. For those who need to
reach the centre, it is advisable to follow the signs for Napoli
Centro-Porto-Stazione Marittima-Stazione Centrale. Those arriving from
the south via the Salerno-Reggio Calabria road reach the same crossroads
and must follow the signs for Napoli Centro-Porto-Stazione
Marittima-Stazione Centrale or Tangenziale. Even the Bari-Naples reaches
the junction from which there are the exits for the Tangenziale or
Napoli Centro.
On boat
The Angioino pier is the port of call
for cruise ships.
The Beverello pier is the main port of the city
from which ships depart for the islands of the gulf, Sardinia, Sicily
(Catania and Palermo).
The small port of Mergellina located in via
Caracciolo is the stopover for hydrofoils to the island of Ischia with
departures several times a day.
The port of Pozzuoli, connected
through the Cumana line to the capital of Campania, connects with the
islands of the Campania archipelago.
On the train
Stations on
regional and national routes
1 Naples Central Station. The main
railway station in Naples is Napoli Centrale. It is connected with the
most important Italian cities. The station is located in the city
centre.
2 Naples Afragola station (north of the city centre).
High-speed trains stop at this modern station.
3 Naples Campi Flegrei
station (also served by L2 metropolitan trains).
Previously
railway underground stations
4 Piazza Garibaldi station, Piazza
Garibaldi.
5 Mergellina station.
By bus
There are two main
lines that lead to the city center: the 3S line that leads to Piazza
Garibaldi (Central Station) from which it is then very easy to take all
the buses or the metro that lead to the different parts of the city. The
dedicated Alibus line also leaves from the airport and leads to Piazza
Garibaldi (Central Station, metro and buses for the whole city) and to
Piazza Municipio (City Center) in front of the port and the embarkations
for the gulf islands.
Troiolo Bus, Corso Garibaldi, 185 -
Siderno, ☎ +39 0964 381325, fax: +39 0964 381325, info@troiolobus.com.
The company allows the direct connection of Naples with Africo, Ardore,
Badolato, Bianco, Bovalino, Brancaleone, Catanzaro, Catanzaro Lido,
Caulonia, Davoli, Guardavalle, Isca sull'Ionio, Lamezia Terme, Locri,
Marina di Gioiosa Ionica, Monasterace, Montepaone, Polistena, Riace,
Roccella Jonica, Rosarno, Sant'Andrea Apostolo dello Jonio, Santa
Caterina, Siderno, Soverato, Squillace, Taurianova and Vibo Valentia;
not all connections are daily.
With carpooling
The
Municipality of Naples, through the establishment of the provision to
limit traffic for the purpose of improving environmental conditions,
encourages carpooling by establishing an exemption for Euro 2 and Euro 3
cars with at least three people on board. For more information see:
Municipality of Naples/Carpooling.
By public transport
Naples has a metro network consisting of three
lines:
line 1 (called "hilly"),
line 2 (the first subway in Italy,
managed by Trenitalia)
line 6
To these are added some suburban
railway lines operated by the Volturno Autonomous Body:
the
Circumflegrea
the Circumvesuviana
Naples also boasts of four
funiculars: Centrale, Chiaia, Mergellina and Montesanto.
Then
there are the buses and trams managed by the ANM and the EAV buses which
offer a wider service connecting Naples with the nearby provinces.
There is also a maritime service called Metrò del Mare which, mainly
using hydrofoils, connects the major ports of the Campania coast. It has
6 lines that connect the capital of Campania with Salerno, various towns
in Cilento and other important centers in the Gulf of Naples such as
Castellammare di Stabia, Vico Equense, Torre Annunziata and Torre del
Greco.
Rates
Urban
To move around the city by public
transport, you need to have "Unico Napoli" tickets, which have replaced
the historic "Giranapoli" tickets, the first expression of fare
integration in the region. Here are the main types of tickets:
Single stroke
ANM: €1.10
Other companies: €1.30
Daily ticket
Corporate: €3.50
Integrated: €4.50
Weekly ticket (€12.50)
Monthly subscription (€35.00)
Annual subscription (€235.20)
All of them are valid for the entire urban transport network: subways,
buses, trams, funiculars, Cumana, Circumflegrea and Circumvesuviana (the
latter only for the sections included in the territory of the
municipality of Naples). The fares and the issue of travel tickets are
managed by the Unico Campania Consortium, which then distributes the
traffic revenues among the companies (ANM, EAV Circumvesuviana, CTP,
Metronapoli, Sepsa and Trenitalia) in proportion to the passages
offered.
On the EAV railway lines (Naples-Sorrento and
Aversa-Piscinola) and ANM (Metro Line 1 and Funiculars) it is possible
to directly access the enabled turnstiles using the contactless payment
cards of the American Express, Mastercard, Maestro, Visa and V-Pay
circuits. The ticket can also be purchased with the UnicoCampania app.
Out of town
Born in the early years of the new century, and
extended on 1 January 2003 to all 160 municipalities of the Campania
Region, the single ticket allows you to move freely within the city
(with all possible public transport), and to travel between Naples and
the municipalities of the chosen band with the lines of numerous
affiliated companies, and with Trenitalia trains.
There are 11
territorial bands and different types of tickets, the prices of which
depend on the band in question:
Single ride (company only)
Hourly
ticket (integrated only)
Daily ticket
Weekly subscription
Monthly subscription
Annual subscription
Annual Student
Subscription
For all types of tickets, there are corporate titles and
integrated titles, with the exception of those indicated.
Visit
the website
http://www.unicocampania.it for more detailed information, for the
entire tariff framework of Unico Campania and for the list of
municipalities in the individual brackets.
By bike
Map of
cycle paths by the Municipality of Naples.
The shopping streets of Naples are: via Calabritto (which joins piazza Vittoria to piazza dei Martiri) and the prestigious via Filangieri with its continuation via dei Mille, where you can find high fashion shops for high budgets; via Chiaia (entirely pedestrian, which leads from piazza dei Martiri to piazza Trieste e Trento) where medium-budget shops are located; and the economic shopping streets, namely, corso Umberto I and via Roma (formerly via Toledo). For the purchase of books of all kinds and types, from school books to fiction books, to used comics, there is the famous Port'Alba, one of the main gates of ancient Naples. Furthermore, in Naples there is a chain of chocolate shops, Gay-Odin. There, you can taste the famous Cioccolato Foresta and many other chocolate delicatessens. San Gregorio Armeno is the street that crosswise connects the decumani and where the characteristic shops of artisans who model the crib statuettes are concentrated, from the most modest to the very valuable ones in imitation of the famous Neapolitan cribs of the eighteenth century. Then there is the area commonly called, in Neapolitan, "a'Stazion". It refers to the Piazza Garibaldi area where the Napoli Centrale railway station is also located. Now considered the Neapolitan Chinatown, you can make purchases of all kinds (from clothing to electronics) at very advantageous prices. But beware of the "package"! For cheap shopping and "bargains", in addition to the Piazza Garibaldi area, there is also the Poggioreale market.
Theaters of Naples
Great
San Carlo Theatre. Opera, ballet,
concerts.
Mercadante Theatre. It includes a small room.
San
Ferdinando Theater.
Augustan Theater.
Bellini Theatre. It includes
a small room.
Diana Theater.
Medium
New Theater. It
includes a small room.
Toledo Gallery.
Helicanthrope Theater.
New Health Theatre.
North Area Theater.
Theater The First.
Cinema Theater of the Palms.
San Carluccio Theatre.
Politeama
Theater.
Toto Theatre.
Trianon Theater. Mostly musical.
Cilea
Theatre.
Bracco Theatre.
Acacia Theater.
Troisi Theatre.
Little ones
ARCAS Circle.
Theater De Poche.
Internal
Theater 5.
Naples (and Campania in general) is famous all over the world for its
gastronomic specialities. In the capital of Campania there is a vast
assortment of typical gastronomic products. Naples is, of course, famous
all over the world for its pizza. It should be mentioned that "in Naples
pizza is good everywhere".
Surely one way to get to know the city
is through its cuisine. Many illustrious directors or playwrights have
celebrated their "myth" in order to tell this people. The great Eduardo
described the ritual of ragù which must be "pippiare" (slow boiling) for
a long time to succeed and dedicates an entire scene to coffee tasting
with all the details for its correct preparation in his famous
theatrical comedy "These Ghosts". Also famous is the scene of spaghetti
eaten with his hands by Totò in "Miseria e nobiltà". With a strong
identity, it draws its origins from the peasant tradition and at the
same time from the creativity of the court chefs of the Bourbon Kingdom.
This cuisine balances the "colors" and "flavors" of the fruits of
"Campania Felix" and the sea, and reworks with originality the different
foreign influences that have followed one another for centuries. The
wines of the area are excellent and of high quality.
Refined and
elaborate dishes together with poor dishes, street food and excellent
desserts are easily found in the city. To taste:
First dishes
Maritata soup (based on meat and vegetables, typical at Christmas or
Easter);
Zuppa forte or Zuppa di sauté;
Pasta with beans and
mussels;
Potato and scamorza pasta;
Pasta and lentils;
Pasta
with green peas;
Macaroni timbale
Sartù Rice;
Seafood risotto;
Genoese;
Tagliatelle with ragu;
Spaghetti with clams;
Second Courses
Cod 'ndurat and fritt (fried)
Tomato cod and olives
Tortiera anchovies (marinated anchovies)
Tracchiulelle (pork rib with
meat sauce);
chops;
Meatballs;
Sasicc e friariell (sausage and
friarielli);
Purpitielli affogat (Octopus with sauce);
Buffalo
mozzarella;
Eggplant alla scarpone (Aubergines in boat);
Eggplant
Parmesan;
Zucchini alla scapece (golden zucchini with white wine
vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, mint and salt);
Single
meal
mussel mpepata;
mussel soup;
Snack or whole meal
Tortano and casatiello;
pizza with escarole (eat at Easter and/or on
Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve for lunch while waiting for Christmas
dinner or dinner)
o' Cuoppo (fried seafood with blue fish, baby squid
or seaweed zeppoline),
Sweets and pastries
Curly and
shortcrust pastry;
Baba;
Migliaccio;
Neapolitan pastry;
Struffoli;
Mostaccioli;
Baked Roccocò is based on almonds, flour,
sugar, candied fruit and various spices;
Susamielli Christmas sweet
made with flour, sugar, almonds and honey, and are flavored with
cinnamon, pepper, nutmeg;
Zeppole di san giuseppe is prepared on
March 19 for the feast of San Giuseppe;
Cassatine: sweet made with
sheep's milk ricotta, candied fruit and witch liqueur;
chiacchiere
fried or baked dough covered with icing sugar sometimes also with honey
or chocolate;
You come
for the wines: Coda di Volpe, still and
sparkling Falanghina, Piedirosso, Falerno
Modest prices
The
pizzerias in the historic center are all renowned and the food is really
good. The prices are accessible for every pocket, usually, for pizza,
drink and covered, it does not go beyond € 10.00.
1 Antica Pizzeria
Port'Alba, Via Port'Alba. Opened as a pizzeria in 1830, it is considered
the oldest in the world.
2 Casa Infante, Via Toledo, 258, ☎ +39 081
1931 2009. Ice cream shop.
3 Pizzeria De' Figliole, Via Giudecca
Vecchia, 39, ☎ +39 081 286721.
4 Pizzeria Di Matteo, Via dei
Tribunali, 94, ☎ +39 081 455262.
5 Pizzeria Dal Presidente, Via dei
Tribunali, 120, ☎ +39 081 296710.
6 Pizzeria Sorbillo, Via dei
Tribunali, 32, ☎ +39 081 446643.
Average prices
7 Perfectoo,
Corso Umberto I, 28, ☎ +39 081 410 9100. Bar and restaurant.
High
prices
For the medium-high price category, we can mention the
restaurants of the Borgo Marinaro, on the slopes of Castel dell'Ovo.
8 Gran Caffè Gambrinus, Via Chiaia, ☎ +39 081 417582. Its name derives
from the mythological king of Flanders Joannus Primus, considered the
patron saint of beer. The Gran Caffè Gambrinus is one of the top ten
cafés in Italy and is part of the Association of Historic Places of
Italy. Furnished in Art Nouveau style, it preserves stuccoes, statues
and paintings from the end of the 19th century created by Neapolitan
artists. Among these there are also works by Gabriele D'Annunzio and
Filippo Tommaso Marinetti. From the Belle Époque onwards it was
frequented by historical figures: Gabriele D'Annunzio, Benedetto Croce,
Matilde Serao, Eduardo Scarpetta, Totò and the De Filippos, Ernest
Hemingway, Oscar Wilde, Jean Paul Sartre, among others. Even the Empress
of Austria Sissi, Elisabetta Amalia Eugenia of Wittelsbach on her trip
to Naples in 1890 stopped at the Gambrinus.
Modest prices
1 BnB Naples, via Medina, 17 (50 meters from the
Municipio stop of Metro 1), ☎ +39 081 5519978, +39 361 56153 (mobile),
bnbnaples@gmail.com. 35/120€. Check-in: 15.00/19.00, check-out: 12.30.
With a classic and functional style, it combines the ancient character
of the building in which it is located (the ancient Conservatorio della
Pietà dei Turchini) with the modernity of the services offered.
2 B&B
In the Historic Center, Via dei Tribunali 138 (200 meters from the Metro
Line 1), ☎ +39 081 18995305, info@bbalcentrostorico.com. €35/80.
Check-in: 12:00, check-out: 23:00. Modern B&B equipped with all comforts
in the historic center of the city.
3 Napoli Suite, Corso Umberto I,
284 (near the central station), ☎ +390815543271, info@napolisuite.com.
Comfortable rooms in a historic building. Located on the first floor,
there is curiously a coin-operated lift which is active in certain time
slots.
Average prices
Vascio Della Duchess, vico s. margherita
a fonseca 45, info@vascioduchessa.it. Typical Neapolitan Vascio, ideal
for stays of up to 4 people.
High prices
4 Hotel NH
Ambassador, Via Medina, 70 (In the historical center of Naples), ☎ +39
081 4105111, nhambassador@nh-hotels.com. The NH Ambassador hotel is
located near many of the city's most famous attractions, such as the
Maschio Angioino, Palazzo Reale, Piazza del Plebiscito and the Teatro
San Carlo. The hotel is also just 700 meters from the Beverello pier,
from where visitors can take a ferry to the beautiful islands of Ischia,
Procida or Capri.
5 Hotel Excelsior, Via Partenope 48 (A few steps
from the center and a few minutes from Molo Beverello), ☏ +39 081
7640111, info@excelsior.it. from €200 to €600 per night, up to €2000.
The Excelsior Hotel overlooks the splendid Gulf of Naples, Castel
dell'Ovo and Borgo Marinari.
6 Villa Gervasio, Via Bellavista 176 (In
Bacoli), ☎ +39 081 8687892, info@villagervasio.it. Modern, comfortable,
refined and elegant hotel on the Flegrea peninsula.
Naples is a large metropolitan city and as such, there is a presence
of pickpockets and scammers. Be wary of anyone offering you a deal,
perhaps at a good price, it could be a scam.
Pay attention to
one's possessions, never leave bags and suitcases unattended, do not
flaunt riches, such as necklaces and watches, even if in recent times
the criminal rate has decreased considerably. They are all excellent
precautions to safeguard oneself in every metropolis.
In any
case, the Neapolitans are extremely sociable and warm, ready to help in
case of need. Some may even show you very suggestive hidden places that
you otherwise would not have passed.
Useful numbers and addresses
Municipality, ☎ +39 081 7951111.
Municipal Police, ☎ +39 081 7513177.
Red Cross, ☎ +39 081 7528282.
Medical assistance:
Business Centre,
Palazzo Esedra, Is. F9, ☎ +39 081 2541111, +39 081 2544452 (info), +39
081 2544415 (info), +39 081 2544429 (info).
Health District 47, Via
S. Gennaro in Antignano (Arenella), ☎ +39 081 2549111, +39 081 2549788
(info).
Health District 51, Via De Gasperi, 55 (Lawyer), ☎ +39 081
2542111, +39 081 2542363 (info).
Health District 45, Via F. Degni, 25
(Fuorigrotta), ☎ +39 081 7686671, +39 081 7686418 (info).
Health
District 53, Piazza Nazionale, 95 (Market), ☎ +39 081 2549111, +39 081
2549105 (info).
Health District 50, Via Valente Miano (Miano), ☎ +39
081 2546111, +39 081 2546977 (info).
Health District 49, Via Don
Bosco, 4f (S. Carlo all'Arena), ☎ +39 081 2541111, +39 081 2545934
(info).
Health District 52, Via B. Quaranta, 2 bis (S. Giovanni), ☎
+39 081 2542111, +39 081 2543754 (info).
Health District 48, Viale
Resistenza, 25 (Scampia), ☎ +39 0812546111, +39 081 7023634 (info), +39
081 2546565 (info).
Health District 46, Via G. Scherillo (Soccavo), ☎
+39 081 2548111, +39 081 2548384.
Health District 44, Via Croce
Rossa, 9 (Vomero), ☎ +39 081 2547111, +39 081 2547475.
Post
Poste Italiane, Vico Always Viva in Loreto, ☎ +39 081
2440931.
Poste Italiane - Campania Regional Office - Naples Center
Branch, Piazzale Stazione Marittima, ☎ +39 081 5523175.
The historic fortune of Naples derives from its happy geographical
position. Its surroundings are rich in natural and historical beauties,
the latter having developed over a three thousand year history. A little
further north of the Neapolitan capital there are cities such as
Pozzuoli, Baia and Bacoli, all rich in important archaeological evidence
above and below sea level. The first, in particular, is also interesting
from a geological-naturalistic point of view due to the presence of the
volcanic complex of Campi Flegrei.
From the port of Naples (Molo
Beverello) it is also possible to reach the renowned islands of Capri
and Ischia, both very rich in natural beauty, or the Sorrento Peninsula,
for which we advise against, however, a "hit and run" tourism as you
would lose the vast range of activities that these places offer. In
summer, the islands and the most well-known tourist centres, such as
Amalfi, Positano, the islands and Sorrento, could also be particularly
crowded: it is advisable to inquire in advance if you prefer more
privacy.
From Naples, the city of Portici can be reached in just
over 10 minutes with the underground service, where it is possible to
admire the splendid historic residence of the "Reggia di Portici" with
the wood and the English garden commissioned by Charles of Bourbon. The
covered riding track is undergoing recovery (a conservative restoration
and re-functionalization is underway), evidence of the ancient
Neapolitan tradition in the art of horse riding. Ideally linked to the
riding track is the Reggia di Carditello in the province of Caserta in
the land of work, another Bourbon site, built with the aim of studying
and breeding valuable breeds of cattle and horses.
From Portici
it is possible to follow the route of the 122 Vesuvian Villas of the
Golden Mile, built by the Neapolitan nobility in the 18th century in the
footsteps of the king. Great architects from Luigi Vanvitelli, to
Ferdinando Fuga, Ferdinando Sanfelice, Domenico Antonio Vaccaro, Mario
Gioffredo took turns in the construction of these splendid villas
embellished with rococo and neoclassical gardens.
Again by the
Bourbons, the first railway in Italy was created in 1839, the
Naples-Portici, with the creation of the "Pietrarsa workshops" first
used for maintenance and then also for the assembly of trains. As
evidence of this primacy, the Pietrarsa Museum can be visited which is
located in the factories of the "Royal Mechanical, Pyrotechnic and
Locomotive Opificio", founded by Ferdinand II of Bourbon in 1840, which
today represents one of the most fascinating examples of Italian
industrial archaeology, and one of the most important railway museums in
Europe.
About half an hour from Naples with the regional line of
the State Railways you can reach the Royal Palace of Caserta which in
1997 was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, together with the
Vanvitelli aqueduct and the San Leucio complex . The Reggia is probably
one of the last examples of Italian Baroque, it is the largest royal
residence in the world. In addition to the countless works of art in the
rooms, the Italian and English-style gardens are magnificent.
Extraordinary from a historical point of view is the village of San
Leucio, a real example of the application of the ideas of the Neapolitan
Enlightenment.
«Neapolis got this name following an act of re-foundation, which, as
we know, was not unique and was not limited only to the initial phase of
its life, but experienced other similar experiences in the following
years, so that we can almost say that Neapolis , in the end, turned out
to be a sort of name-program of a city protagonist of processes such as
to make it worth the title of city of refoundations, destined to
experience frequent renewals.
(In Naples before Naples, by
Daniela Giampaola, Emanuele Greco)
The etymology of the name "Naples"
derives from the Greek term Neapolis (Νεάπολις) which means "new city",
while its root refers to the arrival of new settlers, therefore to an
epoikia. In fact, it was a real hallmark of the Greek era. The city
absorbed new components and was reborn each time as Neapolis, the "New
City", in fact: after its refoundation, the settlement reaffirmed its
name with the overlapping of the Athenian, Pithecusan, Cumanan
components (the escaped refugees, around 421 BC. , to the capture of the
city by the Campani) and osca.
The exact site where the city developed, i.e. the hill of
Pizzofalcone and the surrounding areas, has been frequented and occupied
almost continuously since the Middle Neolithic.
Parthènope was
founded as a Cuman epineion (landing point and stronghold) at the end of
the 8th century BC. (although the oldest archaeological documentation is
dated to the II-III quarter of the VIII century, i.e. between 750 and
720 BC), guarding the southern access to the gulf.
In the 6th
century BC. the city was refounded as Neapolis (new city), progressively
becoming one of the most important cities of Magna Graecia and
constituting the main source through which the "Greekness" fed the
nascent Roman culture.
The New City, in fact, was able
immediately both to replace the mother city in maritime trade, and to
assume control over the gulf which from Cumanus became the Neapolitan
Gulf, while with the arrival of the Athenian navarca Diotimo inaugurated
its increasingly hegemonic role over the entire coast Campania and
"international" in the Mediterranean.
In 326 BC. it was conquered
by the Romans, while retaining the civil legacy of its founders until
the Middle Ages, so much so that it can be defined as "the metropolis of
Western Hellenism". Destroyed in 82 BC. by the partisans of Silla,
during the last century of the Republic and during the Empire Neapolis
gradually transformed from a mercantile city to a city of otia for Roman
high society and emperors. It was the site of important schools, such as
that of Philodemus of Gadara and Sirone where Virgil and Horace studied,
and of the Isolimpic games which took place every four years in
conjunction with the Olympia games. Between 161 and 180 AD. C., the city
obtained, perhaps by decision of the emperor Marcus Aurelius, with the
name of Colonia Aurelia Augusta Antoniniana Felix Neapolis, the
recognition of the status of colony.
The Duchy of Naples
In 536 Naples was conquered by the Byzantines
during the Gothic war and remained firmly in the hands of the empire
even during the subsequent Lombard invasion, later becoming an
autonomous duchy. The first duke, according to tradition, would have
been Basilio, appointed in 660-61 by the Byzantine Emperor Constans II,
even if it is probable that he had been preceded by other people with
the same duties, who were in any case an expression of the so-called
"magnatic families " citizens. The life of the duchy was characterized
by continuous wars, mainly defensive, against the powerful neighboring
Lombard principalities and the Muslim conquerors (generally defined as
Saracens), coming mostly from North Africa or Sicily, which had been
conquered by the Arab-Aghlabids starting from 827. In this regard, the
naval battle of Ostia in 849 is famous, while Abu l-'Abbas Muhammad I
attempted to take possession of the city in 846.
The aversion
between Christianity and Islam, however, already saw ample space for
convergence in Naples in view of a more Mediterranean than continental
projection of the duchy. The common commercial interests in fact
determined a substantial friendship between Naples and the Arab world,
so much so that there was the nonchalant employment by the Neapolitan
side (but Campania in general, having to include Amalfi in this speech)
of mercenaries, mostly hired in the settlement of Traetto (ribāṭ in
Arabic). Prolonged architect of this policy was the bishop of Naples and
duke Attanasio II, in spite of the excommunication inflicted on him by
Pope John VIII.
The tenth century was characterized by a policy
of neutrality, which aimed to keep Naples out of the games that were
taking place around it. Both the economy and culture benefited from
this, allowing on the one hand the development of the textile and iron
working industries; on the other, a profitable exchange of literary and
historical material - both religious and profane, both Greek and Latin -
between the city and Constantinople, from which, for example, the Greek
Romance of Alexander came.
The development of the iconoclastic
movement by Leo III the Isaurian, and the consequent theological dispute
between the latter and Pope Gregory II, resulted in the formal passage
of the dioceses of Byzantine Italy under the authority of the
patriarchate of Constantinople. In practice, however, Leo III's
provision remained unenforced, and Naples remained faithful to the
Pope's authority. As a reward for its position in the dispute, the city
was elevated to the rank of ecclesiastical province around 990, and
Sergius II was the first archbishop.
In 1030 Duke Sergio IV
donated the county of Aversa to the band of Norman mercenaries of
Rainulfo Drengot, who had joined him in the umpteenth war against the
principality of Capua. From the base of Aversa, the Normans acquired
their own social and organizational structure and within a century they
were able to subjugate all of southern Italy, giving life to the Kingdom
of Sicily.
In 1139 the Normans of Roger II of Altavilla conquered the city,
putting an end to the duchy: Naples thus became part of the territory of
the Principality of Capua, in the newborn Kingdom of Sicily, with
Palermo as its capital; nevertheless the city, already a center of
thickness since the seventh century (its function of vice-capital of the
Exarchate of Italy under Constans II is connected to this last period),
established itself as a notable commercial square (the most important of
the coast Southern Tyrrhenian Sea).
Once the Kingdom of Sicily
passed into the hands of the Swabians under the Hohenstaufen, Naples was
included in the execution of Terra di Lavoro. Emperor Frederick II of
Swabia always preferred Palermo as his residence as well as the
Capitanata in Puglia, but in Naples he decided to establish the
University from which to draw a class of faithful officials educated
within the borders. It, the oldest European institute of its kind, was
conceived as a school independent of papal power.
The city
rebelled more than once against the sons of the deceased emperor, Conrad
IV and Manfredi, so much so that Conrad decided to demolish part of the
walls and move the university headquarters to Salerno. Loyalty to the
papacy was rewarded with Innocent IV's last stay in 1254, from October
to December, before his death.
Naples became part of the Angevin kingdom following the victories of
Charles I of Anjou over Manfredi of Swabia in 1266 in Benevento; and on
Corradino di Svevia in Tagliacozzo in 1268. Under the reign of Charles
II of Anjou, the Seats were formally established, administrative bodies
divided into areas of the city. They originated from the phratries of
the Greek era and from the Magna cura Regis and would remain standing
until the 19th century.
Following the revolt that broke out in
Sicily in 1282 (Sicilian Vespers, also caused by the official promotion
of the city to the capital of the Kingdom of Sicily in 1266) and the
passage of the island to Aragonese rule, Naples became the capital of
the Kingdom of Naples. Charles of Anjou was succeeded by his son Charles
II and later by his nephew, Robert of Anjou, known as "the Wise", which
further makes Naples one of the most influential cultural centers of
Europe and the Mediterranean. The stays in the city of Francesco
Petrarca, Simone Martini, Giotto (who will found one of the most
important Giotto painting schools in Italy) and Boccaccio, who in the
basilica of San Lorenzo Maggiore will meet Fiammetta, or Maria d' Aquino
and later regret the pleasant years spent at the Neapolitan court. King
Robert will be succeeded by his niece Giovanna I of Naples in 1343 and
then it will be the moment of the d'Angiò of Durazzo in 1382 with Carlo
di Durazzo, Ladislao I of Naples and Giovanna II of Naples.
Among
the famous events that occurred in the period of the Angevin dynasty:
the beheading of the young Corradino di Svevia in 1268, the tidal wave
of 1343 (the same one that gave the coup de grace to Amalfi), the first
attempt at political reunification of Italy under Ladislao di Durazzo
and the sieges of the city in the struggles for the succession of
Giovanna II of Anjou between Renato d'Angiò and Alfonso V of Aragon
until the latter, after having penetrated the city through an aqueduct,
in 1442 was able to occupy Naples definitively.
The sovereign Alfonso the Magnanimous, despite the internal conflict
between the monarchy and the barons, which manifested itself in dramatic
episodes such as the conspiracy of the barons under the reign of his son
Ferdinand I of Naples, privileged the city, making it the capital of his
Mediterranean Empire. The Alfonsine period and that of his successors
was characterized by the expansion of the perimeter of the city and the
construction of a mighty wall with twenty-two cylindrical towers.
Important city monuments were also built in this period, such as the
Maschio Angioino arch (an initiative that gave rise to the so-called
climate of the Arch), Palazzo Diomede Carafa, Palazzo Filomarino, Porta
Capuana, Palazzo Como and the disappeared villa of Poggioreale, which it
will become a paradigm for numerous villas, even beyond the Italian
borders.
The cultural climate also experienced a notable
increase, thanks to the great impetus given by Alfonso to the city
library and the foundation of the Pontaniana Academy. The large sums
lavished on the promotion of culture gave impetus to a flourishing of
activities, which made Naples the protagonist of Humanism.
Starting from 1501, as a result of the Italian Wars which upset
European geopolitics, Naples lost its independence. After the march on
Naples by Charles VIII of France and the new French occupation, in May
1503 it passed under Spanish domination, and for over two centuries the
kingdom was governed by a viceroy on behalf of Madrid. The long Spanish
domination is generally considered by historiography, especially in the
Crocean style, as a dark and regressive period. In fact, however, the
city in this period will never fall into a provincial condition (the
monstrous dimensions, the intercultural liveliness and the
anti-Curialism of Spanish Naples), becoming one of the greatest centers
of the Empire; among other things called to counter the expansionism of
the Ottoman Empire in the central-western Mediterranean and even more
importantly to act as a rear line for the Spanish action in the Po
Valley.
From the aforementioned period it is possible to find
lexical loans of adstrato in the Neapolitan language, as well as
expansions relating to the urban layout of the city, which doubled its
perimeter and witnessed the opening of via Toledo and the construction
of the so-called Spanish quarters, by the architects Giovanni Benincasa
and Ferdinando Manlio, at the request of the then viceroy Pedro de
Toledo.
During the war of the Spanish succession, Austria
conquered Naples (1707), but held it for a few years, until 1734, the
year in which the kingdom was occupied by Charles of Bourbon, who
reconstituted an independent state which included all of the south Italy
and Sicily.
Under Charles III of Bourbon, the city definitively sanctioned its
role as a great European capital, above all with a series of important
urban planning and architectural initiatives; it also established itself
as a great center of the Enlightenment.
With the French
Revolution and the Napoleonic wars, Naples saw the birth of a Jacobin
republic drowned in blood by the subsequent Bourbon restoration. In 1806
it was conquered by French troops led by Napoleon Bonaparte who
entrusted the kingdom to his brother Giuseppe and later to Gioacchino
Murat, who failed to prematurely unify the peninsula but reawakened
national sentiment through the Proclamation of Rimini. In 1815 with the
definitive defeat of Napoleon and the Congress of Vienna, Naples
returned again to the Bourbons. During the French period, there were
numerous Napoleonic plunders of works of art in Naples.
1820 in
Europe was the year of agitations against monarchical absolutism, and in
Naples these manifested themselves in the revolt led by General
Guglielmo Pepe. Intimidated by this, Ferdinand I acquired an ambiguous
behavior, first bestowing the Constitution, and then asking for Austrian
help, in order to be able to withdraw it and repress the opposition.
This attitude was repeated in the uprisings of 1848 when, after the
umpteenth insurrection, Ferdinand II granted a constitutional charter,
to then dissolve Parliament and repress the revolt bloodily, restoring
absolutism. Also, in this period the city saw numerous impulses in many
sectors.
The city was struck, like the rest of Europe, by cholera
epidemics which decimated the population in 1835-37 and in 1854-55; also
causing riots and riots.
In 1860 the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
was the object of Giuseppe Garibaldi's expedition of the Thousand and
subsequently invaded by the Kingdom of Sardinia. Francis II of Bourbon
abandoned Naples, falling back to Gaeta together with part of the
Bourbon army to «guarantee it from ruins and war... to spare this
dearest homeland from the horrors of internal unrest and the disasters
of civil war», and a first defense was attempted with the battle of the
Volturno and then with the siege of Gaeta. Following the defeat of the
Bourbon troops, Naples was annexed to the nascent Kingdom of Italy.
In 1864 the Kingdom of Italy was forced, by the September Convention
with the Second French Empire of Napoleon III, to move the capital from
Turin. Among the reasons for the move were the military ones: Naples was
considered the favorite together with Florence (the first was
"protected" by the Apennines and the second by the Tyrrhenian Sea). The
Neapolitan city, for political reasons, was considered by the majority
of the cabinet as a particularly suitable candidate, but did not obtain
the support of the king, who considered Florence a city more suited to a
role of temporary capital, a choice confirmed by the committee of five
generals called to decide, as Naples would not have been sufficiently
defensible with the Italian fleet which was not at the levels of the
French or English ones.
Above all, the dismantling of the
previous government structures following the unification of the
peninsula, combined with the new national tax and customs system
inherited from the Piedmontese one, led to a profound social and
industrial crisis (also denounced by the writer Matilde Serao in Il
ventre di Napoli and The Land of Cockaigne).
The critical
conditions of post-unification Naples were at the origin, at the end of
the 19th century, of a profound urban transformation that will give it
vague similarities with Haussman's Paris. In this period numerous
buildings and monuments were demolished, new districts and buildings
were built and the arteries of via Duomo, del Rettifilo, via Francesco
Caracciolo and viale Gramsci were opened. This historical juncture
coincided extremely well with the birth of numerous café-chantants and a
dynamic cultural and social environment which saw exponents of the
caliber of Benedetto Croce.
On 11 March 1918, during the First
World War, despite being very far from the conflict zone, the city was
bombed by the German airship L.58 or LZ 104, which departed from a
Bulgarian base, causing sixteen victims among the civilian population.
In the early twenties of the twentieth century, Naples was the seat
of one of the most important Italian Combat Fasci headed by Aurelio
Padovani; on 24 October 1922 the city was the scene of the great meeting
of black shirts which was the general rehearsal of the March on Rome.
With the shift of the political and economic center of gravity of
the country towards the South, Mussolini reserved for Naples the role of
port city of the Italian colonial Empire, which is why it once again saw
a profound urban renewal. Emblematic cases are the construction of the
Mostra d'Oltremare and of the first underground railway link for urban
penetration in Italy, known as the "FS metro", with the Naples-Pozzuoli
section.
Precisely because of its role Naples was, during the
Second World War, the Italian city that suffered the greatest number of
bombings, about two hundred. After the surrender of the Kingdom of Italy
to the Allies on 8 September 1943, Naples was the scene of a historic
popular uprising known as the Four Days (27-30 September 1943) which,
crowned with success, gave impetus to the Italian Resistance of the
partisans against the Nazi-fascists.
During the second post-war
period, there was a referendum to decide between a monarchy and a
republic, and in the constituency of Naples as many as 904,000 were in
favor of the former. A few days later, it was Enrico De Nicola, a
Neapolitan, who was elected the first president of the Republic.
In the 1950s, in the midst of that political-social phenomenon known as
laurism, the great building speculation was born which was symbolically
described in the film Le mani sulla città by Francesco Rosi. In this
period the city expanded in all directions, creating what are now its
endless suburbs that gravitate towards the small central "district". In
the same period the city, which was slowly recovering from the
devastation of the second conflict, saw the birth of a very intense
cinematographic activity, both nationally and internationally.
The Irpinia earthquake of 1980 also had its effects felt in Naples: in
the eastern area a poorly built building collapsed, causing the death of
fifty-two people, and the tourism sector suffered a further decline.
From such a difficult economic and social situation, it was the Camorra
that proliferated.
In 1994 the city hosted the G7 and the UN
World Conference on the Fight against Organized Crime, thus beginning a
period of relative renaissance. In 1995, after about ten years of
building sites, the Centro Direzionale in Naples was completed, the
first cluster of skyscrapers in southern Europe.
The following
years will see the city become the headquarters of the Apple Developer
Academy (2016), of the XXX Universiade (inaugurated on July 3, 2019),
after the renunciation of the Brazilian capital, and host the G20 summit
on the environment, energy and climate (2021).
Historical capital
of the South, contemporary Naples is the center of a vast metropolitan
area and has retained considerable cultural prestige, as the seat of
museums and theatres, an ancient university and other institutions.
The coat of arms consists of a Samnite shield divided into two
horizontal parts of equal height, the upper one colored gold and the
other red ("troncato d'oro e di rosso"), surmounted by a turreted crown
with five crenellated bastions visible, of which only one, the central
one, equipped with an entrance door. According to a hypothesis, already
declared unfounded by the historian Bartolomeo Capasso, gold symbolizes
the sun, while red the moon.
The gonfalon takes up the two colors
of the coat of arms, gold and red, which respectively occupy the upper
half and the lower half of the entire cloth ("truncated"), symmetrically
taking up the arrangement of the colors of the city's heraldic shield.
Naples rises almost in the center of the gulf of the same name
"dominated" by the Vesuvius volcano and bordered to the east by the
Sorrento peninsula with Punta Campanella, to the west by the Campi
Flegrei with Monte di Procida, to the north-west-east by the southern
slope of the Campania plain which extends from Lake Patria to Nolano.
The territory of Naples is made up of many hills (the Camaldoli
hill, the highest, reaches 457 m), but also of islands and peninsulas
overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea.
The urban territory, limited to
the west by the Campi Flegrei volcano and to the east by the
Somma-Vesuvius, has a geologically complex history. The substrate on
which the city rests has an eminently volcanic origin and is the product
of a series of eruptions of the two complexes.
According to the
national seismic classification, Naples is located in zone 2 (medium
seismicity).
Naples enjoys a Mediterranean climate, with mild, rainy winters and
hot, dry summers, but still refreshed by the sea breeze that is rarely
absent from its gulf. According to the Köppen classification, Naples, in
its coastal strip, belongs to the Cfa and Csa zone, because a summer
month receives a quantity of rainfall exceeding 40 millimeters. The sun
shines on average for 250 days a year. The particular morphological
conformation of the territory of the capital, however, is such as to
ensure that the city has different microclimates within it, with the
possibility therefore of encountering even significant climatic
variations by moving a few kilometers.
According to the Italian
climate classification, Naples is located in zone C.