NAPLES : Comprehensive Encyclopedia

Naples (Italian Napoli, Neapolitan, Nàpule, Greek Νεάπολις > Νέα Πόλις - Néa Pólis - meaning "New City") is the largest city in southern Italy and capital of Campania Region and the Province of Naples. The city has a population of about 1 million. By one count the metropolitan area of Naples is the second largest in Italy after that of Milan, with over 4,200,000 inhabitants. As with most major cities, various other urban and metropolitan area population figures are also available. The inhabitants are known as Neapolitans, napulitane in Neapolitan, napoletani or poetically partenopei in Italian. It is located halfway between the volcano, Vesuvius and a separate volcanic area, the Campi Flegrei, all part of the Campanian volcanic arc.

History

Naples was founded between the 7th and 6th centuries BC by the Greeks and was given the name Neapolis.

During the period of Roman domination, the town preserved its Greek language and customs. Following the Roman period, the city was dominated by many different groups of people (Byzantines, Lombards, Normans, Swabians, Angevins, Aragonese, Spaniards, Bourbons and revolutionary French). Nowadays one can see the traces of all those rulers in the monuments, in the culture and in the habits of the town. Naples was also the capital of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and after the Congress of Vienna became the capital of the (newly named, but geographically unchanged) Kingdom of Naples. After a long period of decline following the creation of the Italian State over 100 years ago, the city is making great strides in recovering its eminence as a center for culture.

Demographics

Food and drink

Naples is by tradition the home of pizza. It is the birthplace of the Pizza Margherita, which traditionally is made with mozzarella cheese, pomodoro (tomato) and basil - each representing the red, white, and green of the Italian flag. The pizza was named when it was served to Queen Margherita during a visit to the city. La vera pizza ("true pizza") should be made in a wood-burning oven similar to a Tandoori oven. There is a certification body that issues recognition to pizza places around the world that have been deemed to make true Neapolitan pizza.

Melanzane alla parmigiana is a bake of layers of fried slices of aubergine (eggplant, very often coated in egg and flour, or in a light batter), alternated with mozzarella, tomato sauce and parmesan (parmigiano) cheese (a less common version does not include mozzarella).

Naples offers several kinds of unique pastry, the most famous of which is perhaps the babà, followed by choux (Neapolitans write it as sciù) and the Pastiera, a cake prepared for Easter. The babà (also known as savarin) is a mushroom-shaped piece of leavend sweet paste, soaked with an orange flavoured mixture of ron|ruhm and water. Choux is a small "bubble" of leavened paste stuffed with light cream, usually coffee or chocolate flavored. The Pastiera is a cake with a complicated recipe, varying by the county in which it is prepared. The ingredients are typically annealed grain, eggs, and sometimes cream (it is sometimes made with boiled rice instead of grain in the area of Salerno), in a sort of shortcrust pastry with strips of pastry on the top making a sort of grid. Another typical Neapolitan pastry is the Sfogliatella (riccia or frolla).

Monuments and places of interest

Castel dell'Ovo.

Castel Nuovo.

In 1995 the Historical Centre of Naples was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Although Naples is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe and rich in history and monuments it is sometimes overlooked by mass tourism and is less visited than some of the surrounding attractions. There are, however, many attractions within the city.

Churches and religious buildings

Cathedral of St. Januarius (Duomo, early 13th century)
Santa Chiara (14th century)
San Lorenzo Maggiore (13th century)
Santa Maria Donna Regina
Santa Maria del Carmine
Gesù Nuovo ("new Jesus")
San Domenico Maggiore
Certosa di San Martino (14th century)
Girolomini
San Ferdinando
San Francesco di Paola
San Giovanni a Carbonara
San Gregorio Armeno
Sant'Anna dei Lombardi
Sant'Eligio Maggiore
Santa Caterina a Chiaia
Santa Maria La Nova
Santa Restituta (4th century)
San Pietro Martire
San Gennaro extra Moenia (5th century)
Eremo di Camaldoli

Historical places and museums

Naples is particularly renowned for its old castles:

Castel dell'Ovo is a main feature in the panorama of the Gulf of Naples;
Castel Capuano was built by William I the Bad, who succeeded Roger II of Sicily;
Maschio Angioino or Castel Nuovo (the New Castle), with the Arch of Triumph of Alfons V of Aragon dominates the Largo del Castello and the square of the Town Hall;
Castel Sant'Elmo looks over the city fom the Vomero hill, along with the Certosa di San Martino.
a fifth castle, Castel del Carmine has now almost disappeared. It was reduced to two towers after some bad decisions by town planners at the beginning of the 20th century.

La Villa Comunale (formerly a royal park) has been refurbished. It stretches along the seafront in the smarter western end of the city. It contains an aquarium which is possibly Europe's oldest and is favoured by the locals for family walks on Sunday mornings. The Museo Archeologico Nazionale Napoli contains a large collection of Roman artefacts from Pompeii and Herculaneum as well as the Farnese Marbles, some of the greatest surviving Roman statues, and a notable coin collection. The Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte contains art collections including works by Michelangelo, Raphael, Botticelli and Caravaggio.

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

Other notable landmarsk include:

Under Naples

Guided tours operate around the Stratification of Naples which shows the city through the layers laid down across history. Subterranean Naples consists of old Greco-Roman reservoirs dug out from the soft tufo stone on which, and from which, the city is built. You can visit approximately one kilometer of the many kilometers of tunnels under the city. There are also large catacombs in and around the city.

Others

Naples is the site of three major military bases. Naval Support Activity Naples, located in Capodichino is a major US Navy base which is responsible for the support and control of US Naval assets in the 6th Fleet area of responsibility, and Bagnoli, known as Joint Force Command Naples (formerly AFSOUTH, many people still call it this) is a major NATO base, which is responsible for the coordination of NATO forces in the Southern European Region. There is also the Support Site, which consists mostly of housing and personnel support facilities, located in Gricignano di Aversa.

Around Naples

Naples panorama.

The islands of Procida, (famously used as the set for much of il Postino), Capri and Ischia can all be reached quickly by hydrofoils and ferries. Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast are situated south of Naples. The Roman ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum (destroyed in the A.D. 79 eruption of Vesuvius) are also nearby. As well, Naples is near the volcanic area known as the Campi Flegrei and the port towns of Pozzuoli and Baia, which were part of the vast Roman naval facility, Portus Julius.

Sporting Naples

Naples is the home of the football team Napoli, which generates deeply passionate support from the Neapolitans. With the help of Diego Maradona, the team achieved rare success in 1987 and in 1990 by winning the Scudetto, the UEFA Cup, Italian Super Cup and the Italian Cup. In 2004 the club was declared bankrupt and was subsequently reborn as 'Napoli Soccer' in Serie C1(a lower division). It has since reverted its name back to S.S.C. Napoli and has now returned to Serie B.

The Neapolitan diaspora

Naples has seen many of its sons spread throughout the world, setting up 'Little Italies' in many countries. The majority of the Neapolitans who left Italy went to the Americas, especially the United States, Canada, Brazil, Argentina and Australia