The bombardment of
Naples during
World War Two revealed a forgotten underground world of ancient buildings, caverns and tunnels. This was fortunate because the underground provided shelter from the bombing as well as a window into Naples past all the back to the
Greek Empire.
Naples (
Italian:
Napoli [ˈnaːpoli] ( listen),
Neapolitan:
Napule [ˈnɑːpələ];
Latin:
Neapolis;
Ancient Greek: Νεάπολις, meaning "new city") is the capital of the
Italian region Campania and the third-largest municipality in
Italy, after
Rome and
Milan.
As of 2012, around 960,
000 people live within the city's administrative limits. The Naples urban area has a population of between 3 million and 3.7 million, and is the 9th-most populous urban area in the
European Union.
Around 4 million people live in the
Naples metropolitan area, one of the largest metropolises on the
Mediterranean Sea.
Naples is one of the oldest continuously-inhabited cities in the world.
Bronze Age Greek settlements were established in the Naples area in the second millennium BC. A larger colony -- initially known as
Parthenope -- developed on the
Island of Megaride around the ninth century BC, at the end of the
Greek Dark Ages. The city was refounded as Neápolis in the sixth century BC and became a lynchpin of
Magna Graecia, playing a key role in the merging of
Greek culture into
Roman society and eventually becoming a cultural centre of the
Roman Republic. Naples remained influential after the fall of the
Western Roman Empire, serving as the capital city of the
Kingdom of Naples between 1282 and 1816. Thereafter, in union with
Sicily, it became the capital of the
Two Sicilies until the unification of Italy in 1861. During the
Neapolitan War of 1815, Naples strongly promoted
Italian unification.
Naples was the most-bombed Italian city during
World War II. Much of the city's
20th-century periphery was constructed under
Benito Mussolini's fascist government, and during reconstruction efforts after World War II. In recent decades, Naples has constructed a large business district, the
Centro Direzionale, and has developed an advanced transport infrastructure, including an
Alta Velocità high-speed rail link to Rome and
Salerno, and an expanded subway network, which is planned to eventually cover half of the region. The city has experienced significant economic growth in recent decades, and unemployment levels in the city and surrounding Campania have decreased since
1999. However, Naples still suffers from political and economic corruption, and unemployment levels remain high.
Naples has the fourth-largest urban economy in Italy, after Milan, Rome and
Turin. It is the world's 103rd-richest city by purchasing power, with an estimated
2011 GDP of
US$83.6 billion. The port of Naples is one of the most important in
Europe, and has the world's second-highest level of passenger flow, after the port of
Hong Kong. Numerous major Italian companies, such as
MSC Cruises Italy S.p.A, are headquartered in Naples. The city also hosts
NATO's
Allied Joint Force Command Naples, the
SRM Institution for Economic
Research and the
OPE Company and
Study Centre. Naples is a full member of the Eurocities network of
European cities. The city was selected to become the headquarters of the
European institution ACP/UE and was named a
City of Literature by
UNESCO's
Creative Cities Network. The
Villa Rosebery, one of the three official residences of the
President of Italy, is located in the city's
Posillipo district.
Naples' historic city centre is the largest in Europe, covering 1,700 hectares (4,
200 acres) and enclosing 27 centuries of history, and is listed by UNESCO as a
World Heritage Site. Naples has long been a major cultural centre with a global sphere of influence, particularly during the
Renaissance and
Enlightenment eras
. In the immediate vicinity of Naples are numerous culturally and historically significant sites, including the
Palace of Caserta and the
Roman ruins of
Pompeii and
Herculaneum. Culinarily, Naples is synonymous with pizza, which originated in the city.
Neapolitan music has furthermore been highly influential, credited with the invention of the romantic guitar and the mandolin, as well as notable contributions to opera and folk standards.
Popular characters and historical figures who have come to symbolise the city include
Januarius, the patron saint of Naples, the comic figure Pulcinella, and the
Sirens from the Greek epic poem the
Odyssey.
- published: 20 Jan 2014
- views: 21857