A POTTED HISTORY AND GUIDE OF NAPLES, ITALY
Naples is the main city in the south of Italy, the capital
of its home region of Campania, and the third biggest town
in Italy. It’s an overcrowded and sprawling metropolis holding
around a million souls, with a further two million Neopolitans
populating the suburbs. It’s a major seaport, with shipyards,
and thriving industries including iron and steel, petroleum,
and porcelain … Naples combines great riches with some grinding
poverty.
Yet the bald statistics don’t start to describe this
extraordinary, chaotic, exciting and resolutely southern city - Naples
isn’t like the rest of Italy.
Of course Italy is a country of
regions, of former city states and fierce local loyalties and
rivalries. Modern Italy broadly divides itself
into north and south (the Mezzogiorno) with Naples sitting
proudly as the Mezzogiorno’s capital. Staunchly Catholic, Naples
is rich in historical, artistic and cultural traditions and
with its own distinct cuisine. The pizza originated here and
is eaten, like so many other delicious local foods, out on
the street.
In fact the street is where Naples happens. Life
is lived here in all its chaotic glory. It’s bustling, noisy
and rather dirty; there is sometimes shocking poverty on display,
and it pays to keep your wallet
in an inside pocket. Cars and scooters weave frantically around
each other and the baffling road system - we’d suggest you
leave the car at home and walk. Meanwhile, Neapolitan is a
language in its own right and you’ll hear the harsh dialect
bellowed at volume. And this adds up to? One of the most exciting
places you’ll ever visit. It also has some beautiful architecture,
a thriving port area, and frequent ferries out to the lovely
islands of Capri and Ischia; and the ancient world lies just
out of town in the shape of Pompeii, Herculaneum and their
ruins. (Here you will find our selection of Naples apartments for rent, holiday villas, short term rentals, rooms and bed and breakfast, and hotels.)
The city of Naples was probably founded by the Greeks
around the eighth century BC, just kilometres from the older
town of Partenope; this ‘new
town’ or ‘Neapolis’ has been absorbing the influences of its
settlers and invaders ever since. Romulus Augustulus, last
emperor of the Roman Empire, was imprisoned here after being
overthrown in 476. In the sixth century, Naples was conquered
by the Byzantines, and it was one of the last duchies to fall
to the all-conquering Normans in 1039, as they founded the
Kingdom of Sicily. In 1266 Naples and the kingdom of Sicily
were given by Pope Clement IV to Charles of Anjou, who moved
the capital from Palermo to Naples. In 1284 the kingdom was
split in two, and stayed that way till 1816, when they would
form the kingdom of Two Sicilies. In between, Naples had been
under the rule of Spain, Austria, and the Bourbons, and had
(briefly) been a Jacobin republic. Finally, in October 1860,
it became part of the new Italy.
Perhaps part of the reason
that Naples isn’t more of a tourist trap is nervousness
on the part of visitors. For this is definitely not a pre-packaged or sanitised
destination, and Naples doesn't boast the sophisticated elegance of Florence
or Venice. Couple this with its reputation as the home of the ‘camorra’ (Neapolitan
organised crime), and some grinding poverty, and many are put off. There is high
unemployment and many people still live in the one-room windowless bassi of the
city centre, little more than overcrowded slums, which in the late 1970s assisted
an outbreak of cholera.
Yet much is changing, with huge amounts of development
money patching up the woefully neglected mediaeval churches and other buildings
of the city centre.
And Naples remains an ‘authentic’ destination; one where you can eat and sleep
at reasonable prices, and where bars and cafes are more populated by locals
than visitors. It’s superbly positioned too. With Vesuvius, Pompeii and Herculaneum
inland (and the region of Campania to explore), there are also very good ferry
routes out to Sicily and the islands of Ischia and Capri, and further afield
to ports such as Genoa.
You will find Naples tiring - at times the relentless
al fresco activity makes the street more akin to an Arab souk than a European
boulevard - but you’ll find
it exhilarating too.
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Naples - facts at a glance
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