Naples (Napoli in Italian, Napule in Neapolitan) is the capital of Campania, southern Italy, and the country's third most populous city (after Rome and Milan), the country's second or third largest urban span and one of the most densely populated cities in Europe. It is located on the northern side of the bay named after itself in the southeast of Rome, right next to the Vesuvius volcano. Oh, and, it's the birthplace of a world-famous thing: the pizza.
One of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world, it was founded as Parthenope around 600 BC by refugees from the ancient Greek colony of Cumae, then renamed Neapolis (literally "New City"), then was conquered by The Roman Republic in the 4th century BC. The Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum were founded nearby, and were destroyed and buried by the 79 AD eruption of the Vesuvius, then rediscovered many centuries later.
For several centuries, the city flourished as the capital of the Duchy of Naples under native dukes (from 661 AD to 1139), until the Normans arrived in southern Italy. It was subsequently passed from empire to empire throughout The Middle Ages. Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II ruled it for a brief period and founded its university in 1224. In 1265 it was conquered by the French Angevins, who built the Castel Nuovo.
After two centuries of French rule, the Spanish Empire took control in 1503 during the Italian Wars in convoluted circumstances (the King of Spain inherited it - after helping removing his relative from the throne, that is). Thanks to Spain's great colonial wealth, Naples flourished, becoming the largest city of its time in Europe, only contending with Antwerp, coincidentally also under Spanish control. A blossoming place for Baroque art and architecture, along with Sicily, it simultaneously served as an imperial military backbone, providing both manpower and brainpower for Spain's endless wars, helped by a population growth about twice its size in this period. The viceroyal rule of The Duke of Osuna was probably Naples' historical peak, turning it into an unexpected naval power able to temporarily steamroll the Ottomans and Venetians without any external help.
Despite being devastated by a plague epidemic in 1656 and suffering discontent due to high taxes and economic depression, leading to multiple foreign attempts to wrest it from Spain's clutches, Naples continued to prosper as an economical center of the Spanish network until War of the Spanish Succession left it rather unhappily in Austrian hands. It was eventually reconquered by the new Spanish monarchs, the Bourbons, but due to the tenor of the times, those declined to merge it back with Spain and instead turned it, along with Sicily, into an independent kingdom under the same royal house in 1734. The new Neapolitan Bourbon branch wasn't too popular nor effective, but under them Naples kept mostly its status. Famous monuments like the Real Teatro di San Carlo and the Reggia di Caserta palace were built around this time.
Like the rest of Europe, Italy felt the effects of The French Revolution. In 1799, the armies of Napoléon Bonaparte reached Naples, creating the short-lived Parthenopean Republic. The 19th century saw several revolutions and returns to monarchy under the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, but when Italy was unified in 1860 by Giuseppe Garibaldi, the people voted to join the country, which led to the foundation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861.
Not to be confused with the American city named after it, Naples, in Florida.
Works set at least partially in Naples:
Anime & Manga:Live-Action Films:
- The Bourne Supremacy
- Chains
- Contraband
- Eat, Pray, Love
- Fantômas Unleashed
- Fast X
- The Four Days of Naples
- The Gold of Naples
- Gomorrah
- The Hand of God
- Hands over the City
- Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008)
- Journey to Italy
- Mare Nostrum
- Marriage Italian Style
- The Mechanic (1972)
- Mixed By Erry
- Nasty Love
- Paisan
- Parthenope
- Seven Beauties
- Shoeshine
- The Sucker
- Two Cents Worth of Hope
Live-Action Television:
- The Bastards of Pizzofalcone
- Gomorrah
- My Brilliant Friend
- Un Posto al Sole
- The Sea Beyond
- Sense8, episode "Amor Vincit Omnia" (the series' Grand Finale)
- The Sopranos, episode "Commendatori"
- Volpone (2003, based off the Ben Jonson play)
Literature:
- The Neapolitan Novels
- My Brilliant Friend
- The Story of a New Name
- Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay
- The Story of the Lost Child
Theatre:
- The Commedia dell'Arte character Pulcinella (Pulecenella in Neapolitan) originated there.
- The 1842 ballet Napoli, or The Fisherman and His Bride by August Bournonville
Video Games:
- Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (the mission to destroy the war boat of Leonardo da Vinci)
Western Animation:
- Neapolitan Mouse, a Tom and Jerry short
Personalities from Naples/associated with Naples:
Born there:- Enzo D'Alò (animator and director)
- Gian Lorenzo Bernini (artist)
- Luigi Denza (composer, born nearby in Castellammare di Stabia)
- Elena Ferrante (writer, allegedly born there)
- Eduardo De Filippo (actor, poet, filmmaker, writer, playwright)
- Valeria Golino (actress and director)
- Peppe Lanzetta (actor, playwright, director)
- Erri De Luca (writer)
- Silvio Orlando (actor)
- Luigi Ricci (composer)
- Tony Rosato (actor and comedian)
- Francesco Rosi (filmmaker)
- Roberto Saviano (writer, journalist and screenwriter)
- Domenico Scarlatti (composer and harpsichord player)
- Paolo Sorrentino (filmmaker and writer)
- Bud Spencer (actor)
- Stephen Spinella (actor)
- Tony Tammaro (singer-songwriter)
- Totò (actor, comedian, poet)
- Massimo Troisi (actor, comedian, writer)
- Doug Walker (critic and comedian, grew up in the US)
Others:
- Artemisia Gentileschi (painter). Settled there in 1630.
- Sophia Loren (actress). Grew up in the vicinity and played in several films set there.
- Diego Maradona (Association Football player), the biggest star in the SSC Napoli's history.
- Vittorio De Sica (filmmaker). Frequently resided in Naples and featured it in several of his films.