NAPLES 



5630 



NAPLES 



NAPLES: THE CITY AND THE KINGDOM 



Cecil Headlam, M.A., Author of Venetia and Northern Italy 

 The article on the city is followed by one on the former kingdom 

 of which it was the capital. See Europe : Italy : the articles on 

 Ferdinand; Francis and other rulers; Masaniello and other 

 biographies ; also Bourbon ; Carbonari 



Naples is a city and port of Italy 

 and capital of the province of 

 Naples. Stretching along the N. 



side of the Bay 



of Naples, it is 

 perhaps the most 

 beautifully situ- 

 ated city in 

 Europe. Sea- 

 wards, the bay 

 is protected by 

 islands, Procida, 

 Ischia, and 



Naples arms 



Capri. Inland, a mountain chain, 

 hemming in the Neapolitan Cam- 

 pagna, runs down to Sorrento. 

 Rising out of this rich plain the 

 vast cone of Vesuvius towers over 

 the E. suburbs, Portici, Resina, 

 and Torre del Greco, whose villas, 

 vineyards, and orange groves are 

 set upon deposits of lava. To the 

 W. lie the volcanic headland of 

 Posilipo, and Pozzuoli, pierced by 

 sulphurous grottoes and tunnels. 

 the volcano Solfatara, Baia, and 

 the promontory of Miseno. Close 

 to Baia, a volcanic eruption in 1583 

 flung up Monte Nuovo in a single 

 night, and almost drained the 

 Lucrine lake which, with Lake 

 AvernuB, formed the Portus Julius 

 of the Roman fleet. The climate 

 is delightful, the temperature vary- 

 ing from 26F. in Jan. to 97F. in 

 July. The rainy season lasts from 

 Jan. to March. 



Naples is an important manufac- 

 turing centre, making ships, cars, 

 locomotives, glass, cotton, wool, 

 gloves, perfumes, linen, and silk. 

 The chief imports are coal, steel, 

 lumber, grain, cotton, wool, leath- 

 er, oils, wines, and chemicals ; 

 the chief exports, wine, brandy, 

 fruits, nuts, paper, hemp, and 

 cereals. Architecturally, Naples 

 has little of interest. The flat roofs 

 of the houses (aatrici), which serve 

 as summer lounges, give the town 

 an almost eastern appearance. 

 The Porta Capuana, with its Re- 

 naissance gateway, 1484, and two 

 round towers, indicate the van- 

 ished walls. Three narrow, straight 

 streets (Strada de' Tribunali, etc.) 

 piercing a quadrangle of crooked 

 alleys, are the Decuman Ways of 

 the Roman town. 



The modern quarter, built along 

 the magnificent curve of the 

 Riviera de Chiaia, lies to the W. of 

 a mountain ridge which runs down 

 from Capodimonte and the Castle 

 of S. Elmo, to the Pizzofalcone 

 promontory. Along this Riviera lie 

 the Villa Nazionale, a charming 



public garden bordered by the Via 

 Caracciolo, and the famous Marine 

 Aquarium belonging to the Zoo- 

 logical Station founded 1872. At 

 the foot of Pizzofalcone is the 

 historic egg-shaped Castello dell' 

 Uovo, begun 1154, on an islet. 

 From the Corso Vittorio Eniman- 

 uele, which winds along the hillside, 

 grand views across the town and 

 harbour are obtained, though the 

 finest of all is afforded by Belve- 



widened, electric trams installed, 

 and a new water supply and drain- 

 age system introduced. 



The Via Roma, the old Via 

 Toledo, running N. and S. is the 

 main fashionable thoroughfare. It 

 leads down from the Bellini theatre, 

 the Piazza Dante, and the Museum 

 to the Palazzo Reale and the old 

 round towers of the Castel Nuovo, 

 dating from 1283 and renovated 

 1905. Close at hand is the San 

 Carlo theatre. 



The Museo Nazionale, formerly 

 the seat of the university, contains 

 the Farnese and other collections 

 (Farnese Bull, Dying Gladiator, 

 Hercules, etc.). and innumerable 

 masterpieces of antiquity and relics 



Naples. Plan of the central part of the city showing docks and harbour 



dere, in the Carthusian monastery 

 of San Martino, within the walls of 

 S.' Elmo. 



The remains of the medieval city 

 are among the narrow fetid streets 

 of the commercial part of the town 

 to the E. of the ridge. The Strada 

 Sta. Lucia is a typical centre of the 

 noisy, dirty, picturesque, and sur- 

 prising life of the lower classes, so 

 vividly depicted in the novels of 

 Matilde Serao. After the cholera 

 epidemic of 1 884 among the densely- 

 populated and insanitary streets, 

 a huge scheme of reconstruction 

 was begun. The streets have been 



from the excavations at Hercula- 

 neum, Pompeii, and elsewhere. 



The cathedral, built 1272-1323, 

 but repeatedly modernised, con- 

 tains the tombs of Charles of Anjou 

 and Pope Innocent IV, as well as 

 the alleged blood of S. Januarius, 

 which liquefies thrice a year, por- 

 tending good or evil fortune, accor- 

 ding as the process is rapid or slow. 

 The basilica of S. Restituta, on the 

 site of a temple of Apollo, adjoins 

 the W. aisle. 



The coffins of the house of Anjou 

 lie in the sacristy of S. Domenico 

 Maggiore, closely connected with S. 



