History Of Naples

Naples is one of the Mediterranean’s most historic port cities, dating back 2,500 years and experiencing occupation under Spanish, Hapsburg and French rule, before a brief period of independence prior to the unification of Italy in 1861.

Roman beginnings

Long before Pompeii was famously buried under the ashes of erupting Mount Vesuvius in 79 BC, a port city had been established nearby, known as Neapolis (new city) to replace an existing old city - Paleopolis. By the time of Christ, Naples was nearly 500 years old and attracting prominent Romans such as Cicero and Horatio. Even the great Latin poet Virgil lived in Naples.

By the early Middle Ages, Naples still remained inside the old city walls, which were built under Valentiniano III (450 to 455 AD). In 1266 AD, Charles I of Angiò transferred the capital of the kingdom of Sicily from Palermo to Naples, heralding a period of active renewal for the city. Also, at this time, the city walls were enlarged.

Expansion under Spanish and Hapsburg rule

Under Aragon rule, during the 16th century, Naples enjoyed its most flourishing era.  Don Pedro Alvarez of Toledo (1532 to 1553) widened the city walls again, increasing the city’s surface area by a third. With the Rennaissance following, the city witnessed the development of some grand buildings, many of which still stand today.

From 1707 to 1734 the city came under the rule of the mighty Hapsburg Empire, but they could not hold on to this important maritime centre. The Neopolitans had been blighted by the epidemic of 1691, and the city’s fortunes declined until Charles III of Bourbon succeeded the Hapsburgs in 1734, encouraging the development of commerce and building infrastructure. For the first time in its history, Naples came under self-rule, but not for long.

Napoleons sibling gift

In 1806, Napoleon gave the throne of the Kingdom of Naples to his brother Giuseppe Bonaparte, but in 1815, the Bourbon family returned to the throne of the two Sicilies’, after Napoleon was defeated and banished from Europe. However, the ‘winds of unification change’ were underway across the peninsula that we now know as Italy.  When Garibaldi entered the city in 1860, a plebiscite of the people decided that the city of Naples should be annexed to the Kingdom of Piedmont, which then became part of the Kingdom of Italy in 1870.

At this point, the city had around 450,000 inhabitants. Naples, back then, was even more densely populated and chaotic than it is today and urban renewal work was immediately initiated. After the cholera epidemic of 1884, large areas were demolished and new avenues and roads built. During WWII, in the years 1943 and 1944, the city sustained considerable damage.

Today, it still retains its independent and sometimes notorious character, but is proud to be the southern capital of Italy. Home of the pizza and Neapolitans, Naples is now a thriving port and busy tourist destination.