Naples

Evolution of the city Napoli

Ancient Parthenope- old city

The Greek called it “New

City” or Neapolis.
troglodytes
the Greek name for the
area was 'the land of the
cave dwellers'
Parthenope + Neopolis

Old city New city built by

Greek colony
from Cumae

=
Naples
 LOCATION
The ancient Romans never considered Naples and the surrounding region to be very important,
but they were still attracted by such obvious natural beauty. The fertile lands and the sunny, mild
climate made it ideal for farming.

ECONOMY
Many villas and estates were constructed here for wealthy landowners and prosperous
merchants. The rich and famous of the Empire nearly always had houses here, in addition to
those in Rome and elsewhere.
During the middle ages, Naples, Amalfi, Sorrento and several other local towns grew wealthy
trading with the eastern Mediterranean. In 892 A.D., Sorrento fought a naval battle against Amalfi
over control of trade

The form of early Neapolis was heavily influenced by the rivers, valleys, hills and swamps that
made the topographical nature of the area convoluted and complex, and combined to separate
the coastal area from the hinterland. Waters flowed from Vomero and Capodimonte down Petraio,
Via Cacciottoli, il Cavone, Via Salvator Rosa, Santa Teresa al Museo, Via Stella and Via Vergine.
The valleys created by these deluvial waters (Via Foria and Via Pessina) created a natural barrier
around the coastal area. It was within these boundaries, also formed by the route of the river
Sebeto, that the first Neapolis developed.
temple of the acropolis at the north-
west corner of
Neapolis
 Allied with the Roman
Republic when there was a
need to defend against the Between the 13th and
war-waging Carthaginians. 15th centuries, Naples was the
Impregnable walls were most important city for the
erected around the city in Angevin dynasty, which
order to keep Hannibal and expanded its suburbs and
his warlords from entering built grand churches.
the city.

Greek Roman Dukes Normans Angevin Argonese

A Duchy of Naples was

established that was tied to
The Aragonese then
Constantinople, and
controlled the city for the
then Rome, leading to a
next couple of centuries and
heightened relationship with
placed an emphasis on
the Catholic Church. Prior to
imposing castles and opulent
this, the city had retained its
palaces.
largely Hellenistic roots.
Naples history can be traced back to the 7th century
BC, which was founded by the Ancient Greeks, who
settled in southern Italy. The city of Naples was
founded by the Ancient Greeks, who settled in Southern
Italy. Following that, Naples became a busy and
important port. However, the Romans conquered
Naples in 326 BC. Under Roman rule the port of Naples
continued to thrive, and rich Romans built holiday villas
on the nearby coast. During a Roman civil war in 88-82
BC, a man named Sulla and his forces occupied Naples
and massacred many of the inhabitants. Yet with the
return of peace, Naples flourished again. In the 4th
century, the Roman Empire split in two. Then in the 5th
century AD, the western half of the Roman Empire was The period of maximum Greek-Athenean influence marks the growth in
invaded, and it ended completely in 476 AD. Italy was importance of Neapolis, and is also the period of urban planning which, once
left in the hands of Germanic peoples. established, would remain unchanged for more than four centuries.
• However, the eastern half of the Roman Empire survived (known as the Byzantine Empire). The Byzantines were
determined to recapture southern Italy. In 536 AD, they laid siege to and captured Naples. It then became a
duchy with a duke. Gradually the Byzantine rule weakened and in 645, a native Neapolitan named Basilio became
duke of Naples. In the following centuries Naples thrived and trade with other places around the Mediterranean
flourished.

• The Normans arrived in Southern Italy. In 1139 the Normans conquered Naples and it became part of the kingdom
of Sicily (which included southern Italy).

• In the 16th century, Naples was part of the great Spanish Empire. At first Naples was prosperous and it grew
rapidly. By 1600 Naples was the largest city in Europe and it had a population of around 300,000.

• Then in 1734, Sicily and Southern Italy (including Naples) became an independent kingdom again. Once again
Naples flourished. In the 1790s, all of Europe including Italy was rocked by the events that followed the French
Revolution. In 1799, the French army occupied Naples and they created a republic.
Piperno, a Late Quaternary
magmatic rock cropping out on
the eastern side of the Campi
Flegrei (Italy), is probably the
most important building stone of
Naples, used over a time-span
from at least the Roman age
until the beginning of the 20th
century.
Neopolitan Yellow turf was taken from
below ground and tunnels and ways
were made beneath the building. Cost
effective.
The outline of the original Neapolis can still be seen in bird's-eye-view as laying between Via Foria, Via Costantinopoli, the Duomo and Piazza San Gaetano. The first residential area was
in the vicinity of what is now Via Costantinopoli, and the Acropoli, the centre for religious and political functions, was built during the very first stages of the city's development. The
archaeological remains under San Lorenzo Maggiore show the location of the fifth century civic centre, treasury and prison. The city also boasted a theatre, a hippodrome and a stadium.
The exact location of the port --life blood of Neapolis -- has never been satisfactorily located..
• A writer of the early first century after Christ, Strabo, states that
abundant traces of Greek life survived there, 'gymnasia, and athletic
schools, and tribal divisions, and Greek names even for Roman
things.’
• This Neapolis town had, as certain existing streets declare, a peculiar
form of town-planning.
• The area covered by these streets is an irregular space of 250 acres
in the heart of the modern city, about 850 yds. from north to south
and 1,000 yds. from east to west.
• In Roman days three straight streets ran parallel from east to west
and a large number of smaller streets, twenty or so, ran at right
angles to them from north to south.
• The house-blocks enclosed by these streets were all of similar size
and shape, a thin oblong of 35 x 180 metres (39 x 198 yds.). Some of
the public buildings naturally trespassed on to more than one 'insula';
a theatre appears indeed to have stretched over parts of three.
• In general, the oblongs seem to have been laid out with great
regularity and the angles are right angles, though the 'insulae' in the
northern and southern rows of house-blocks cannot have been fully
rectangular and symmetrical.
• The fifth century city, excluding those areas devoted to
games and entertainment, had its limits defined by stout
walls of locally-hewn tufa blocks (image, left).

• These walls were further reinforced in the fourth century

B.C.. These new sections used a different system of
construction involving two parallel lines of inter-linked tufa
blocks.

• Once back-filled, this system gave the city strong, resistant

walls in addition to the natural defences previously
mentioned. Remains of the original walls found in Piazza
Bellini (4th century), Via Mezzocannone, Corso Umberto and
Via Duomo allow the route followed by the defences to be
traced.

• They ran north along Via Foria and Piazza Cavour, turned
east at San Giovanni a Carbonara and ran towards the sea.
The construction of the medieval historical
waterfront between Castelnuovo and the Carmine
monastery coincided with the development of a new
commercial town, the “città bassa”, which was the
core of Naples’ city-port. It was possible to see this
magnificent walled maritime configuration, along
with the new towered royal castle and the large “L”
shaped pier in the first painted view of Naples: the
famous Tavola Strozzi, painted between 1472-73, and
given as a gift from the Florentine merchant Filippo
Strozzi to the Aragonese King Alfonso II.
Castel Nuovo
Castel Nuovo, or New Castle is located in the
port area of Naples and is better known
locally as Maschio Angioino (Angevin
stronghold). Built between 1279 and 1282 by
Charles I (1227-1285) of Anjou as a royal
residence to replace the old castle.
The castle consists of typical medieval
architecture with imposing towers and
turrets. Entry is by the single-sided white
marble triumphal arch integrated into the
Gatehouse.