Naples

An appropriate definition for this city is sure that of “a paradise inhabited from devils”, a splendid rich history city and natural beauties, always sunned and kissed from the sea, but neglected from its inhabitants. A full city of contradictions, sometimes rapes sometimes generous with its inhabitants and with who it knows some to appreciate its peculiarities and its traditions, radicate in a tangle of narrow lanes that conserve an able heart to palpitate for the things simpler and to inflame themselves for the ingiustizie; able to receive various cultures and impossible dreams. The consolatorio heat of the sun lightens the weight of happy centuries, sometimes sometimes dark.

The city opens always its curtain to comedies that are consumed in the Neapolitan roads where the people costipato in smallest apartments to ground floor flow, “low” calls.

The personage or mask who represents the Neapolitan folclore is Pulcinella, perennially hungry person, able to incarnate the Neapolitan rowdy character and its cleverness in order to hide the sadness and the poverty of people who have many dominations and umiliazioni quickly.

The Neapolitan in order to escape from a truth sometimes too much lasts dedication to the game of the lottery, based on the interpretation of dreams and events details with the aid of the smorfia, book with the directory of the numbers with the relative interpretation.

The festivities, much diffuse during the borbonico period, offer a distraction to the Neapolitan people from its problems with festivities of secular origin, like that of S. Gennaro of the 19 September and the first Sunday of May; the festivity of Madonna of the Carmine of the 16 July with the procession of Madonna tawny and the fire pyrotechnician of the bell tower; the festivity of Piedigrotta, first of September with the paraded one of the wagons, fires of artifice, the several events and the shuffling of the Saint thursday. In the christmas period he is due to cross way S. Gregorio Armeno of stalls with shepherds variopinti, mirror of a secular tradition that to Naples has deep roots to pick in the exposure of these in numerous churches and in particular in the certosa of S. Martino where the Cuciniello crib can be admired.

The handicraft to Naples and in province particularly is developed like the production of the china of Capodimonte that ago to go back its origins to the settecentesche manufactures, founded from the Borbone; the working of the leather; the working of the coral to Torre del Greco; the working of the gold to the village of the goldsmiths; the working of the tarsie to Sorrento and the splendid ceramics of Vietri.

The history millenarian of the city is from quickly fruibile in the ippodamea shirt of the historical center with the primitive Greek nucleus.

The coming Greeks from the Eubea island colonized before the island of Pithecusa (ischia – Casamicciola) in the XVIII sec. to C., successively disembarked to Cuma, from this last one then towards the WAYS sec. founded Parthenope, on the isolotto of Megaride (Castel of the Ovo) and current Pizzofalcone. The choice of the site initially was revealed happy, allowing a natural defense against eventual enemy attacks, thanks to its encircled strategic position from the sea with behind a Walloon who delimited the almost inaccessible zone, single from the side of via Gennaro Greenhouse.

The development of the city was legacy essentially to the sea, and the impossibility to take advantage of the entroterra caused to the abandonment of the zone and the successive birth of Neapolis, kind in the V sec. to C.

In the several centuries it can be distinguished: the greco-roman city, that medieval one, the city sveva, angioina, and then Aragonese; at last that of XIX and the 20th century that reaches the borders of the Flegrei Fields.

Naples was conquered by Odoacre, then from the Goti, Belisarius, Totila; it was transformed in bizantina, it resisted to the independent Longobardi and divenne like Ducato until XI the century. From the Normanni Federico II passed to the Svevi di knowing one period of strong development. To the succedettero Svevi the Angioini until the advent of Alfonso of Aragon in 1442. Divenne Viceregno with Consalvo de Cordoba 14 May of 1503, until the entrance of Carlo di Borbone (1734). A treasure to discover each time able to surprise also who lives to us from years.

To visit:

the historical center crossed from the three decumen “major”, audiences in Greek, and the several Greek hinges or stenopoi, interlacing itself perpendicularly form insulae rectangular that mark the areas of the agorà one and of the acropoli.

The inferior decuman, or inferior, famous audience as Spaccanapoli is the true heart of Naples, because on snodano it the loved and meaningful monuments more. Leaving from public square of Jesus it is passed for via Benedict Cross, p. S. Domenico Maggiore, Piazzetta Nilo, via S. Biagio of the Booksellers, p.zza Crocelle to the Mannesi, via Vicaria Vecchia and P.zza Calenda.

Along this route they are from visiting: guglia of the Immaculate one, the church of Jesus Nuovo, the church of annexed Clear S. and chiostro maiolicato, museum of the Clear work of S., S. Marta, Filomarino palace of the Rocca, church of S. Domenico Maggiore, Palazzo Corigliano to public square S. Domenico Maggiore, Severe nail head S., church of S. Angel to Nilo, statue of the Nilo, in vialetto of forehead the church of S. Maria Donnaromita, the church of S. Maria of Montevergine, the church of Jesus Old inside of the university. Continuing along via S. Biagio of the Booksellers the palace of Diomede Carafa meets, the palace and the nail head of the Mount of Mercy, Palazzo Marigliano, little more ahead on the left is the road of S. Armenian Gregorio with its characteristic mangers that put in communication spaccanapoli with the central decuman, to the term of via S. Biagio of the Booksellers finds the church of S. Greater George.

On via Dome coming down s’incontra the Cuomo palace that accommodates the Filangieri museum. Going back via Dome and bringing back themselves on Spaccanapoli Piazza Crocelle to the Mannesi meets in order to continue towards Staple in order to reach then Piazza Calenda with the rests of ancient walls Greeks.

The decuman greater or central part from Bellini Public square with the rests of walls Greeks, continuing meets the church of S. Peter to Maiella with the conservatory, S. Greater Maria and the Pontano nail head, bell tower of the Saint Stone.

Going up for a narrow lane it is found to us to S. Aniello Caponapoli, ancient the acropoli, the higher zone of the city, toponimo conserved in the church of S. Maria of Thanks to Caponapoli. Travelling over again via Courts more ahead palace is found Joints, the church of S. Maria of the spirits of the Purgatorio to Arc with ipogeo, S. Angel on target. In public square S. Gaetano rose ancient agorà the Greek one then and roman hole, on which the basilica of S appears. Greater Paul constructed in paleocristiana age on the ancient temple of the Dioscuri, than conserve still the ancient columns roman, then was done again in the 16th century; S. Lorenzo Maggiore testimony of an ancient roman public building that second Vitruvio had to collect the curia, aerarium and carceres of which possible anchor to see the ancient visible rests in the diggings. To public square S. Gaetano there is the income for Naples basement. Continuing along via Courts shortly before reaching on via Dome the conventuale complex of the Girolamini with the annexed pinacoteca and library meets. Continuing on via Courts it is reached piazzetta the Riario Sforza with the guglia of S. Gennaro, from which it is possible to see the apse of the Dome.

Continuing the complex of the Devout Mount of the Misericordia with celebre the picture of the “works of the misericordia” meets of Michelangelo Merisi from Caravaggio; S. Maria of the Peace, the historical Archives of the Bank of Naples and Castel Capuano.

Going up along the advanced decuman part the church of the Saint Apostles on via Saint Apostles is given away then carbonara on which S appears. Giovanni to Carbonara, the churches of S. Maria Donnaregina (trecentesca and seicentesca) with the Arcivescovado of forehead, continuing along via Anticaglia, via Pisanelli and via Wisdom they find the church of S. Maria of Thanks to Caponapoli (going up for the alley of S. Aniello), ancient acropoli of the roman Greek city, coming down finds the church of S then. Maria Regina Coeli in order to arrive at the end of the decuman on via Costantinopoli.
Completed this splendid walk long the ancient Greek roads and roman, than but did not correspond to those current ones concerning the age had of the sidewalks very wider, therefore the roads were wider, can propose to you to visit the museums more important than Naples.
Museum of Capodimonte

conserve the more important pinacoteca of the meridione, the founding nucleus is constituted by the Farnese collection, begun from Paul Farnese, afterwards has become rich of the coming collections from Parma, Piacenza and Rome inherited by Carl III of Borbone son of Elisabetta Farnese, last Farnese descendant. integrated afterwards with the acquisitions carried out from the Borbone, the Savoia and in successive age to the Unit of Italy, let alone from the numerous purchases and the more recent acquisitions. A section with works of contemporary art express executed for the museum. The espositivo distance is distributed on three levels in more than centodieci rooms, leaving from the noble plan with Galleria Farnese and the Real Apartment, to according to level section of the limbs of Naples is exposed to the Neapolitan Gallery -, until the third level that the nineteenth-century collection accommodates and that of Contemporary Art.

Museum of S. Martino

The Certosa di San Martino was founded in 1325 from Carl d’ Angiò, Duke of Calabria, on the top of the hill that dominates the entire Neapolitan gulf. The spectacular complex, was realized by Tino di Camaino and Primary Attanasio.

The best artists worked for the monks certosini, painters like Lanfranco, Battistello Caracciolo, Luca Giordano, Ribera, scultori which Giuseppe Sanmartino, Cosimo Fanzago and Domenico Antonio Vaccaro. The new defined museale function towards 1860 determined deep modifications of advanced the monastica structure until the 1900’s.

In the 1866 divenne National Monument and its first director, Giuseppe Fiorelli, decided to transform it in ` the historical museum’ of the city and the Reign of Naples, being received artistic testimonies tied to the history of Naples.
Museum of Villa Pignatelli

The nineteenth-century dwelling of the Acton was planned in 1826 by Peter Being worth, like an English house mail in the middle of a romantico garden, stirring pompeiane, neoclassiche and new-palladiane infuences. It was acquired in 1841 from the Rothschild, celebre the family of Swiss bankers to the service of the Borbone of Naples, for being yielded in 1867 to the Pignatelli Cortes of Aragon. The building is encircled by splendid veranda a newones with the monumental columns fluted, articulated on three plans: to the quota the garden the representation rooms, with vestibolo the circular and the succession of fastosi salotti, the wide dance hall, the room of music, the dining room and the study decorated from a wall in leather with gilded reasons impressi; of detail pregio it is salottino the oval decorated with frescoes neopompeiani. Slowly advanced Al finds the private lodging, that it accommodates the collection of paintings and designs of the Sanpaolo – Bank of Naples. Al seminterrato plan has been proceeds spaces for art extensions.

The villa was donated to the Italian State from Prince Rosina Pignatelli in 1952, with all its furnishings of representation, constituting so to Naples the only prestigious example of house-museum.

Castel S. Elmo

The current configuration, with stellar system to six tips, was realized between 1537 and 1547 on plan of Pedro Luis Escrivá di Valenza, expert military architect, to the service of the Viceré don Pedro de Toledo, like remembers the epigrafe mails on the income portal.

By 1982 the monumental complex is given in delivery to the Soprintendenza for Polo Neapolitan Museale, that “Bruno Molajoli” has destined the advanced plan of the high jail to center of the history of art library and of the Fototeca. Today the Castle is center of the offices of the Soprintendenza and it is proposed as a center of documentation of the of Campania artistic heritage. The wide spaces of the outpatient’s departments and the high jail are destined to accommodate important extensions of art.

Museum Duca di Martina and Villa Floridiana
In the 1817 Ferdinand di Borbone it acquired one it pre-exist villa in order to assign it to summery residence to the morganatica wife Lucia Migliaccio di Partanna, Duke of Floridia, married in Sicily in 1814, three months after the dead women of Queen Maria Carolina. The restructure of the entire complex was entrusted architect Antonio Niccolini who, between 1817 and 1819, planned or the rifacimento in neoclassico style of the mansion, than the reconfiguration of the garden to English, second the fashion of the time. The Niccolini planned, moreover, a teatrino in the open air, a tempietto ionic, the greenhouses and some coves for exotic animals, only architectonic elements still today existing in the current area of the Park. After the dead women of the Duke the monumental buildings and the Park endured numerous transformations, until 1916, year in which the Villa it was acquired by the destined State and to museale center from 1924 in order to accommodate the collection of the Duke of Martina.

The Museum Duke of Martina in the Floridiana Villa is center of one of the greater Italian collections of decorative limbs. It comprises beyond six thousand works of western manufacture and oriental, datable from the XII to XIX the century, whose nucleus more cospicuo is constituted by the ceramics. The Museum is developed today on three plans; to the ground floor objects in ivory are exposed, enamel and bronze of medioevale age, rinascimentali maioliche and baroque and glasses of Wall of i centuries XV- XVIII; to the first floor, the collection of European chinas of the 18th century whose main nucleus is constituted by those of the factories of Meissen, Naples and Capodimonte; at last to the seminterrato plan, the section of art objects is riallestita by little years oriental, between which remarkable it is the collection of Chinese chinas of age Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911).

Museum of art of Donnaregina

The “MADRE” is the first museum for the situated contemporary art in the historical center of a city. The portuguese architect Alvaro Siza has transformed the ancient Donnaregina palace in a splendid and functional modern space for the contemporary art. Site in via Settembrini to little steps from the dome and the treasure of Saint Gennaro. The espositivo distance of according to plan proposes the works that go from the end of the Fifties until the beginning of the Ninety, collecting approximately 100 intense activities granted from great Italian and foreign collectors.

They are signaled moreover:

Diocesano museum of Donnaregina; Museum of the treasure of S. Gennaro, pinacoteca of the Devout Mount of the Misericordia, pinacoteca of the Gerolamini, civic museum of the Angioino Male, civic Museum Filangieri, museum of the work of S. Lorenzo Maggiore, museum of the Clear work of S., museum of the Pagliara foundation (in the Institute Suor Orsola Benincasa), museum of Real Palace, room of the treasure of S. Domenico Maggiore.