Naples
Panoramic View of Naples Bay and Castel Nuovo
Naples, the third largest city in Italy, is located in the region of Campania in southern Italy, near Mount Vesuvius. Founded by the ancient Greeks in 470 B.C. it offers a lot with its remarkable culture, art and history with triumphal arches, villas, castles, bridges and tombs of the Roman Imperial age. The historical center of Naples is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Castel Nuovo
Locally known as the Castel Maschio Angioino, Castel Nuovo (New Castle)was built in the 13th Century on the orders of Carlo I d’Angiò. Like many buildings in history, the Castle went through many hands and many renovations. The most beautiful feature is probably the triumphant arch erected to celebrate the conquering of Naples in 1443. Today the castle houses to administrative offices (the beautiful Sala dei Baroni - Room of the Barons - is used for Council meetings) and the Museo Civico (civic museum); you can also visit the Cappella Palatina (Palatine Chapel) and other rooms often used for cultural events and exhibitions.
Piazza del Plebiscito
Piazza del Plebiscito is home to the Royal Palace and the Church of San Francesco di Paola (Saint Francis of Paola), with its beautiful colonnades all around it. The square is the largest in Naples.
Church of San Francesco di Paola
Palazzo Reale(Royal Palace)
The Palazzo Reale facing onto Piazza del Plebiscito is just one of many palaces used by the Bourbon King of Naples. Built by Domenico Fontana at the beginning of the 17th Century, it was meant to host the Spanish King (Philip III) but he never moved there. Since then the palace had many additionts due to the fire in 1838 and bomb damage during World War II. Today the palace and adjacent grounds house a musem, several offices, the Biblioteca Nazionale di Napoli (the National Library of Naples) and the San Carlo Teatre. Built by King Charles of Bourbon in 1737, it is the oldest theatre in Europe and holds up to 3,ooo people. The theatre is also part of UNESCO World Heritage.
Teatro San Carlo
Castel dell' Ovo
Castel dell'Ovo was built on the islet of Megaride, towards the middle of the 7th Century B.C.
Museo capodimonte
Capodimonte is a must-see museum and art gallery with some magnificent art collections of the Borboni (Bourbons) and Savoy families, and the prestigious Farnese collection. The gallery also houses a Contemporary Art collection, royal apartments furnished with antique furniture, a collection of porcelains and majolica tiles and much more.
On the first and second floors is the National Gallery, with paintings by well known artists such as Caravaggio, El Greco, Raphael, Michelangelo, Titian, Vasari, Masaccio and many others.
Duomo San Gennaro (Saint Januarius)
The Duomo San Gennaro is a marvelous 13th-Century Gothic building dedicated to the patron saint of the city (San Gennaro). Legend has it that every year on the first Saturday in May, on 19th September and 16th December dried blood from the beheaded San Gennaro liquifies in its ampoule at the cathedral. Should the miracle fail, then disaster will strike. These are special days for the city of Naples and are celebrate with special mass and procession. The atmosphere around this old phenomenon is fantastic.
Catacomb of San Gennaro
The catacombs date back to the 2nd Century AD and Saint Agrippinus of Naples - the first patron saint of Naples - was buried here. The catacombs only take San Gennaro's name from the 5th Century when his remain were transferred here from Agro Marciano by the bishop of Naples (today the blood and head of Saint Gennaro are in the Duomo). Some of the first bishops of Naples were buried here as well. This underground burial place is on two floors and has beautiful frescoes and mosaics dating back to the 2nd Century. The catacombs can be found at Via Capodimonte 13 beneath the Basilica dell'Incoronata a Capodimonte and is the largest complex of Christian catacombs in southern Italy.
Basilica dell'Incoronata a Capodimonte
Panoramic View of Chiesa Santa Chiara and Monastry
The basilica and the complex of Santa Chiara (monastry and the closter) were built between 1310 and 1340 by Roberto d'Angiò and is the biggest Gothic basilica of Naples. Set on one side of Piazza del Gesù, the complex includes a Museum, Archaelogical Area, the Chiostro maiolicato delle Clarisse (Majolica-tiled Cloister), trasformed by Domenico Antonio Vaccaro in 1742, and a collection of Nativity Scenes (Christmas Cribs) from the 18th Century.
Chiostro maiolicato delle Clarisse
Other Places to see in Naples
Castel Capuano Basilica Santa Maria di Piedigrotta
Chiesa del Gesù Nuovo Basilica di S. Domenico Maggiore
Fontana della Sirena
Mount Vesuvius