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Naples - TV Tropes

  • ️Wed Mar 26 2025

UsefulNotes / Naples

Naples (Napoli in Italian, Napule in Neapolitan) is the capital of Campania, southern Italy, and the country's third most populous city, the country's second or third largest urban span and one of the most densely populated cities in Europe. It is located on the northern side of the bay named after itself in the southeast of Rome, right next to the Vesuvius volcano. Oh, and, it's the birthplace of a world-famous thing: the pizza.

One of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world, it was founded as Parthenope around 600 BC by refugees from the ancient Greek colony of Cumae, then renamed Neapolis, then was conquered by The Roman Republic in the 4th century BC. The Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum were founded nearby, and were destroyed and buried by the 79 AD eruption of the Vesuvius, then rediscovered many centuries later.

For several centuries, the city flourished as the capital of the Duchy of Naples under native dukes (from 661 AD to 1139), until the Normans arrived in southern Italy. It was subsequently passed from empire to empire throughout The Middle Ages. Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II ruled it for a brief period and founded its university in 1224. In 1265 it was conquered by the French Angevins, who built the Castel Nuovo.

After two centuries of French rule, the Spanish Empire took control in 1503 during the Italian Wars and, thanks to Spain's great colonial wealth, Naples flourished, becoming the largest city of its time in Europe (only contending with Antwerp, coincidentally also under Spanish control) and a blossoming place for Baroque art and architecture. At the same time, along with Sicily, it served as an imperial military backbone, providing both manpower and brainpower for Spain's endless wars. The viceregal rule of The Duke of Osuna was probably Naples' historical peak, turning it into an unexpected naval power able to temporally steamroll the Ottomans and Venetians without external help.

Despite being devastated by a plague epidemic in 1656 and suffering discontent due to high taxes and economic depression, Naples continued to prosper. The War of the Spanish Succession left it in Austrian hands, but it was eventually reconquered by the new Spanish monarchs, the Bourbons, who departed from previous patterns by turning Sicily, Naples and the rest of Southern Italy back into an independent kingdom under the same house in 1734. The new Neapolitan Bourbon branch wasn't too popular nor effective, but under them Naples kept its status. Famous monuments like the Real Teatro di San Carlo and the Reggia di Caserta palace were built around this time.

Like the rest of Europe, Italy felt the effects of The French Revolution. In 1799, the armies of Napoléon Bonaparte reached Naples, creating the short-lived Parthenopean Republic. The 19th century saw several revolutions and returns to monarchy under the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, but when Italy was unified in 1860 by Giuseppe Garibaldi, the people voted to join the country, which led to the foundation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861.

Not to be confused with the American city named after it, Naples, in Florida.

Works set at least partially in Naples:

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Personalities from Naples/associated with Naples:

Born there:

  • Enzo D'Alò (animator and director)
  • Luigi Denza (composer, born nearby in Castellammare di Stabia)
  • Elena Ferrante (writer, allegedly born there)
  • Eduardo De Filippo (actor, poet, filmmaker, writer, playwright)
  • Valeria Golino (actress and director)
  • Peppe Lanzetta (actor, playwright, director)
  • Silvio Orlando (actor)
  • Luigi Ricci (composer)
  • Tony Rosato (actor and comedian)
  • Francesco Rosi (filmmaker)
  • Roberto Saviano (writer and journalist)
  • Domenico Scarlatti (composer and harpsichord player)
  • Paolo Sorrentino (filmmaker and writer)
  • Bud Spencer (actor)
  • Stephen Spinella (actor)
  • Totò (actor, comedian, poet)
  • Massimo Troisi (actor, comedian, writer)
  • Doug Walker (critic and comedian, grew up in the US)

Others: