HIstory and legend of Naples

 

Corso Vittorio Emanuele was V.M. Course it is a 4 km road that was built by King Fedinand of Bourbon for his wife Queen Maria Teresa. It connects the city from east to west and is one of the most scenic streets in the city. Originally the king ordered not to build palaces on the other side of the road so as to maintain the view along the entire road but after the unification of Italy the king wanted to call the street after his name (Vittorio Emanuele) and many palaces they were built on the sea side

 

  History of Naples

Greeks and Romans, 900 BC(BCE)-476 AD(CE)

The first inhabited center: Partenope

The history of Naples began in the 9th century BC (BCE), when the Greeks settled the little island of Megaride, and they created the first inhabited center: Parthenope.

Neapolis Community Foundation

In 470 BC Cumae (Greek colony) founded Neapolis (from the Greek new town) on the old inhabited center which changed its name from Parthenope to Paleopolis (from the Greek ancient city).

Naples and the Roman Empire

In 326 BC the Romans conquered Naples. During the empire the Neapolitan city, with its enchanting landscapes and natural thermal baths, became a holiday destination for the Roman nobles and the many writers of that time: Virgil, Cicero, Horace etc.
In 79 A.D. there was the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, the cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, Stabia and Oplontis were destroyed.

History of Naples, the Barbarian invasions, 476-536 AD(CE)

In 476 A.D. the entire Italian peninsula was conquered by the Barbarians (Germanic people).

The Byzantines and the Duchy of Naples, 536 – 1137 AD(CE)

The city of Naples in 536 AD(CE) was conquered by the Byzantines, the Eastern Roman Empire.
For almost a century Goths, Vandals and Lombards, Germanic peoples, tried to conquer the city of Naples but the Byzantines resisted.

Around 660 (date uncertain) the Duchy of Naples was founded.
Initially the duchy was simply a Byzantine province, commanded by a military governor, then the nobles of that time turned the Duchy of Naples into an autonomous state and also they managed to make the post of Duke hereditary.

Kingdom of Sicily, 1130 AD(CE) – 1816 AD(CE)

Kingdom of Sicily and the Normans from Northern Europe

The kingdom of Sicily was built in 1130 when Roberto d ‘Altavilla, a Norman leader and duke of Apulia and Calabria, in 1072 went down to Sicily and chasing away the Saracens he created the Great County of Sicily. He named his younger brother Ruggero Great Count.
In 1127 Guglielmo d ‘Altavilla, last Count of Apulia and Calabria, died without heirs, so its lands passed to his cousin Ruggero II, the last Grand Count of Sicily, who in 1130 united both counties, so the kingdom of Sicily was founded.
Fter years, in 1137, the Normans also conquered the duchy of Naples thus expanding the Kingdom of SIcily.

History of Naples and the Swabians of Frederick II.

The kingdom of Sicily in 1194 was conquered by the Swabians, a Germanic people. During their domination we cannot fail to remember the king of Sicily Frederick I, better known as Frederick II, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, who is considered one of the best sovereigns in Europe. A man of great culture who founded the Studium, the oldest university in Europe, known today as the Federico II University of Naples.

Naples conquered by the Angevins (France)

The Angevins led by Charles of Anjou, son of the king of France Louis VIII, in 1266 conquered southern Italy and Sicily, proclaiming the United Kingdom to the Crown of Sicily and the new King decided to move the capital, from Palermo to Naples.

Kingdom of Sicily: the Angevin architectural works

The Kingdom of Sicily, during the Angevin domination, had a great evolution, the French left traces of their passage with the construction of majestic monuments, castles, basilicas, churches and much more.
In 1235 the construction of the Basilica of Saint Lorenzo Maggiore began
In 1272 Charles of Anjou, after having conquered the kingdom of Sicily, he decided to move the Capital from city Palerm to that of Naples and build a new castle near the sea. Thus he began the construction of the New Castle (in italian Maschio Angioino), the medieval castle in Plebiscite square (Piazza del Plebiscito).

In 1283 the construction of the Basilica of Saint Domenico Maggiore began

 

Kingdom of Naples: the Aragoneses of Spain

In 1442 the Angevins were definitively defeated by the Aragonese, who also conquered southern Italy and Alfonso I of Aragon, king of Sicily, also became king of Naples.

In 1600 the construction of the royal palace of Naples began.

In 1606 Michelangelo Merisi (Caravaggio), went to the Neapolitan city where he made many works.

In 1631 there was an eruption of Vesuvius which destroyed many towns. There were more than 3000 victims.

The kingdom of Naples and the Bourbons of Spain

The kingdom of Naples and the Bourbons of Spain
In 1734 there was the Polish succession war, during which Charles of Bourbon took this opportunity to conquer first of all the Kingdom of Naples then that of Sicily

industrial, scientific and economic development.
King Charles immediately decided to stay in the royal palace of Naples and he ordered to restore it and expand it.
In 1737 the Royal Saint Charles theater was inaugurated.
In 1738 the construction works of the Royal palace of Portici began.
In the same year Charles of Bourbon needed a place for the family works of his mother Elisabetta Farnese, so he ordered to built the Royal palace of Capodimonte.

Castel Sant’Elmo : a medival originated castel built in the 10th centuary under the Angevins (French) domination 1329

 

 

LEGENDS OF NAPLES 

The mermaid Parthenope

Naples is also called the city of Parthenope, that term derives from the Greek word and it means virgin, the mermaid who, afflicted for not been able to charm Ulysses with her song, she threw herself from the rocks of Capri Island or Li Galli, near Positano (uncertain). The body of the enchantress was transported by the sea to the islet of Megaride, where now one find the Egg Castle, a fortress, the oldest in the city.

 

 

 

 

The legend of the Egg Castle

The legend of Egg Castle has it of Virgil, a Roman poet of the 1st century. B.C. (B.C.E.), but for the Neapolitans, in the past, he was known as an alchemist, who hid an enchanted egg in the foundations of the castle, and he stated that if it were lost or destroyed the city of Naples would suffer very powerful natural disasters. That is why this fortress is called Egg Castle.
During the 14th century there was the fall of an arch that supported the entrance to the castle, thus the queen Giovanna I of Anjou had to swear that she had replaced the egg as the Neapolitan were particularly very superstitious, thus they panicked.