Naples - city of sea and culture

The capital of Campania lies in the bay of the same name next to the volcano Vesuvius and offers a spectacular view as far as the islands of Capri, Ischia and Procida. The historical centre has been recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site because of its monuments that best represent European and Mediterranean culture.

The role of Naples as the cradle of Italian culture, including literature, theatre, music and cuisine, should also not be forgotten. The latter is, to all intents and purposes an art: one of the world's best-loved delicacies, pizza, was born here.

Greco-Roman Naples, founded by the Cumaeans in the 8th century BC, became one of the most important cities of Magna Graecia, before being conquered by the Romans in 326 BC. At the dawn of the Middle Ages it was conquered by the Byzantines and thanks to local nobility was able to transform itself into the Duchy of Naples, an independent state that ruled for more than five centuries, until the invasion of the Normans in 1139.

In 1266, following the victory of Charles I of Anjou over Manfred of Sweden, it became Angevin and in 1282 was elected capital of the Kingdom of Naples, becoming one of the most influential cultural centres in Europe. A status it maintained during its Aragonese period and increased with the arrival of the Borboni (Bourbons) in 1734, who restored its independence, making it a great European city, culturally evolved and highly refined.

Napoleon also arrived in Naples and in 1799 the Parthenopean Republic was established for a few months. With the Restoration, it became the capital of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies until the Unification of Italy. Throughout the 1900s Naples suffered heavily during the two world wars, but was also the birthplace of the first President of the Italian Republic, Enrico De Nicola.