Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
placed by the German Swabians, whose charismatic leader Frederick II injected the city
with new institutions, including its university.
The Swabian period came to a violent end with the victory of Charles I of Anjou at the
1266 battle of Benevento. The Angevins did much for Naples, promoting art and culture,
building Castel Nuovo and enlarging the port, but they were unable to stop the Spanish
Aragons taking the city in 1442. However, Naples continued to prosper. Alfonso I of
Aragon, in particular, introduced new laws and encouraged the arts and sciences.
In 1503 Naples was absorbed by Spain, which sent viceroys to rule as virtual dictators.
Despite Spain's heavy-handed rule, Naples flourished artistically and acquired much of its
splendour. Indeed, it continued to bloom when the Spanish Bourbons re- established
Naples as the capital of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1734. Aside from a Napoleon-
ic interlude under Joachim Murat (1806-15), the Bourbons remained until unseated by
Garibaldi and the Kingdom of Italy in 1860.
NAPLES IN…
Two Days
Start with a burst of colour in the cloister of the
Basilica di Santa Chiara
(
Click here
), meditate on a Caravaggio
masterpiece at
Pio Monte della Misericordia
(
Click here
), and get dizzy under Lanfranco's dome fresco at the
duomo
(
Click here
). After lunch, head underground on a
Napoli Sotterranea
(
Click here
) tour, lose your breath
over the astounding
Cristo velato
(Veiled Christ) in the
Cappella Sansevero
(
Click here
)
, and kick back in bo-
hemian Piazza Bellini. Next morning, explore ancient treasures at the
Museo Archeologico Nazionale
(
Click
here
), then head up to the
Certosa e Museo di San Martino
(
Click here
) for extraordinary baroque interiors,
Neapolitan art, and a sweeping panorama. Cap the night on the fashionable, bar-packed streets of
Chiaia
(p658).
Four Days
Spend the morning of day three cheek-to-crater with
Mt Vesuvius
(
Click here
), then ponder its bone-chilling fury
at
Herculaneum
(
Click here
) or
Pompeii
(
Click here
). Alternatively, spend the day at Caserta's mammoth, art-
crammed
Palazzo Reale
(
Click here
). On day four, grab some picnic provisions at the
Mercato di Porta Nolana
(
Click here
)
and devour them in the ground of
Palazzo Reale di Capodimonte
(
Click here
). Nourished, eye up
the bounty of artistic masterpieces inside, then spend a romantic evening shouting 'encore' at the luscious
Teatro
San Carlo
(
Click here
)
.
Modern Struggles & Hopes
Naples was heavily bombed in WWII, and the effects can still be seen on many monu-
ments around the city. Since the war, Campania's capital has continued to suffer. Endemic
corruption and the reemergence of the Camorra have plagued much of the city's postwar
resurrection, reaching a nadir in the 1980s after a severe earthquake in 1980.
