NAPLES IS THE THIRD LARGEST CITY OF ITALY AND WAS FOR CENTURIES THE CAPITALOF THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES. IT IS BY FAR THE MOST
IMPORTANT PLACE IN SOUTHERN ITALY. NAPLES LIES 190 KM (120 MILES) SOUTHEAST OF ROME, AT THE NORTHERN END OF A LARGE GULF SHELTERED FROM THE OPEN MEDITERRANEAN SEA. THE TOWN SLOPES UP TO VOLCANIC HILLS ON THE WEST AND STRETCHES ALMOST TO THE FOOT OF THE MIGHTY VOLCANO MOUNT VESUVIUS ON THE EAST.
NAPLES HAS A MAGNIFICENT HARBOUR AND IS AN IMPORTANT PORT. THE CITY IS A BIG MARKET FOR FARM PRODUCE, AS THE LAND JUST TO THE NORTH OF IT IS VERY FERTILE AND PRODUCES MUCH FRUIT AND VEGETABLES, ESPECIALLY TOMATOES. NAPLES IS THE REGION’S CULTURAL AND FINANCIAL CENTRE. IT IS ALSO AN IMPORTANT INDUSTRIAL CENTRE, WITH A LARGE IRON AND STEEL WORKS IN THE WESTERN SUBURB OF BAGNOLI, SHIPBUILDING YARDS, AND FACTORIES MAKING TEXTILES, PORCELAIN WARE, AND MACHINERY. MODERN INDUSTRIES ARE ELECTRONICS, PETROLEUM REFINING, AND CAR ASSEMBLY. TOURISM IS ALSO IMPORTANT.
NAPLES HAS A MAGNIFICENT OPERA HOUSE. THE TUNES AND FOLK SONGS OF THE REGION HAVE BEEN SPREAD WORLDWIDE BY SINGERS SUCH AS THE GREAT TENOR ENRICO CARUSO, HIMSELF A NEAPOLITAN (A PERSON FROM NAPLES IS CALLED A NEAPOLITAN). NAPLES WAS FOUNDED AS NEAPOLIS (“THE NEW CITY”) BY THE GREEKS IN ABOUT THE 6TH CENTURY BC. LATER THE ROMAN EMPERORS BUILT THEIR SUMMER VILLAS THERE AND ON THE ISLAND OF CAPRI IN THE BAY OF NAPLES. NEAR BY SPRANG UP THE ROMAN TOWNS OF POMPEII AND HERCULANEUM, WHICH WERE BURIED BY AN ERUPTION OF VESUVIUS IN AD 79. AFTER THE 11TH CENTURY, THE KINGDOM OF NAPLES, WHICH SOMETIMES INCLUDED SICILY, WAS GENERALLY RULED BY THE FRENCH OR SPANIARDS, BUT IN 1860 IT BECAME PART OF THE NEW KINGDOM OF ITALY. OVER THE YEARS, CASTLES AND RICH, PALACES AROSE IN NAPLES, BUT AROUND THEM THERE WERE TERRIBLE SLUMS WHERE MANY POOR PEOPLE LIVED IN MISERY. AFTER A SEVERE OUTBREAK OF CHOLERA IN 1884 A START WAS MADE TO CLEAR AWAY THE SLUMS AND IMPROVE THE WATER SUPPLY. THE CITY WAS BADLY DAMAGED DURING WORLD WAR II AND GREAT EFFORTS WERE AFTERWARDS MADE TO BUILD NEW HOUSES FOR WORKING PEOPLE AND TO ENCOURAGE INDUSTRY. THE CITY RETAINS ITS TRADITIONAL CROWDED LIVELINESS. THE POPULATION OF NAPLES IS ABOUT 1 MILLION.