Naples: History and Culture

IEREK’S next international conference on Utopian and Scared Architecture Studies will be hosted in one of the most spiritual cities, the city of Naples. Held from the 5^th to the 8^th May 2019, in collaboration with Università degli Studi della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli – Naples.

Naples history can be traced back to the 7th century BC, which was founded by the Ancient Greeks, who settled in southern Italy.

The city of Naples was founded by the Ancient Greeks, who settled in Southern Italy. Following that, Naples became a busy and important port. However, the Romans conquered Naples in 326 BC. Under Roman rule the port of Naples continued to thrive, and rich Romans built holiday villas on the nearby coast. During a Roman civil war in 88-82 BC, a man named Sulla and his forces occupied Naples and massacred many of the inhabitants. Yet with the return of peace, Naples flourished again. In the 4th century, the Roman Empire split in two. Then in the 5th century AD, the western half of the Roman Empire was invaded, and it ended completely in 476 AD. Italy was left in the hands of Germanic peoples.

However, the eastern half of the Roman Empire survived (known as the Byzantine Empire). The Byzantines were determined to recapture southern Italy. In 536 AD, they laid siege to and captured Naples. It then became a duchy with a duke. Gradually the Byzantine rule weakened and in 645, a native Neapolitan named Basilio became duke of Naples. In the following centuries Naples thrived and trade with other places around the Mediterranean flourished.

The Normans arrived in Southern Italy. In 1139 the Normans conquered Naples and it became part of the kingdom of Sicily (which included southern Italy).

In the 16^th century, Naples was part of the great Spanish Empire. At first Naples was prosperous and it grew rapidly. By 1600 Naples was the largest city in Europe and it had a population of around 300,000.

Then in 1734, Sicily and Southern Italy (including Naples) became an independent kingdom again. Once again Naples flourished. In the 1790s, all of Europe including Italy was rocked by the events that followed the French Revolution. In 1799, the French army occupied Naples and they created a republic.

With the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, many successive revolutions led up to the Second World War when bombing did great damage to the city. However, in the 1990s the situation changed, and Naples was regenerated.

Naples is raw, high-octane energy, a place of soul-stirring art and panoramas, spontaneous conversations and unexpected, inimitable elegance. Naples’ wealth of cultural assets is extraordinary. You’ll find royal palaces, castles, and ancient ruins that include some of Christianity’s oldest frescoes. The city’s Museo Archeologic Nazionale claims the world’s finest collection of Pompeiian frescoes and mosaics, while its Cappella Sansovino holds Italy’s most extraordinary marble sculpture. You’ll find Caravaggio masterpieces in the Pio Monte della Misericordia, Palazzo Zevallos Stylianos and Palazzo Reale di Capodimonte, the latter palace is home to countless masterpieces.

Pompeii

Italian Pompeii, is one of the Italian cities located on the Mediterranean Sea near the city of “Nibbles” Italian, and was full during the reign of Emperor “Nero”, which is still undergoing restoration to reveal a lot of human and architectural secrets.

Pompeii has a flourishing civilization. It was overlooking an empty volcanic mountain. Most of the population was rich. The city’s monuments were paved with stones, public baths and water networks reaching homes. It also had an advanced seaport. In addition to that, it also had theaters and markets, and their effects showed the evolution of the arts through inscriptions and wall paintings.

Pompeii is a Roman city where there were about twenty thousand people, and today is left of the city of ancient ruins. The city lies at the foot of Vesuvius volcano, which rises 1,200 meters above sea level, near the Gulf of Naples in Italy.

The eruption of the volcano was a devastating eruption in 79 AD and the cities of Pompey and Herculaneum were destroyed. The city’s volcano was buried in ash for 1,600 years until it was discovered in the 18th century.

The city Herculaneum and then Pompey were discovered in the year 1748. The city’s rich, complacent nature and age then derived the Roman Empire, architecture, social life and so on.

Pompey has been visited by many personalities throughout history, especially art lovers, but King Frances I of Naples visited Pompeii at the National Museum with his wife and daughter in 1819. He was shocked by what he saw as bold arts and a violation of public morals.

After its catastrophic demise, Pompeii receded from the public eye until 1594, when the architect Domenico Fontana stumbled across the ruins while digging a canal. Proper exploration, however, did not begin until 1748. Of Pompeii’s original 66 hectares, 44 have now been excavated. Of course that does not mean you will have unhindered access to every inch of the UNESCO-listed site – expect to come across areas cordoned off for no apparent reason, a noticeable lack of clear signs, and the odd stray dog. Audio guides are a sensible investment (€8) and a good guidebook will also help – try Pompeii, published by Electa Napoli.

Maintenance work is ongoing, but progress is often beset by political, financial and bureaucratic problems.

Amalfi Coast

Amalfi Coast is a coastline along the southern coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea, the coast of the Red Sea coast, in the Salmon coast. In 1997, the Amalfi Coast was listed as a UNESCO World Documentation Site.

Amalfi, the town that gives its name to the coast, is situated at the mouth of the Valle dei Mulini; it was the first of the Four Maritime Republics of Italy and for a long time had the monopoly of trade with the East. It looks like a cluster of white houses clinging to the rock and connected to each other by covered alleys and stairways. At the center of the main square there is the beautiful Cathedral of St. Andrew, with its impressive staircase, the bell-tower in Arab-Norman style and the charming Cloister of Paradise. The Handmade paper Museum and the Ancients Arsenals of the Republic also worth a visit.

On a distance of 270 kilometers from the capital city of Rome or 70 km from Naples, you are invited to the Far East and the area of the length and eye 68 km, every meter is beautiful, and connects between Sorrento and Amalfi. The airport road on Amalfi Road, or ss163, along the rocky cliff leading to the sea, offers plenty of grounds, green areas, flowers from idyllic houses on the rocks, coastal towns and small fishing villages.

When you go to the Amalfi coast you will find beautiful, jeweled houses amidst hills and cliffs with charming landscaping beauty. You will also see a group of ancient houses dating back to very ancient centuries, in the form of rocks that are accumulated on top of each other. Lemon gardens, magnificent sandy beaches and flower-colored orchards can also be seen.

The Amalfi coast of Italy was hundreds of years away from the world. Despite the beauty of its beaches, the Amalfi Coast has become the most popular tourist destination around the world. Tourists are among the most popular and romantic places to come from around the world. Health and beauty centers, specialty restaurants and outdoor dining. In addition to this, international water sport activities are held each year. The Amalfi Coast also has the most beautiful commercial ports.

The Amalfi coast of Italy is located on the southern coast of Italy. The Amalfi Coast is the destination of millions of tourists. It is one of the most famous touristic areas in Italy. In 2007, the Amalfi coast was introduced as a UNESCO World Heritage Site because it is one of the most beautiful cultural scenes in the world.

Ravello

Ravello is a town located above the Amalfi coast in the province of Salerno, Campania, southern Italy, with nearly 2,500 inhabitants. It is a popular tourist destination because of its natural beauty. Ravello was founded in the 5^th century as a refuge against barbaric invasions that marked the end of the Western Roman Empire. In the 9^th century, Ravello was an important town of the Amalfi Republic, a wool producer of the surrounding country that was dyed in the town and an important commercial force in the Mediterranean between 839 and about 1200.

Ravello was founded in the 5^th century as a shelter place against the barbarian invasions, which marked the end of the Western Roman Empire.

In 1086, at the request of the Italo-Norman count Roger Borsa, who wished to create a counterweight to the powerful Duchy of Amalfi, Pope Victor III made Ravello the seat of a diocese immediately subject to the Holy See, with territory split off from that of the archdiocese of Amalfi. Early on, the bishops of Ravello all came from patrician families of the city, showing the church’s municipalised character.

In the 12th century, Ravello had 25,000 inhabitants, and it retains a number of palazzi of the mercantile nobility, the Rufolo, d’Aflitto, Confalone, and Della Marra. In 1137, after a first failed attack two years before, the Duchy was destroyed by the Republic of Pisa. Following that, a demographic and economic decline set in, and much of its population moved to Naples and its surroundings in the Kingdom of Naples.