Naples ( ; ; ) is the regional capital of Campania, southern Italy. With a population of 905,050 within the city's administrative limits as of 2026, it is the largest city in southern Italy and the third-largest city in Italy after Rome and Milan, while its province-level municipality is the third most populous metropolitan city in Italy with a population of 2,954,847 residents – or the second largest according to OECD data. Its metropolitan area, the seventh most populous in the European Union, has a population of approximately 4.4 million and stretches beyond the boundaries of the city proper for approximately . Naples also plays a key role in international diplomacy, being home to NATO's Allied Joint Force Command Naples and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean.
Founded by the Greeks in the first millennium BC, Naples is one of the oldest continuously inhabited urban areas in the world. In the eighth century BC, a colony known as Parthenope () was established on the Pizzofalcone hill. In the sixth century BC, it was refounded as Neápolis.Daniela Giampaola, Francesca Longobardo (2000). Naples Greek and Roman. Electa. The city was an important part of Magna Graecia, played a major role in the merging of Greek and Roman society, and has been a significant international cultural centre ever since with particular reference to the development of the arts.
Naples served as the capital of the Duchy of Naples (661–1139), subsequently as the capital of the Kingdom of Naples (1282–1816), and finally as the capital of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies — until the unification of Italy in 1861. Naples is also considered a capital of the Baroque, beginning with the artist Caravaggio's career in the 17th century and the artistic revolution he inspired.Alessandro Giardino (2017), Corporeality and Performativity in Baroque Naples. The Body of Naples. Lexington. It was also an important centre of humanism and Enlightenment. The city has long been a global point of reference for classical music and opera through the Neapolitan School.
Between 1925 and 1936, Naples was expanded and upgraded by the Fascist regime. During the later years of World War II, it sustained severe damage from Allied bombing as they invaded the peninsula. The Four Days of Naples (Italian: Quattro giornate di Napoli) was an uprising against Nazi German occupation forces from 27 September to 30 September 1943, immediately prior to the arrival of Allied forces on 1 October during World War II. The city underwent extensive reconstruction work after the war.
Since the late 20th century, Naples has had significant economic growth, helped by the construction of the Centro direzionale business district and an advanced transportation network, which includes the Alta Velocità high-speed rail link to Rome and Salerno and an expanded subway network and suburban railway service. Naples is the third-largest urban economy in Italy by GDP, after Milan and Rome. The Port of Naples is one of the most important in Europe.
Naples's historic city centre has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A wide range of culturally and historically significant sites are nearby, including the Royal Palace of Caserta and the Roman ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Naples is one of the world's cities with the highest density of cultural, artistic, and monumental resources, described by the BBC as "the Italian city with too much history to handle."
The city has long been a global point of reference for classical music and opera through the Neapolitan School, contributing to the development of opera buffa and the modern conservatory system.Francesco Florimo, Cenno storico sulla scuola musicale de Napoli, vol. 1, Tip. di L. Rocco, 1869. Naples has also fostered a distinctive theatrical tradition and a renowned musical heritage, including the Neapolitan song (Canzone napoletana), which achieved worldwide popularity. In the visual arts, the city has given rise to original artistic movements such as the Neapolitan RenaissanceStefano Zuffi, Grande atlante del Rinascimento, Milano, Electa, 2007, ISBN 978-88-370-4898-3. p. 134; 152–153 and , Caravaggism,Catalogue of the exhibition Caravaggio e caravaggeschi, held at the Royal Palace of Naples from 10 February to 20 March 1963. the School of Posillipo,Renato Ruotolo, La Scuola di Posillipo, Naples, Franco Di Mauro Edizioni, 2002, ISBN 88-87365-26-1. the School of Resina and Renato De Fusco, Il floreale a Napoli, 2ª ed., Napoli, Edizioni Scientifiche Italiane, 1989, ISBN 88-7104-528-9. p. 164 (Art Nouveau), as well as internationally significant applied arts, including Capodimonte porcelainNicola Spinosa, Le porcellane di Capodimonte, Milano, Rusconi, ISBN non esistente. and the Neapolitan nativity scene ("presepe").Marisa Piccoli Catello, Il Presepe Napoletano, Napoli, Guida Editore, 2005, ISBN 88-7188-945-2.
It is also widely recognised for its distinctive culinary tradition,Gianni De Bury, Frijenno magnanno, Di Mauro Franco Edizioni, 1990, ISBN 88-85263-00-3. which includes foods that have become global cultural icons, most notably pizza. In recognition of its cultural significance, the art of Neapolitan pizzaiolo has been inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Naples is home to some of the oldest and most prestigious educational institutions in Europe. It hosts the University of Naples Federico II, founded in 1224 and regarded as the oldest state-funded and secular university in the world, as well as the University of Naples "L'Orientale", the oldest institution in Europe dedicated to Oriental and Sinological studies. The city is also home to the Nunziatella Military School, one of the oldest and most prestigious military academies in the world.
History
Greek birth and Roman acquisition
Naples has been inhabited since the Neolithic period."Neapolis Station – Archaeological Yards" . Virtualtourist.com. 12 June 2005. Retrieved 7 September 2012. In the second millennium BC, a first Mycenaean settlement arose not far from the geographical position of the future city of Parthenope.
Sailors from the Greek island of Rhodes established probably a small commercial port called Parthenope (, meaning "Pure Eyes", a Siren in Greek mythology) on the island of Megaride in the ninth century BC."Port of Naples" . World Port Source. Retrieved 15 May 2012. By the eighth century BC, the settlement was expanded by Cumaeans, as evidenced by the archaeological findings, to include Monte Echia.Archemail.it . Retrieved 3 December 2012. In the sixth century BC the city was refounded as Neápolis (), eventually becoming one of the foremost cities of Magna Graecia.
The city grew rapidly due to the influence of the powerful Greek city-state of Syracuse, and became an ally of the Roman Republic against Carthage. During the Samnite Wars, the city, now a bustling centre of trade, was captured by the Samnites; however, the Romans soon captured the city from them and made it a Roman colony. During the Punic Wars, the strong walls surrounding Neápolis repelled the invading forces of the Carthaginian general Hannibal.
The Romans greatly respected Naples as a paragon of Hellenistic culture. During the Roman era, the people of Naples maintained their Greek language and customs. At the same time, the city was expanded with elegant Roman villas, aqueducts, and public baths. Landmarks such as the Temple of Dioscures were built, and many emperors chose to holiday in the city, including Claudius and Tiberius. Virgil, the author of Rome's national epic, the Aeneid, received part of his education in the city, and later resided in its environs.
It was during this period that Christianity first arrived in Naples. According to tradition, the basilica San Pietro ad Aram stands on the site where Saint Peter preached and baptized the first Neapolitan converts to Christianity. Januarius, who would become Naples's patron saint, was martyred there in the fourth century AD. The last emperor of the Western Roman Empire, Romulus Augustulus, was exiled to Naples by the Germanic king Odoacer in the fifth century AD.
Duchy of Naples
Following the decline of the Western Roman Empire, Naples was captured by the Ostrogoths, a Germanic people, and incorporated into the Ostrogothic Kingdom. However, General Belisarius of the Byzantine Empire recaptured Naples after a short siege in 536, after entering the city via an aqueduct.
In 543, during the Gothic Wars, Totila briefly took the city for the Ostrogoths, but the Byzantines seized control of the area following the Battle of Mons Lactarius on the slopes of Vesuvius. Naples was expected to keep in contact with the Exarchate of Ravenna, which was the centre of Byzantine power on the Italian Peninsula.
After the exarchate fell, a Duchy of Naples was created. Although Naples's Greco-Roman culture endured, it eventually switched allegiance from Constantinople to Rome under Duke Stephen II, putting it under papal suzerainty by 763.
The years between 818 and 832 saw tumultuous relations with the Byzantine Emperor, with numerous local pretenders feuding for possession of the ducal throne. Theoctistus was appointed without imperial approval; his appointment was later revoked and Theodore II took his place. However, the disgruntled general populace chased him from the city and elected Stephen III instead, a man who minted coins with his initials rather than those of the Byzantine Emperor. Naples gained complete independence by the early ninth century. Naples allied with the Muslim Saracens in 836 and asked for their support to repel the siege of Lombard troops coming from the neighbouring Duchy of Benevento. However, during the 850s, Muslim general Muhammad I Abu 'l-Abbas sacked Miseno, but only for Khums purposes (Islamic booty), without conquering the territories of Campania.Hilmar C. Krueger. "The Italian Cities and the Arabs before 1095" in A History of the Crusades: The First Hundred Years, Vol.I. Kenneth Meyer Setton, Marshall W. Baldwin (eds., 1955). University of Pennsylvania Press. p.48.
The duchy was under the direct control of the Lombards for a brief period after the capture by Pandulf IV of the Principality of Capua, a long-term rival of Naples; however, this regime lasted only three years before the Greco-Roman-influenced dukes were reinstated. By the 11th century, Naples had begun to employ Norman mercenaries to battle their rivals; Duke Sergius IV hired Rainulf Drengot to wage war on Capua for him.
By 1137, the Normans had attained great influence in Italy, controlling previously independent principalities and duchies such as Capua, Benevento, Salerno, Amalfi, Sorrento and Gaeta; it was in this year that Naples, the last independent duchy in the southern part of the peninsula, came under Norman control. The last ruling duke of the duchy, Sergius VII, was forced to surrender to Roger II, who had been proclaimed King of Sicily by Antipope Anacletus II seven years earlier. Naples thus joined the Kingdom of Sicily, with Palermo as the capital.
As part of the Kingdom of Sicily