DK Travel : Naples & the Amalfi Coast : History & Culture

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Galleria Umberto I

Part of the Urban Renewal Plan following the cholera epidemic of 1884 (see Cholera Epidemic), this light-filled space is home to elegant buildings with Neo-Renaissance embellishments and marble floors, overarched by a roof of iron and glass. Located across from the Royal Palace and Teatro San Carlo, the spot immediately became popular with the city’s smart and artistic set, and even today has an air of bygone charm.
Gioacchino Rossini

The composer wrote some 50 operas and was artistic director of the opera house between 1815 and 1822.
Giovanni Battista Vico

Born in Naples in 1668, Vico found fame with his influential La Scienza Nuova (The New Science) (1725).
Giovanni Boccaccio

Author of The Decameron (1348–53), 10 tales of ribaldry in medieval Naples.
Giuseppe Verdi

The “god” of Italian opera wrote his first opera for the theatre, Alzira , in 1845.
Greek Colonization

From the 8th to the 5th centuries BC this area became an important part of Magna Graecia when Greek city-states set up trading posts here (see Paestum). In 470 BC Neapolis (New City) was founded, which became modern Naples.
Green Grotto, Capri

Located on the other side of the island from its far more famous sibling, the Blue Grotto, this smaller cave glows emerald green once you duck inside. The best way to get here is to rent a kayak at Punta Carena and then make your way past Marina Piccola towards the Faraglioni rocks.
Growth of the City

With the advent of the Angevins (1266–1442) and the Aragons (1442–1503), Naples was now a modern capital and a powerful employment magnet. This led to severe overcrowding – a chronic Neapolitan problem to this day.
Herculaneum

This town, largely a resort in ancient times located right on the sea, was also buried alive by by mud and lava from Vesuvius. The resulting preservation is, if anything, even better, bringing down to us wooden structures and other more perishable materials. However the excavations began in the 18th century when the science of archaeology had yet to be developed, so diggers were not very careful, being mostly on a royal treasure hunt for statuary, mosaics and fresco paintings (see Herculaneum, Oplontis & Stabiae).
Inauguration

On 4 November 1737 the San Carlo was inaugurated with Metastasio’s opera Achille in Sciro .