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76-649: Especially associated with developments in Naples in the first half of the 18th century, whence its popularity spread to Rome and northern Italy , buffa was at first characterized by everyday settings, local dialects, and simple vocal writing (the basso buffo is the associated voice type), the main requirement being clear diction and facility with patter . The New Grove Dictionary of Opera considers La Cilla (music by Michelangelo Faggioli , text by Francesco Antonio Tullio  [ it ] , 1706) and Luigi and Federico Ricci 's Crispino e la comare (1850) to be

152-641: A British fleet . However, Naples' lower class lazzaroni were strongly pious and royalist, favouring the Bourbons; in the mêlée that followed, they fought the Neapolitan pro-Republican aristocracy, causing a civil war. Eventually, the Republicans conquered Castel Sant'Elmo and proclaimed a Parthenopaean Republic , secured by the French Army . A counter-revolutionary religious army of lazzaroni known as

228-476: A hall of the castle, and following this Pope Boniface VIII was elected pope by the cardinal collegium , before moving to Rome. Castel Capuano was built in the 12th century by William I , the son of Roger II of Sicily , the first monarch of the Kingdom of Naples . It was expanded by Frederick II and became one of his royal palaces. The castle was the residence of many kings and queens throughout its history. In

304-528: A key international role in international diplomacy, since it is home to NATO 's Allied Joint Force Command Naples and of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean . Founded by 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 ( Ancient Greek : Παρθενόπη ) was established on

380-513: 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 ,

456-418: A separate genre, an early precursor having been the operatic comedy, Il Trespolo tutore , by Alessandro Stradella , in 1679. Opera buffa was a parallel development to opera seria , and arose in reaction to the so-called first reform of Apostolo Zeno and Pietro Metastasio . It was, in part, intended as a genre that the common man could relate to more easily. Whereas opera seria was an entertainment that

532-465: A surrender in the face of insurgents. The city was already completely freed by 1 October 1943, when British and American forces entered the city. Departing Germans burned the library of the university , as well as the Italian Royal Society. They also destroyed the city archives. Time bombs planted throughout the city continued to explode into November. The symbol of the rebirth of Naples was

608-579: Is one of the city's main museums, with one of the most extensive collections of artefacts of the Roman Empire in the world. It also houses many of the antiques unearthed at Pompeii and Herculaneum , as well as some artefacts from the Greek and Renaissance periods. Previously a Bourbon palace, now a museum and art gallery, the Museo di Capodimonte is another museum of note. The gallery features paintings from

684-507: Is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy , after Rome and Milan , with a population of 909,048 within the city's administrative limits as of 2022. Its province-level municipality is the third-most populous metropolitan city in Italy with a population of 3,115,320 residents, and its metropolitan area stretches beyond the boundaries of the city wall for approximately 30 kilometres (20 miles). Naples plays also

760-435: Is the city's premier place of worship; each year on 19 September, it hosts the longstanding Miracle of Saint Januarius , the city's patron saint . During the miracle, which thousands of Neapolitans flock to witness, the dried blood of Januarius is said to turn to liquid when brought close to holy relics said to be of his body. Below is a selective list of Naples' major churches, chapels, and monastery complexes: Aside from

836-444: Is the oldest opera house in Italy. Directly across San Carlo is Galleria Umberto . Naples is well known for its castles: The most ancient is Castel dell'Ovo ("Egg Castle"), which was built on the tiny islet of Megarides, where the original Cumaean colonists had founded the city. In Roman times the islet became part of Lucullus 's villa, later hosting Romulus Augustulus , the exiled last western Roman emperor. It had also been

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912-542: Is the one intermezzo still performed with any regularity today, and provides an excellent example of the style. Lo frate 'nnamorato (1732) and Il Flaminio (1735), by Pergolesi as well, are examples of the three-act commedia per musica . Apart from Pergolesi, the first major composers of opera buffa were Alessandro Scarlatti ( Il trionfo dell'onore , 1718), Nicola Logroscino ( Il governatore , 1747) and Baldassare Galuppi ( Il filosofo di campagna , 1754), all of them based in Naples or Venice . The work of these

988-569: 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; the apostles Peter and Paul are said to have preached in the city. Januarius , who would become Naples' patron saint , was martyred there in the fourth century AD. The last emperor of the Western Roman Empire , Romulus Augustulus ,

1064-457: The sanfedisti under Cardinal Fabrizio Ruffo was raised; they met with great success, and the French were forced to surrender the Neapolitan castles, with their fleet sailing back to Toulon . Ferdinand IV was restored as king; however, after only seven years, Napoleon conquered the kingdom and installed Bonapartist kings, including installing his brother Joseph Bonaparte . With the help of

1140-512: The Alta Velocità high-speed rail link to Rome and Salerno and an expanded subway network . 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' historic city centre has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site . A wide range of culturally and historically significant sites are nearby, including

1216-683: The Austrian Empire and its allies, the Bonapartists were defeated in the Neapolitan War . Ferdinand IV once again regained the throne and the kingdom. The Congress of Vienna in 1815 saw the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily combine to form the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies , with Naples as the capital city. In 1839, Naples became the first city on the Italian Peninsula to have a railway, with

1292-640: The Battle of Garigliano in 1503. Following the Spanish victory, Naples became part of the Spanish Empire , and remained so throughout the Spanish Habsburg period. The Spanish sent viceroys to Naples to directly deal with local issues: the most important of these viceroys was Pedro Álvarez de Toledo , who was responsible for considerable social, economic and urban reforms in the city; he also tried to introduce

1368-568: 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

1444-606: The Conservatorio di Onofrio  [ it ] . In May 1699, Sabini succeeded his teacher as the Convervatorio's maestro di cappella . Possibly because of illness, he left his post in 1702, and died of tuberculosis three years later. Sabini was a member of the Congregazione de' Musici (Congregation of Musicians) in Naples. An influential figure in the early history of opera buffa in Naples, Sabini's most important work

1520-518: The Iberian Peninsula . Naples also became a centre of the Renaissance, with artists such as Laurana , da Messina , Sannazzaro and Poliziano arriving in the city. In 1501, Naples came under direct rule from France under Louis XII , with the Neapolitan king Frederick being taken as a prisoner to France; however, this state of affairs did not last long, as Spain won Naples from the French at

1596-808: The Inquisition . In 1544, around 7,000 people were taken as slaves by Barbary pirates and brought to the Barbary Coast of North Africa (see Sack of Naples ). By the 17th century, Naples had become Europe's second-largest city – second only to Paris – and the largest European Mediterranean city, with around 250,000 inhabitants. The city was a major cultural centre during the Baroque era, being home to artists such as Caravaggio , Salvator Rosa and Bernini , philosophers such as Bernardino Telesio , Giordano Bruno , Tommaso Campanella and Giambattista Vico , and writers such as Giambattista Marino . A revolution led by

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1672-636: The Kingdom of Sicily , with Palermo as the capital. After a period of Norman rule, in 1189, the Kingdom of Sicily was in a succession dispute between Tancred, King of Sicily of an illegitimate birth and the Hohenstaufens , a Germanic royal house , as its Prince Henry had married Princess Constance the last legitimate heir to the Sicilian throne. In 1191 Henry invaded Sicily after being crowned as Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor , and many cities surrendered. Still, Naples resisted him from May to August under

1748-579: 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,

1824-664: 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 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

1900-596: The Palace of Caserta and the Roman ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum . In 2017 the BBC defined Naples as "the Italian city with too much history to handle". The most prominent forms of architecture visible in present-day Naples are the Medieval , Renaissance and Baroque styles. Naples has a total of 448 historical churches (1000 in total ), making it one of the most Catholic cities in

1976-519: The Palace of Caserta and the Roman ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum . Naples is also known for its natural beauties, such as Posillipo , Phlegraean Fields , Nisida and Vesuvius . Neapolitan cuisine is noted for its association with pizza , which originated in the city, as well as numerous other local dishes. Restaurants in the Naples' area have earned the most stars from the Michelin Guide of any Italian province. Naples' Centro Direzionale

2052-718: 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

2128-656: The Royal Palace of Naples stands the Galleria Umberto I , which contains the Coral Jewellery Museum . Occupying a 19th-century palazzo renovated by the Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza , the Museo d'Arte Contemporanea Donnaregina (MADRE) features an enfilade procession of permanent installations by artists such as Francesco Clemente , Richard Serra , and Rebecca Horn . The 16th-century palace of Roccella hosts

2204-416: The late-2000s recession had a severe impact on the city, intensifying its waste-management and unemployment problems. By August 2011, the number of unemployed in the Naples area had risen to 250,000, sparking public protests against the economic situation. In June 2012, allegations of blackmail, extortion, and illicit contract tendering emerged concerning the city's waste management issues. Naples hosted

2280-461: The 13th to the 18th centuries, including major works by Simone Martini , Raphael , Titian , Caravaggio , El Greco , Jusepe de Ribera and Luca Giordano . The royal apartments are furnished with antique 18th-century furniture and a collection of porcelain and majolica from the various royal residences: the famous Capodimonte Porcelain Factory once stood just adjacent to the palace. In front of

2356-553: The 14th century, the Hungarian Angevin king Louis the Great captured the city several times. In 1442, Alfonso I conquered Naples after his victory against the last Angevin king, René , and Naples was unified with Sicily again for a brief period. Sicily and Naples were separated since 1282, but remained dependencies of Aragon under Ferdinand I . The new dynasty enhanced Naples' commercial standing by establishing relations with

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2432-518: The 16th century by the Spanish, was demolished in 1906 to make room for the Via Marina, although two of the castle's towers remain as a monument. The Vigliena Fort, built in 1702, was destroyed in 1799 during the royalist war against the Parthenopean Republic and is now abandoned and in ruin. Naples is widely known for its wealth of historical museums. The Naples National Archaeological Museum

2508-525: The 16th century, it became the Hall of Justice. Another Neapolitan castle is Castel Sant'Elmo , which was completed in 1329 and is built in the shape of a star . Its strategic position overlooking the entire city made it a target of various invaders. During the uprising of Masaniello in 1647, the Spanish took refuge in Sant'Elmo to escape the revolutionaries. The Carmine Castle , built in 1392 and highly modified in

2584-574: The Duke of Noja , employing rigorous surveying accuracy and becoming an essential urban planning tool for Naples. During the time of Ferdinand IV , the effects of the French Revolution were felt in Naples: Horatio Nelson , an ally of the Bourbons, arrived in the city in 1798 to warn against the French republicans. Ferdinand was forced to retreat and fled to Palermo , where he was protected by

2660-563: The Naples area between 1876 and 1913. In the forty years following unification, the population of Naples grew by only 26%, vs. 63% for Turin and 103% for Milan; however, by 1884, Naples was still the largest city in Italy with 496,499 inhabitants, or roughly 64,000 per square kilometre (more than twice the population density of Paris). Public health conditions in certain areas of the city were poor, with twelve epidemics of cholera and typhoid fever claiming some 48,000 people between 1834 and 1884. A death rate 31.84 per thousand, high even for

2736-560: 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

2812-642: The Palazzo delle Arti Napoli, which contains the civic collections of art belonging to the City of Naples, and features temporary exhibits of art and culture. Palazzo Como, which dates from the 15th century, hosts the Museo Civico Filangieri of plastic arts , created in 1883 by Gaetano Filangieri . Naples is the seat of the Archdiocese of Naples ; there are hundreds of churches in the city. The Cathedral of Naples

2888-612: The Piazza del Plebiscito, Naples has two other major public squares: the Piazza Dante and the Piazza dei Martiri . The latter originally had only a memorial to religious martyrs , but in 1866, after the Italian unification , four lions were added, representing the four rebellions against the Bourbons. Nicola Sabini Nicola Sabini (also Sabino ; c.  1675  – 1705)

2964-504: The Pizzofalcone hill. In the sixth century BC, it was refounded as Neápolis. The city was an important part of Magna Graecia , played a major role in the merging of Greek and Roman society, and was a significant cultural centre under the Romans. 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

3040-523: The ability to "patter", must also extend to the baritone for the purposes of comic duets. The type of comedy could vary, and the range was great: from Rossini's The Barber of Seville in 1816 which was purely comedic, to Mozart 's The Marriage of Figaro in 1786 which added drama and pathos. Another example of Romantic opera buffa would be Donizetti's The Elixir of Love of 1832. While opera seria deals with gods and ancient heroes and only occasionally contained comic scenes, opera buffa involves

3116-537: The ancient Greek foundation of Neapolis is still discernible. It has indeed continued to provide the layout for the present-day Historic Centre of Naples, one of the major Mediterranean port cities. From the Middle Ages to the 18th century, Naples was a focal point in terms of art and architecture, expressed in its ancient forts, the royal ensembles such as the Royal Palace of 1600, and the palaces and churches sponsored by

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3192-414: 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. 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

3268-811: 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' 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

3344-659: The city from Vienna through viceroys of his own. However, the War of the Polish Succession saw the Spanish regain Sicily and Naples as part of a personal union , with the 1738 Treaty of Vienna recognising the two polities as independent under a cadet branch of the Spanish Bourbons . In 1755, the Duke of Noja commissioned an accurate topographic map of Naples, later known as the Map of

3420-528: The city's recent illegal waste disposal issues to the Camorra , the organized crime network centered in Campania. Due to illegal waste dumping, as exposed by Roberto Saviano in his book Gomorrah , severe environmental contamination and increased health risks remain prevalent. In 2007, Silvio Berlusconi 's government held senior meetings in Naples to demonstrate their intention to solve these problems. However,

3496-629: The city. Many examples of Gothic architecture sprang up around Naples, including the Naples Cathedral , which remains the city's main church. In 1282, after the Sicilian Vespers , the Kingdom of Sicily was divided into two. The Angevin Kingdom of Naples included the southern part of the Italian peninsula, while the island of Sicily became the Aragonese Kingdom of Sicily . Wars between

3572-440: The competing dynasties continued until the Peace of Caltabellotta in 1302, which saw Frederick III recognised as king of Sicily, while Charles II was recognised as king of Naples by Pope Boniface VIII . Despite the split, Naples grew in importance, attracting Pisan and Genoese merchants, Tuscan bankers, and some of the most prominent Renaissance artists of the time, such as Boccaccio , Petrarch and Giotto . During

3648-587: The construction of the Naples–Portici railway . After the Expedition of the Thousand led by Giuseppe Garibaldi , which culminated in the controversial siege of Gaeta , Naples became part of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 as part of the Italian unification , ending the era of Bourbon rule. The economy of the area formerly known as the Two Sicilies as dependant on agriculture suffered the international pressure on prices of wheat, and together with lower sea fares prices lead to an unprecedented wave of emigration , with an estimated 4 million people emigrating from

3724-418: 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 . The duchy was under the direct control of

3800-666: The first and last appearances of the genre, although the term is still occasionally applied to newer work (for example Ernst Krenek 's Zeitoper Schwergewicht ). High points in this history are the 80 or so libretti by Carlindo Grolo, Loran Glodici, Sogol Cardoni and various other approximate anagrams of Carlo Goldoni , the three Mozart / Da Ponte collaborations, and the comedies of Gioachino Rossini and Gaetano Donizetti . Similar foreign genres such as French opéra comique , English ballad opera , Spanish zarzuela or German Singspiel differed as well in having spoken dialogue in place of recitativo secco , although one of

3876-407: The kingdom. Conflict between the Hohenstaufens and the Papacy led in 1266 to Pope Innocent IV crowning the Angevin duke Charles I King of Sicily: Charles officially moved the capital from Palermo to Naples, where he resided at the Castel Nuovo . Having a great interest in architecture, Charles I imported French architects and workmen and was personally involved in several building projects in

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3952-454: The leadership of Richard, Count of Acerra , Nicholas of Ajello , Aligerno Cottone and Margaritus of Brindisi before the Germans suffered from disease and were forced to retreat. Conrad II, Duke of Bohemia and Philip I, Archbishop of Cologne died of disease during the siege . During his counterattack, Tancred captured Constance, now empress. He had the empress imprisoned at Castel dell'Ovo at Naples before her release on May 1192 under

4028-406: The local fisherman Masaniello saw the creation of a brief independent Neapolitan Republic in 1647. However, this lasted only a few months before Spanish rule was reasserted. In 1656, an outbreak of bubonic plague killed about half of Naples' 300,000 inhabitants. In 1714, Spanish rule over Naples came to an end as a result of the War of the Spanish Succession ; the Austrian Charles VI ruled

4104-453: The lower male voices to the exclusion of the castrati . This led to the creation of the characteristic " basso buffo ", a specialist in patter who was the center of most of the comic action. (A well-known basso buffo role is Leporello in Mozart's Don Giovanni .) Naples Naples ( / ˈ n eɪ p əl z / NAY -pəlz ; Italian : Napoli [ˈnaːpoli] ; Neapolitan : Napule [ˈnɑːpələ] )

4180-409: The main cause of insalubrity , with large and airy avenues. The project proved difficult to accomplish politically and economically due to corruption, as shown in the Saredo Inquiry , land speculation and extremely long bureaucracy. This led to the project to massive delays with contrasting results. The most notable transformations made were the construction of Via Caracciolo in place of the beach along

4256-495: The most influential examples, Pergolesi 's La serva padrona (which is an intermezzo , not opera buffa), sparked the querelle des bouffons in Paris as an adaptation without sung recitatives . Opéra bouffon is the French term for the Italian genre of opera buffa (comic opera) performed in 18th-century France, either in the original language or in French translation. It was also applied to original French opéras comiques having Italianate or near-farcical plots. The term

4332-421: The ninth century BC. By the eighth century BC, the settlement was expanded by Cumaeans , as evidenced by the archaeological findings, to include Monte Echia. In the sixth century BC the city was refounded as Neápolis ( Νεάπολις ), 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

4408-420: The noble families. The main city square or piazza of the city is the Piazza del Plebiscito . Its construction was begun by the Bonapartist king Joachim Murat and finished by the Bourbon king Ferdinand IV . The piazza is bounded on the east by the Royal Palace and on the west by the church of San Francesco di Paola , with the colonnades extending on both sides. Nearby is the Teatro di San Carlo , which

4484-510: The predominant use of comic scenes, characters, and plot lines in a contemporary setting. The traditional model for opera seria had three acts, dealt with serious subjects in mythical settings, as stated above, and used high voices (both sopranos and castrati ) for principal characters, often even for monarchs. In contrast, the model that generally held for opera buffa was having two acts (as, for example, The Barber of Seville ), presenting comic scenes and situations as earlier stated and using

4560-422: The pressure of Pope Celestine III . In 1194 Henry started his second campaign upon the death of Tancred, but this time Aligerno surrendered without resistance, and finally, Henry conquered Sicily, putting it under the rule of Hohenstaufens. The University of Naples , the first university in Europe dedicated to training secular administrators, was founded by Frederick II , making Naples the intellectual centre of

4636-440: The prison for Empress Constance between 1191 and 1192 after her being captured by Sicilians, and Conradin and Giovanna I of Naples before their executions. Castel Nuovo , also known as Maschio Angioino , is one of the city's top landmarks; it was built during the time of Charles I , the first king of Naples . Castel Nuovo has seen many notable historical events: for example, in 1294, Pope Celestine V resigned as pope in

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4712-427: The promenade, the creation of Galleria Umberto I and Galleria Principe and the construction of Corso Umberto. Naples was the most-bombed Italian city during World War II . Though Neapolitans did not rebel under Italian Fascism , Naples was the first Italian city to rise up against German military occupation ; for the first time in Europe, the Nazis, whose leader in this case was Colonel Scholl, negotiated

4788-432: The rebuilding of the church of Santa Chiara , which had been destroyed in a United States Army Air Corps bombing raid. Special funding from the Italian government's Fund for the South was provided from 1950 to 1984, helping the Neapolitan economy to improve somewhat, with city landmarks such as the Piazza del Plebiscito being renovated. However, high unemployment continues to affect Naples. Italian media attributed

4864-435: The serious genre and the set numbers were linked by recitativo secco, the exception being Donizetti 's Don Pasquale in 1843. With Rossini, a standard distribution of four characters is reached: a prima donna soubrette (soprano or mezzo); a light, amorous tenor; a basso cantante or baritone capable of lyrical, mostly ironical expression; and a basso buffo whose vocal skills, largely confined to clear articulation and

4940-448: The sixth World Urban Forum in September 2012 and the 63rd International Astronautical Congress in October 2012. In 2013, it was the host of the Universal Forum of Cultures and the host for the 2019 Summer Universiade . Naples' 2,800-year history has left it with a wealth of historical buildings and monuments, from medieval castles to classical ruins, and a wide range of culturally and historically significant sites nearby, including

5016-408: The time, insisted in the absence of epidemics between 1878 and 1883. Then in 1884, Naples fell victim to a major cholera epidemic, caused largely by the city's poor sewerage infrastructure. In response to these problems, in 1885, the government prompted a radical transformation of the city called risanamento to improve the sewerage infrastructure and replace the most clustered areas, considered

5092-474: The world in terms of the number of places of worship. In 1995, the historic centre of Naples was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site , a United Nations programme which aims to catalogue and conserve sites of outstanding cultural or natural importance to the common heritage of mankind . Naples is one of the most ancient cities in Europe, whose contemporary urban fabric preserves the elements of its long and eventful history. The rectangular grid layout of

5168-419: The world. Naples has been inhabited since the Neolithic period. 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 ( Παρθενόπη , meaning "Pure Eyes", a Siren in Greek mythology ) on the island of Megaride in

5244-422: Was also later used by Jacques Offenbach for five of his operettas ( Orphée aux enfers , Le pont des soupirs , Geneviève de Brabant , Le roman comique  [ fr ] and Le voyage de MM. Dunanan père et fils ), and is sometimes confused with the French opéra comique and opéra bouffe . Comic characters had been a part of opera until the early 18th century, when opera buffa began to emerge as

5320-410: Was an Italian composer of the mid- Baroque period who spent his career in Naples . An influential figure in early Neapolitan opera buffa , his most important opera is the 1701 comedy Scherzo drammatico, Il mondo abbattuto . Nicola Sabini, also known as Nicola Sabino, was born c.  1675 , probably in Naples . He studied with Angelo Durante (uncle of the better known Francesco Durante ) at

5396-436: Was both made for and depicted kings and nobility, opera buffa was made for and depicted common people with more common problems. High-flown language was generally avoided in favor of dialogue that the lower class would relate to, often in the local dialect, and the stock characters were often derived from those of the Italian commedia dell'arte . The 1701 scherzo drammatico (dramatic jest), Il mondo abbattuto by Nicola Sabini

5472-599: Was built in 1994 as the first grouping of skyscrapers in Italy, remaining the only such grouping in Italy until 2009. The most widely-known sports team in Naples is the Serie A football club Napoli , three-time Italian champions (most recently in 2023), who play at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in the west of the city, in the Fuorigrotta quartier. In 2024, TasteAtlas ranked Naples the 2nd city with best food in

5548-692: Was exiled to Naples by the Germanic king Odoacer in the fifth century AD. Following the decline of the Western Roman Empire , Naples was captured by the Ostrogoths , a Germanic people , and incorporated into the Ostrogothic Kingdom . However, Belisarius of the Byzantine Empire recaptured Naples in 536, after entering the city via an aqueduct. In 543, during the Gothic Wars , Totila briefly took

5624-419: Was particularly influential in Naples, creating a popular model due to its use of both Tuscan and Neapolitan dialects. In the early 18th century, comic operas often appeared as short, one-act interludes known as intermezzi that were performed in between acts of opera seria. There also existed, however, self-contained operatic comedies. La serva padrona (1733) by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710–1736),

5700-640: Was the 1701 scherzo drammatico (dramatic jest), Il mondo abbattuto . Written to a libretto by S. de Falco for the Feast of Saint Casimir , it premiered for the city's Congregazione de' Musici at the San Giorgio Maggiore . Only the opera's text survives, but by using both Tuscan and Neapolitan dialects, it created an influential model for future opera buffa . Sabini wrote a sacred opera, Innocenza trionfante ('Triumphant Innocence'), which included arias by his composer colleagues and premiered on 14 December 1704 in

5776-449: Was then resumed and expanded by Niccolò Piccinni ( La Cecchina , 1760), Giovanni Paisiello ( Nina , 1789) and Domenico Cimarosa ( Il matrimonio segreto , 1792). The genre declined in the mid-19th century, despite Giuseppe Verdi 's Falstaff staged in 1893. The importance of opera buffa diminished during the Romantic period . Here, the forms were freer and less extended than in

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