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See also:NAPLES (Ital. Napoli, and See also:Lat. Neapolis) , formerly the See also:capital of the See also:kingdom of the Two Sicilies, and since 186o the See also:chief See also:town of the See also:province which bears its name, the smallest province in the kingdom of See also:Italy . It is the largest See also:city in the See also:country, containing 547,503 inhabitants in 1901 . It is a prefecture; the see of a See also:cardinal See also:archbishop; the See also:residence of the generalcommanding the tenth See also:Army See also:Corps and of the See also:admiral commanding the second See also:Naval See also:Department of Italy; and it possesses also an See also:ancient and important university . See also:Naples disputes with See also:Constantinople the claim of occupying the most beautiful site in See also:Europe . It is situated on the See also:northern See also:shore of the See also:Bay of Naples (Sinus Cumanus), in 40° 52' N., 14° 15' 45" E., as taken from the lighthouse on the See also:mole . By See also:rail it is distant 151 M. from See also:Rome, but the See also:line is circuitous, and a See also:direct electric line was contemplated in 1907, to run nearer the See also:coast and shorten the distance from the capital by more than 30 M . (For See also:map, see ITALY.) The See also:circuit of the bay is about 35 M. from the See also:capo di Miseno on the See also:north-See also:west to the Punta della See also:Campanella on the See also:south-See also:east, or more than 52 M. if the islands of See also:Ischia, at the north-west, and of See also:Capri, at the south entrance, be included . At its opening between these two islands it is 14 m. broad; while another 4 M. separates Capri from the mainland at the Punta della Campanella, and from the opening to its See also:head at See also:Portici the distance is 15 M . It affords See also:good anchorage, with nearly 7 fathoms of See also:water, and is well sheltered, except from winds which See also:blow from points between south-east and south-west . In the latter winds See also:Sorrento should be especially avoided, as no safe anchorage can be found there at less than 15 fathoms, and the same remark applies to Capri with winds from S.W. to N.W . There is a perceptible See also:tide of nearly 9 in . On the north-east shore east of Naples is an extensive See also:flat, forming See also:part of the ancient See also:Campania See also:Felix, and watered by the small stream Sebeto and by the See also:Sarno, which last in classical times formed the See also:port of See also:Pompeii .
From this flat, between the See also:sea and the range of the See also:Apennines, rises See also:Mount See also:Vesuvius, at the See also:base of which, on or near the sea-shore, are the populous villages of See also:San Giovanni Teduccio, Portici, Resina, Torre del See also:Greco, Torre dell' Annunziata, &c., and the classic sites of See also:Herculaneum and Pompeii
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At the south-east extremity of the See also:plain, 3 M. beyond the outlet of the Sarno, a See also:great offshoot of the Apennines, branching from the See also:main range near Cava, and projecting as a See also:peninsula more than 12 M. west, divides the Bay of Naples from the bay of See also:Salerno (Sinus Paeslanus), and ends in the bold promontory of the Punta della Campanella (Promontorium Minervae), which is separated by a strait of 4 M. from Capri
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On the north slope of this peninsula, where the plain ends and the coast abruptly bends to the west, stands the town of Castellammare, near the site of See also:Stabiae, at the See also:foot of See also:Monte Sant' Angelo, which rises suddenly from the sea to a height of 4722 ft
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Farther west, and nearly opposite to Naples across the bay, are See also:Vice., See also:Meta, Sorrento, See also:Massa and many villages
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The north-west shore to the west of Naples is more broken and irregular
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The promontory of Posilipo, which projects due south, divides this part of the bay into two smaller bays—the eastern, with the city of Naples, and the western, or Bay of Baiae, which is sheltered from all winds
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A See also:tunnel through the promontory, 2244 ft. See also:long, 21 ft. broad, and in some places as much as 70 ft. high, possibly constructed by See also:Marcus See also:Agrippa in 27 B.C., forms the so-called grotto of Posilipo; at the Naples end stands the reputed See also:tomb of See also:Virgil
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Beyond Posilipo is the small See also:island of Nisida (Nesis) ; and at a See also:short distance inland are the See also:extinct craters of See also:Solfatara and Astroni and the See also:lake of See also:Agnano
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Farther west, on the coast, and provided with a convenient See also:harbour, stands See also:Pozzuoli (See also:Puteoli), a city containing many See also:Roman remains, but now chiefly remarkable for the large See also:gun-See also:works erected by Messrs See also:Armstrong & Co.; and beyond it, See also:round the Bay of Baiae, are Monte Nuovo, a See also:
The city of Naples is built at the base and on the slopes of a . range of volcanic hills, and, rising from the shore like an See also:amphitheatre, is seen to best See also:advantage from the sea
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From the See also:summit occupied by the See also:castle of St Elmo a transverse See also:ridge runs south to See also:form the promontory of Pizzofalcone, and divides the city into two natural crescents
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The western See also:crescent, known as the Chiaja See also:
The castle of S
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Elmo (S
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Ermo, S
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See also:Erasmus), which dominates the whole city, had its origin in a fort (Belforte) erected by See also: The statues on the facade of the palace were erected by King See also:Humbert I. in 1885, and represent the titular heads of the various dynasties which have reigned at Naples, beginning with Ruggiero the See also:Norman (1130); followed by See also:Frederick II. of Suabia (1197); Charles I. of Anjou (1266); Alfonso of See also:Aragon (1442); Charles V. of See also:Spain (1527); Charles III . (See also:Bourbon) of Naples (1744); Gioacchino Murat (1808); and See also:Victor See also:Emmanuel II . (1861) . Naples is the see of a Roman See also:Catholic archbishop, always a cardinal . The See also:cathedral has a See also:chapter of See also:thirty canons, and of the numerous religious houses formerly existing very few have in whole or in part survived the suppression in 1868 . The city is divided into fifty parishes purely for ecclesiastical purposes, and there are 237 Roman Catholic churches and 57 chapels . Most of the churches are remarkable rather for richness in See also:internal decoration than for architectural beauty . The cathedral of St See also:Januarius, occupying the site of temples of See also:Apollo and See also:Neptune, and still containing some of their See also:original See also:granite columns, was designed by Nicola Pisano, and erected between 1272 and 1316 . Owing to frequent restorations occasioned by earthquakes, it now presents an incongruous mixture of different styles . The See also:general See also:plan is that of a See also:basilica with a See also:nave and two (Gothic vaulted) aisles separated by pilasters . The western facade is of See also:marble and was completed in 1906 . Beneath the high See also:altar is a subterranean chapel containing the tomb of St Januarius (San Gennaro), the See also:patron See also:saint of the city; in the right See also:aisle there is a chapel (Cappella del Tesoro) built between 16o8 and 1637 in popular recognition of his having saved Naples in 1527 " from See also:famine, See also:war, See also:plague and the See also:fire of Vesuvius "; and in a See also:silver See also:tabernacle behind the high altar of this chapel are preserved the two phials partially filled with his See also:blood, the periodical liquefaction of which forms a prominent feature in the religious See also:life of the city .
Accessible by a See also:door in the See also:left aisle of the cathedral is the See also: Other churches with interesting monuments are Sant' See also:Anna dei Lombardi, built in 1411 by Guerrello Origlia, which contains some splendid marble sculpture, especially Rosellino's " Nativity " in the Cappella See also:Piccolomini; Sant' Angelo a Nilo, which contains the tomb of Cardinal Brancaccio, the See also:joint work of See also:Donatello and Michelozzo; San Giovanni a Carbonara, built in 1344 and enlarged by King See also:Ladislaus in 1400, which contains among much other remarkable sculpture the tomb of the king, the masterpiece of See also:Andrea Ciccione (1414), and that of Sergiami Caracciolo, the favourite of See also:Joanna II., who was murdered in 1432 (the chapel in which it stands is paved with one of the earliest majolica pavements in Italy); San Lorenzo (1324), the Royal Church of the House of Anjou; and, for purely archaeological See also:interest, the Church of Sant' Aspreno, thought to be the oldest See also:Christian church in Italy, in the See also:crypt of the new Borsa or See also:exchange . Persons interested in frescoes will admire those in the former monastery at the back of the church of S . Maria Donna See also:Regina and those in the cloister of S . Severino and Sossio . A more ancient Christian See also:monument than any of the convents or churches is the catacombs, which extend a great distance underground and are in many respects finer than those at Rome . The entrance is at the Ospizio dei Poveri di San Gennaro (see Schulze's monograph, See also:Jena, 1877) . Of the See also:secular institutions in Naples none is more remarkable than the See also:National Museum, formerly known as the Museo Borbonico . The building, begun in 1586 for vice-See also:regal stables, and remodelled in 1615 for the university, was put to its present use in 1790, when Ferdinand IV. proclaimed it his private property independently of the See also:crown, placed in it the See also:Farnese collection which he had inherited from his See also:father, and all the specimens from Herculaneum, Pompeii, Stabiae, Puteoli, See also:Paestum, &c., which till then had been housed in the palace at Portici, and gave it the name of Real Museo Borbonico . In 1860 See also:Garibaldi, when See also:dictator at Naples, proclaimed the museum and the territory devoted to excavation to be the property of the nation, since which time it has been called the National Museum . Vast numbers of specimens have since been added to it both by See also:purchase and from excavations, and it is now unique as a treasure house of Italo-See also:Greek and Roman antiquities, besides containing a fine library and an important collection of pictures . A large additional space for exhibits was made in 1904, when the western half of the second See also:floor was added, and the building as now arranged contains the large bronzes and statues on the ground floor; a See also:gallery of Pompeian frescoes in the entresol; the library, picture galleryy and small bronzes on the first floor; and the See also:glass, See also:jewelry, arms, papyri, gems, and the unique collection of Italo-Greek vases, on the second floor . The large bronzes are almost the only ones which have survived from classical times, the most famous of them being the seated See also:Mercury and the dancing Faun; the See also:marbles reckon among their vast number the See also:Psyche, the Capuan See also:Venus, the portraits of See also:Homer and See also:Julius See also:Caesar, as well as the huge See also:group called the See also:Toro Farnese (See also:Amphion and Zethus tying See also:Dirce to its horns), the Farnese See also:Hercules, the excellent though See also:late statues of the See also:Balbi on horseback and a very fine collection of ancient portrait busts . Modern Buildings.—The Galleria Umberto I. is a large cruciform See also:arcade opened in 1890 . It somewhat resembles the See also:Milan arcade, and has an octagon in the centre, with a See also:cupola . It is highly ornamented with gilt and stucco . A See also:music-hall occupies the See also:basement . The Galleria Principe di Napoli is in a smaller arcade opposite to the National Museum, mainly occupied by shops where reproductions from the museum are sold . The Galleria See also:Vittoria, opened in 1907, is a circular building with handsome dome, situated near the main entrance of the Villa Communale . It is in great part occupied by offices and shops . The See also:Anglican church in Vico San Pasquale was built in 1862 on ground given to the See also:British community by Garibaldi when dictator, and was the first See also:Protestant church erected in Naples . Since the granting of religious See also:liberty evangelical churches have been built by the Presbyterians, Wesleyans, See also:French, Germans and Italians . A Greek church and a Jewish See also:synagogue have also been opened . The Borsa (or exchange) is a fine building in the Piazza of the same name, built over the remains of the very ancient church of Sant' Aspreno, which are still preserved in the crypt . In front of it is the fine 16th-century Fontana Medina . Educational and Learned Institutions.—The university of Naples is one of the oldest in Italy, having been founded by Frederick II. in the first half of the 13th century . It had fallen to insignificance under the Bourbons, but since 186o it has rapidly recovered . It comprises five faculties (literature and See also:philosophy, See also:jurisprudence, See also:mathematics, natural See also:science and See also:medicine), and is well equipped with zoological, mineralogical and See also:geological museums, a physiological See also:institute, a See also:cabinet of See also:anthropology, and botanical gardens . Originally erected in 1557 for the use of the See also:Jesuits, the university buildings are regarded as the best work o Marco di Pino; the quadrangle, surrounded by a See also:simple but effective See also:peristyle, contains statues of Pietro della Vigna (Frederick's See also: |