The Piazza del Plebiscito. Naples. Italy

The Piazza del Plebiscito. Naples. Italy
The Piazza del Plebiscito is one of the largest squares in Naples. It is named for the plebiscite held on... more

by Guido Montanes Castillo

Title

The Piazza del Plebiscito. Naples. Italy

Artist

Guido Montanes Castillo

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Photograph

Description

The Piazza del Plebiscito. Naples. Italy
The Piazza del Plebiscito is one of the largest squares in Naples. It is named for the plebiscite held on October 2, 1863 when Naples was unified to Italy under the House of Savoy. Located very close to the Gulf of Naples, it borders to the east with the Royal Palace and to the west with the church of San Francesco di Paola with colonnades that extends to both sides.

This semicircular square is surrounded on one side by the royal palace, on the other by the neoclassical facade of the church of San Francesco di Paola, built on the model of the Pantheon in Rome and extended by a curved colonnade.
There are two equestrian statues standing in front of the church: one, by Canova, represents Fernando I de Borbón, the other is that of Carlos III de Borbón. The royal palace was built at the beginning of the 17th century by the architect Domenico Fontana and has been remodeled several times. The facade retains its original appearance more or less.

There is a grand staircase with individual ramps and topped by a cupola of casetones that leads to the apartments and the sumptuously decorated Royal Chapel. And it is that the royalty lived in the apartments whose beautifully ornamented rooms have preserved their numerous works of art, tapestries, paintings, period furniture and fine porcelain.

Sometimes, the square is used for outdoor concerts. The artists, who have performed here, include Elton John, Maroon 5 and Muse. In May 2013, Bruce Springsteen & The E-Street Band gave a massive concert.

Naples (/ˈneɪpəlz/; Italian: Napoli [ˈnaːpoli] (About this sound listen), Neapolitan: Napule [ˈnɑːpələ] or [ˈnɑːpulə]; Latin: Neapolis; Ancient Greek: Νεάπολις, meaning "new city") is the capital of the Italian region Campania and the third-largest municipality in Italy after Rome and Milan. In 2017, around 967,069 people lived within the city's administrative limits. The Metropolitan City of Naples had a population of 3,115,320. Naples is the 9th-most populous urban area in the European Union with a population of between 3 million[3] and 3.7 million.[4] About 4.4 million people live in the Naples metropolitan area, the second in Italy after Milan and one of the largest metropolises on the Mediterranean Sea.[2]
The Phlegraean Fields around Naples has been inhabited since the Neolithic period.[27] The earliest Greek settlements were established in the Naples area in the second millennium BC. Sailors from the Greek island of Rhodes established a small commercial port called Parthenope (Παρθενόπη, meaning "Pure Eyes", a Siren in Greek mythology) on the island of Megaride in the ninth century BC.[28][29] By the eighth century BC, the settlement had expanded to include Monte Echia.[30] In the sixth century BC the new urban zone of Neápolis (Νεάπολις) was founded on the plain, 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,[7] 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;[31] however, the Romans soon captured the city from them and made it a Roman colony.[32] During the Punic Wars, the strong walls surrounding Neápolis repelled the invading forces of the Carthaginian general Hannibal.[32]

Naples was greatly respected by the Romans as a paragon of Hellenistic culture. During the Roman era, the people of Naples maintained their Greek language and customs, while 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.[32] 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; 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.[33] The last emperor of the Western Roman Empire, Romulus Augustulus, was exiled to Naples by the Germanic king Odoacer in the fifth century AD.
Castel Nuovo (Italian: "New Castle"), often called Maschio Angioino (Italian: "Angevin Keep"), is a medieval castle located in front of Piazza Municipio and the city hall (Palazzo San Giacomo) in central Naples, Italy. Its scenic location and imposing size makes the castle, first erected in 1279, one of the main architectural landmarks of the city. It was a royal seat for kings of Naples, Aragon and Spain until 1815.
Before the accession of Charles I of Naples (Charles of Anjou) to the throne in 1266, the capital of the Kingdom of Naples was Palermo. There was a royal residence in Naples, at the Castel Capuano. However, when the capital was moved to Naples, Charles ordered a new castle, not far from the sea, built to house the court. Works, directed by French architects, began in 1279 and were completed three years later.

Due to the War of the Sicilian Vespers, the new fortress remained uninhabited until 1285, when Charles died and was succeeded by his son, Charles II. Castel Nuovo soon became the nucleus of the historical center of the city, and was often the site of famous events. For example, on December 13, 1294, Pope Celestine V resigned as pope in a hall of the castle. Eleven days later, Boniface VIII was elected pope here by the cardinal collegium and immediately moved to Rome to avoid the Angevin authority.

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July 12th, 2018