Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 10.djvu/750

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NAPLES


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NAPLES


rhiirch of St. Jiinuarius of the Poor, fiimous in the second eeiitiiry, nnd of the new cemetery, rich in iirtistic monuments, ainoiiK which are the I'iettl by Call in the chapel, and the statue of Religion by Ancelini.

Siciilnr. — The Royal Palace, which ranka among the fijandest of palaces on accoimt of the majestic Beverily of its style, w;i-s begun in the early part of the seventeenth century by the viceroy Count of Lemos according to the designs of Domciiico Fontana; it has a sumptuous interior, and contained valuable artistic collections, one of which, consisting of 40,000 engrav- ings, is now at the Museo Nazionale. There is an- other royal palace at Capodiinonte, built by Charles III, where there is a collection of arms and of mod- ern paintings; the Palace of the Prefecture is mod- ern; S. Giacomo Palace, formerly the residence of the minister of State, now contains the municipal and


ical institute, a nautical institute, and many inter- medial c schools. The National Library has nearly

)'.)0,0(U) viihiincs, and the Br.-mc.acciana Library more

than ll.'i.OllO xoluines. The State Archives are very important. Nearly all of the great families of the ancient Kingdom of Naples built suniiituous palaces, the private monumental architecture of Naples ante- dating that of Florence. Naples has more than 60 eluirilahlc institutions, some of which date from the tliirternth century, as, for example, the boarding- school of St. Eligius (1273), accommodating 300 young girls; the Casa Santa dell' Annunziata (1304); the l)oarding-school del Carnielo (1611), for 300 girls; and St. Januariiis of the Pour (1669). Few ancient monu- incnls arc In be found at Naples; llierr is the piercing of llic PosiHpo ridge (cnji>la ncdpclilinun, SI.") yards in lengtli, done by one Cocceius, probably under Tibe- rius, and there are the ruins of villas of the ancient


Chcbch of St. Francis of Paula, Naples Built by Ferdinand I, King of the Two Sicilies — Modelled after the Roman Pantheon


other offices. The Capuan Castle, built by William I in 1131, and thereafter the residence of the Durazzos, of the sovereigns of the house of Aragon, and of the viceroys, is now the covrrt-house; the Castle of the Egg, also built by William I (1154), is at present a barrack and a fort, as are also Castel del Carmine and Castelnuovo, built by Charles I, and having a triumphal arch of Alfonso of Aragon. Castel San Erasmo is a fort, situated upon a height commanding the city and the harbour. The museum of ancient art at Naples is one of the best of its kind in the world; its chief sculptures, the Hercu- les, the Famese Bull, and others, are from the collec- tions of the Farnese family, and it possesses many interesting objects found in" the ruins of Pompeii and Herciilaneum, frescos and mosaics, among others; it contains also rich collections of cameos, coins, and inscriptions (Neai)olitan laws), besides a gallery of pictures. At S. Martino, a former convent of the Cistercians, there is a collection of paintings by Nea- politan artists, which belonged, for the most part, to that monastery. The Filanzieri Museum and the Gallery of the Fondi palace should also be noted. The aquarium for the study of submarine animal life was established by the co-operation of several countries, among them, the United States. There is at Naples a university founded in 1224, furnished with various scientific collections and with a library of more than 250,000 volumes; the town has a seminary, a theolog-


city, of a theatre and some temples; there is also the tomb of Vergil on the Pozzuoli road.

History. — Naples was founded by Greeks from Cuma;, and Cuniir, according to Mommsen, is the Pateopolis to which Livy refers as existing not far from Naples and as being allied with the latter city against the Samnites. Naples, also, was obliged to receive the Samnites within its walls and to give to them participation in the government of the city, which explains her ambiguous conduct towards Rome during the Samnite War (325 B. c). In its alliance with Rome, Naples furnished only ships. During the Punic War, the town was so strongly fortified that Hannibal did not venture to attack it. When Roman citizenship was offered to Naples, the latter accepted, on condition that it should retain its language and its municipal institutions; and consequently, even in the time of Tacitus, Naples was a Greek city, to which those Romans who wished to devote themselves to the study of philosophy betook themselves by prefer- ence. In the games, called Sebasta, celebrated at Naples every five years, Nero once appeared. In 476, the last Emperor of the West was relegated to this city. The capture of Naples by Belisarius, in the Gothic War, when he entered the city through the tube of the aqueduct (536), is famous. Totila re-cap- tured the town in 543, but the battle of Mt. Vesuvius decided the fate of the Goths, and Naples came under the Byzantine power, receiving a dux who depended