Why go
The name Neapolis recalls the Greek city built after the earlier settlement of Parthenope near Megaride. Roman Naples kept a strong Greek cultural identity. Later kingdoms made the city their capital, leaving churches, palaces and civic spaces that explain why its historic core feels so layered.
The full story
Greek settlers established Parthenope near Megaride, and a newer urban area called Neapolis grew on the plain in the sixth century BC. The name means ‘new city’. Under Roman rule, Naples remained associated with Greek language and culture while villas, baths and other Roman buildings changed the city and its surroundings. The poet Virgil lived in the area, and a tomb traditionally linked to him stands near the old tunnel at Piedigrotta. Christianity also became part of the city's identity; Januarius, or San Gennaro, is its patron saint. After the Western Roman Empire fell, Naples passed through Byzantine and other rulers. In the later Middle Ages it became the capital of a kingdom covering the southern mainland. Angevin and then Aragonese rule brought new political and artistic connections. Bourbon Naples later developed as the capital of the Two Sicilies before Italian unification in 1861. Look for these shifts in the old centre's street plan, its churches and the royal quarter rather than expecting a single period to define the city.