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| Miguel Hermoso Cuesta’s picture of the Castel Nuovo, where medieval kings lived in the city |
In the 5th century, the Western Roman Empire collapsed and Naples was subject to repeated invasions. [44] The Goths’ sack of Rome in 410 was a major blow to the empire, and the Vandals followed up with another sacking in 455. The Huns also ran through Italy, wreaking havoc everywhere they went. [45]
In 440, Emperor Valentinian II tried to reinforce the city walls through the addition of watchtowers, allowing the Neapolitans to resist incursions a little while longer. It was against this tense backdrop that Vesuvius erupted once more, sometime between 469 and 474. Ancient accounts indicate the Neapolitans hid themselves in the network of catacombs beneath their city and prayed to San Gennaro for protection. Legend has it that the ash stopped falling as soon as the prayers began, and on that day, San Gennaro was made the patron saint of Naples, becoming one of the most venerated saints in all Christendom (an honor he maintains to this day). [46]
The Roman Empire’s control of Neapolis formally ended in 476 when the Ostrogoth king, Odoacer, defeated the last emperor of the West, Romulus Augustus. Romulus spent his exile in a glorious Neapolitan villa, and after the fall of Rome, Neapolis was first ruled by the Goths, followed by the Byzantines. Under the Byzantines, who maintained control for approximately five centuries, Naples also faced incursions by the Lombards, who invaded the city in 568. [47] These enemy attacks motivated Neapolis to strengthen its connection to the Byzantine Empire for protection. [48]
From 661-1137, Naples became a “ducato,” or duchy, a privilege granted by the Byzantine Emperor Constans II. During this time, they returned to their Greek origins, making Greek the official language once again. About midway through this relationship, however, the Byzantines started losing control of their empire, and they faced Arab attacks in Sicily. Naples was able to profit from this turmoil and took the opportunity to strengthen their already positive relationships with the Arabs to their economic benefit.
Thanks to this increased economic activity, 9th century Naples saw a burst of cultural production, including the building of new churches and the embellishment of old ones. Paradoxically, as the 10th century began and the turmoil died down, Naples saw its fortunes reverse. The only positive development was that the Lombards had finally stopped trying to take over the city, and the rivals found a way to live in a certain harmony with one another, including intermarrying for strategic alliances. However, their connections to the Arab world weakened. The Neapolitans seemed marginalized in terms of the geopolitics of the time, and, as they were about to enter into the Middle Ages, they were about to be faced with attacks from the first Norman adventurers who would be the next group of foreigners to put their imprint on Naples. [49]
Naples had entered the Middle Ages with a strong reputation as a place of distinguished learning. [50] Its urban space was also quite neatly organized; divided by neighborhoods, it had a sophisticated series of decentralized political organizations that represented the nobles and the lower classes. Those who were affiliated with one of the five noble districts of the city were afforded special privileges, including the right to march in high-profile parades and processions, while only one district represented the lower classes. The traditions connected to the districts would continue for centuries, and even after the Spanish conquest of 1503, the nobles and the lower classes would continue to exhibit their affiliations by parading through the streets and piazzas. [51]
Unlike the Norman period in Sicily, relatively little is known about the Norman period in Naples, insofar as the severe bombing damage in World War II devastated the archives of the city and destroyed countless sources of records that had not been published. [52] What is known is that in 1040, the Norman French invaders conquered Campania, and the Normans were the ones who first formed Naples into a distinct political entity. [53] In 1059, Robert Guiscard (1015-1085) was invested by the Pope as Duke of Apulia, Calabria and Sicily, making Naples a feudatory of the Holy See. [54]
When Roger “the Norman” became King of Sicily in 1071 in Palermo, he ruled over a territory that included the modern regions of Sicily, Calabria, Puglia, Basilicata, Abruzzo and Campania. Although this territory constantly changed rulers, it maintained this border with the papal state to the north with virtually no alteration for nearly seven centuries. This rare territorial stability is often unfairly overlooked, in favor of an emphasis on the tumult of the people actually ruling the territory. [55]
In 1190, the German Hohenstaufens (or the Swabians) took the region as their own, [56] and eight years later Naples also enjoyed being ruled by Frederick II (1194-1250), the Holy Roman Emperor and King of Sicily and Jerusalem. Frederick II was based in Palermo, but he invested considerable resources in the development of Naples. For example, he founded the university there in 1224, making it was the first institution in Europe that was dedicated to training government administrators and civil servants. [57] As the only university in the entire kingdom, it served to draw the best talent from all of southern Italy. [58] The university brought Aristotelian natural philosophy and Christian theology into a symbiotic relationship that laid the groundwork for the flourishing Renaissance humanism that arose in the 15th century courts of the Aragonese kings. [59]
hanks to the stewardship of Frederick II, by the beginning of the 13th century, Naples could easily be considered amongst the most important cities of Europe. Its population reached 30,000 inhabitants, which made it smaller than Venice, Milan, and Florence (which each had approximately 80,000 at the same time), but no less powerful. [60]
After Frederick’s death, Naples was caught up in the Angevin-Guelph, Aragonese-Ghibelline wars of the Middle Ages. [61] In 1266, Naples passed to the French Angevins. [62] Naples gained inhabitants during the Angevin rule, and it also changed in appearance as the Angevins built castles and churches in a French Gothic style. [63]
In 1284, following the rebellion of the Sicilian Vespers which deprived King Charles of Anjou his control of the island of Sicily, Naples became the capital of the Kingdom of Naples, instead of Palermo. [64] Despite the loss of the island, the kingdom remained a formidable territory, and by far the largest area of Italy ruled by a single government. Thanks to this alignment with the Angevin kings of Naples, who brought French court culture to Naples, the nobility of the city married into some of the most powerful families of Europe, guaranteeing the well-being of the elites of society. [65]
As an international capital, Naples also enjoyed good trade relationships with the rest of Europe, as well as across the Mediterranean, which brought new blood into the city as well as valuable resources to support a thriving cultural scene. [66] All the while, thanks to its status as the political capital of the kingdom, Naples experienced a number of advantages. It grew in size, as the feudal, aristocratic families left their rural domain in order to be closer to the center of power represented by the viceroy and his court. In their wake, the lower classes followed, trying to take advantage of low cost of living and plentiful work opportunities engendered by the aristocrats’ presence, from domestic service to production of luxury textiles, jewelry, furniture and even coaches. [67]
Around the 1300s, the Angevin rulers decided to make a more serious investment in cultural life. [68] When they started their initiative, Naples was lacking a strong local artistic culture, so the court and the church both invited artists from outside Naples to satisfy the artistic needs of wealthy patrons. [69]
The Angevins arguably set Naples on a course to reach its cultural apex, but according to one early historian of Naples, this rapid passage from the Normans and the Hohenstaufens to the Angevins was the origin of the misfortunes of the kingdom. To Giuseppe Maria Galanti, the French and Germans were the “natural” rulers of the kingdom, while the Angevins were foreigners who mistreated their subjects. [70]
In the 1430s, the Angevin line in Naples died out, leaving the city to the Aragonese. Scholars have described the second half of the 15th century as one of the most obscure eras in the history of Naples, but it also represents the start of an important era of continuity. Starting in 1442, when the kingdom was conquered by Alfonso the Magnanimous, the Spanish ruled the city for 250 years, and though they were still a subjugated people, Spanish rule provided at least a veneer of stability at a time when Naples faced a number of other serious challenges. [71]
Alfonso earned his “magnanimous” nickname because he poured considerable resources into making Naples the capital of his Mediterranean territory, as well as a major humanist center. [72] During this time, humanists such as Jacopo Sannazaro were inspired by the beauty of the setting, the tangible links to the classical past, and the city’s status as a melting pot for intellectuals and artists from southern Italy and beyond. [73] In addition to his interests in building up Naples’ cultural capital, Alfonso also dedicated considerable effort to fortifying the city, sponsoring the construction a series of walls with the goal of protecting the city from invaders. [74]
In the middle of the 15th century, the population of Naples began to decline, but with increased land available, Naples started to expand in many of its agricultural endeavors, such as sheep farming and wool production. The region also started to increase production of its signature products, including tree crops such as wine, olive oil, fruits, and nuts. They began a healthy export trade to Rome, Sicily, Venice, Florence, and Genoa, which helped the local economy further expand. [75]
Upon Alfonso’s death, the kingdom passed to his illegitimate son, Ferrante, who ruled until 1494. This brought another transition, because the political situation resulted in the French Angevins, led by Charles VIII, marching into Naples and conquering it with little resistance. The Spanish decided to intercede in 1499, [76] and for several years the Spanish and French occupied southern Italy as they competed for supremacy. Eventually, the Spanish emerged victorious in 1503, and the Kingdom of Naples was given to Ferdinand and Isabella. During this time, Naples no longer had a monarchy in residence; instead, the city was governed by Spanish viceroys. [77]
Notes
[44] Scarth, 3.
[45] Lancaster, 35.
[46] Scarth, 95.
[47] Ascarita, 1.
[48] Christopher Kleinhenz, “ Naples , ” in Medieval Italy: An Encyclopedia (New York: Routledge, August 2, 2004), 455.
[49] Kleinhenz, 456.
[50] Kleinhenz, 456.
[51] Marino, Becoming Neapolitan , 4– 5.
[52] Giuseppe Maria Galanti and Galanti, Napoli e contorni di Giuseppe Maria Galanti (Barel, 1838).
[53] Ascarita, 2.
[54] John A. Marino, “ 1. Constructing the Past of Early Modern Naples: Sources and Historiography" , ” in A Companion to Early Modern Naples , ed. Tommaso Astarita (Leiden and Boston: BRILL, 2013), 12.
[55] Ascarita 2.
[56] Scarth, 3.
[57] Ascarita, 2.
[58] Rao, 479.
[59] Sean Cocco, “ 20. Locating the Natural Sciences in Early Modern Naples , ” in A Companion to Early Modern Naples , ed. Tommaso Astarita (Leiden and Boston: BRILL, 2013), 453.
[60] Warr and Elliott, 2.
[61] Marino, “ 1. Constructing the Past of Early Modern Naples: Sources and Historiography" , ” 12.
[62] Scarth, 3.
[63] Ascarita, 2.
[64] From 1282 until 1816, Sicily and Naples were formally separate kingdoms although in practice from 1500 onwards, they ended up being ruled by the same monarch. Ascarita, 2.
[65] Warr and Elliott, 2.
[66] Warr and Elliott, 2.
[67] Rao, 479.
[68] Nicolas Bock, “ Patronage, Standards and Trasfert Culturel: Naples between Art History and Social Science Theory , ” in Art and Architecture in Naples, 1266 - 1713: New Approaches , ed. Cordelia Warr and Janis Elliott (Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2010), 154.
[69] Bock, 154.
[70] Giuseppe Maria Galanti, Napoli e contorni (Barel, 1838) . Recent historians have, however, disputed this claim, saying that such interpretations were just a political ploy meant to justify the “advances” Galanti saw in his own time. Eleni Sakellariou, Southern Italy in the Late Middle Ages: Demographic, Institutional and Economic Change in the Kingdom of Naples, c.1440-c.1530 (Leiden and Boston: BRILL, 2011), 10.
[71] Astarita, 3.
[72] Astarita, 2-3.
[73] Nancy L. Canepa, “ 19. Literary Culture in Naples 1500-1800 , ” in A Companion to Early Modern Naples , ed. Tommaso Astarita (Leiden and Boston: BRILL, 2013), 42 7– 28.
[74] Gaetana Cantone, “ 15. The Cit y’ s Architecture: From the Aragonese City to the Viceroyalty , ” in A Companion to Early Modern Naples , ed. Tommaso Astarita (Leiden and Boston: BRILL, 2013), 331.
[75] Sakellariou, 5.
[76] Marino, “ 1. Constructing the Past of Early Modern Naples: Sources and Historiography" , ” 1 6– 17.
[77] Astarita, 3.
In "Naples - The History and Legacy of the Prominent Italian City-State from Antiquity to Today", Charles River Editors, Kindle, 2009.Excerpts. Digitized, adapted and illustrated to be posted by Leopoldo Costa