Campania - Amordivino

Campania

Population: 5.796.899
Surface (Kmq): 13595
Density (Inhabitants/Kmq.): 426
Main city: Napoli (NA)
Other towns: Avellino (AV); Benevento (BN); Caserta (CE); Salerno (SA).

The region faces the Tyrrhenian Sea and includes one of the finest coastlines in Italy. In front of the Gulfs of Naples and Salerno, you can admire marvellous and enchanting islands: Capri, Ischia (pictured above) and Procida. Two centuries ago, no self-respecting northern European aristocrat would dream of leaving Italy without spending a month or so in Naples (“vedi Napoli e poi muori”, see Naples and then you can die). But after the Unification in 1870, the city fell into ill repute and throughout the 20th century it was considered dangerous and depressing. This wonderful harbour town, once the third largest city on the continent, still has some less-than-picturesque neighbourhoods, but the entire historic centre was extensively restored in the '90s, and today it is one of the most interesting locations in Italy. People, lifestyle, the local colour and the food are nowhere on the peninsula present in such quantities as in Naples.

The first inhabitants of today’s Campania were the Aurunci and the Opici of Greek origins. They settled at Cuma, north of present day Naples in the 8th century B.C., but in the 6th century B.C., their settlements fell to the Etruscans, who in turn were conquered by the Sannites. In the 4th century B.C., Campania was annexed by the Roman Empire and given the name Campus or “plain” from which the area derives the current name. Under Roman organisation and rule, the region enjoyed a period of relative peace until A.D. 79, when the volcano Vesuvius suddenly and violently erupted burying the neighbouring cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum under a sea of molten lava and suffocating ash.

When the Roman Empire collapsed, the Goths and the Byzantines struggled for power through the 5th and 6th centuries until the Longobards entered the scene and conquered the area. The Normans came next, founding the kingdom of Sicily that was later renamed the Kingdom of Naples and the Two Sicilies.
The French Bourbons brought the last foreign domination over Italian soil, and in the 19th century Naples became the capital of southern Italy and of the Angevin Kingdom. Its unique cuisine, which gave the world such universally loved dishes as pasta and pizza, is something to indulge in when travelling to the area. In addition, be sure to try the Neapolitan coffee, a brew stronger than the regular Italian espresso, as well as limoncino, a lemon-based liqueur that in recent years has taken the country by storm and is being imitated all over Italy.