Naples

During the Renaissance, Naples was the capital of a kingdom that included the southern portion of the Italian peninsula and, at times, the island of Sicily. Many European powers fought for control of the kingdom, with France, Spain, and the Holy Roman Empire* ruling Naples at different times.

History and Politics. The kingdom of Naples emerged in the 1000s with the Norman French conquest of southern Italy and Sicily. In the next century, control passed to the Holy Roman Empire. The French allied with the pope to seize control of Naples in the 1200s, but a revolt in 1282 left Sicily under the control of the Spanish kingdom of Aragon. The greatest ruler of early Naples was Robert the Wise (ruled 1309–1343), who hoped to unite all of Italy. However, the kingdom plunged into turmoil when his successor and granddaughter failed to produce an heir.

In 1442 King Alfonso V of Aragon conquered and reunited Sicily and southern Italy into a single kingdom. He later established his court at Naples. Alfonso soon became involved in political affairs in Milan and Genoa. He also helped elect one of his favorite aides, Alonso de Borgia, as Pope Calixtus III. Alfonso's illegitimate* son Ferrante succeeded him as king. Ferrante supported Lorenzo de' Medici in Florence and allied himself with the Sforza rulers of Milan through marriage.

Ferrante's son Alfonso II became king of Naples in 1494. He encountered trouble when the French king Charles VIII invaded Italy. Although Alfonso sent an army to northern Italy to intercept Charles, the French managed to avoid Alfonso's forces and marched on Naples. Alfonso abdicated* in 1495, and Charles left the city three months later. Alfonso's son Ferrandino led Neapolitan forces to a victory over the French, but he died just over a year later. In 1499 King Louis XII of France invaded Naples, and the following year he divided the kingdom with his cousin, King Ferdinand II of Spain. Three years later Spanish forces conquered the kingdom and expelled the French.

Under Spain's rule, Naples became the center of Spanish military policy in Italy. The new leaders expelled Neapolitan nobles who favored France, replacing them with loyal followers of Spain. In this way Spanish kings weakened the power of local nobles and strengthened royal control over Naples. Spain ruled the city and the kingdom until 1713.

Economy and Culture. Before the Black Death* struck, the kingdom of Naples had about 2.5 million inhabitants. That number fell sharply before recovering to almost 3 million by 1600. By then, the city of Naples had some 250,000 residents, rivaling Paris as western Europe's largest city. Most of the kingdom's inhabitants lived in cities and larger towns, rather than in the countryside. This hindered the kingdom's economic development, as did the kingdom's trade policies. Foreign merchants controlled Naples's wheat, silk, wool, and olive oil industries, and they usually sent these goods to cities in their own homelands.

Nevertheless, Naples developed a rich court life. Under French rule, the court extended patronage* to artists, writers, and architects from all over Italy. The rulers from Aragon and Spain did the same, and Naples remained an important center of culture throughout the Renaissance.

(See alsoArt in Italy; Borgia, House of; Sicily. )

* Holy Roman Empire

political body in central Europe composed of several states; existed until 1806

see color plate 5, vol. 3

* illegitimate

refers to a child born outside of marriage

* abdicate

to give up the throne voluntarily or under pressure

* Black Death

epidemic of the plague, a highly contagious and often fatal disease, which spread throughout Europe from 1348 to 1350

* patronage

support or financial sponsorship