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The capital of a province in Campania, southern Italy, and formerly capital of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies; it is situated on the northern side of the bay of Naples, on the Capodimonte, the Vomero, and the Posilipo hills, in one of the most enchanting spots upon the earth. The most populous town in Italy, its suburbs stretch along the bay, as far as Torre Annunziata.

Naples is a very industrial town, and its fisheries, navigation, and commerce are very active; commercially, it is the most important centre of Italy, after Genoa, and contains an arsenal of the Royal Navy. In its neighbourhood, the vine and all species of esculent plants are cultivated; and fruits and vegetables are exported in great quantities. The silk industry is very important. Naples has frequently been damaged by the eruptions of the neighbouring Mt. Vesuvius; the most memorable of these occurred in the year 72 of the Christian era, the first eruption of Vesuvius after several centuries of inactivity; in 205, 407, 512, 982, and 1139, the eruptions were less violent ; until 1631, the volcano gave no signs of activity, and was covered with vegetation; there were more or less violent eruptions, however, in 1680, 1694, 1707, 1723, 1794, 1804, 1805, 1822, 1828, 1839, 1850, and 1872; the eruption of 1904 was one of the most violent of all, and caused the ruin of Ottaiano and of San Giuseppe.

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BUILDINGS

Sacred

The cathedral or church of Saint Januarius, begun by order of Charles of Anjou in 1272, on the site of the ancient Stefania cathedral of the eighth century, and completed in 1341, the work of Nicolò Pisano, Maglione, and Masuccio, is in Gothic style with three naves ; the façade, modified by the restoration of 1788, has been brought again to its original style; its principal door is a work of Babuccio Piferno (1407), while its chapel of St. Restituta is said to date from the time of Constantine. The fourteen pilasters are adorned with busts of famous archbishops of Naples. In the crypt, which was built by Malvito by order of Archbishop Carafa, is venerated the body of St. Januarius, taken there from Montevergine in 1479. Of the lateral chapels, that of the Treasure is the most notable; it is there that the head of St. Januarius and the ampullæ that contain the martyr's blood are preserved. The cathedral contains the superb sepulchres of Innocent IV and of a Cardinal Minutoli. the second, a work of Girolamo d'Auria; also, valuable thirteenth-century frescos of Santafede, Vincenzo Forti, Luca Giordano, and others, and paintings by John of Nola, Franco, Perugino, and Domenichino. Among other churches are the church of St. Augustine of the Mint, which has a pulpit of the fifteenth century, sculptures by Vincent d'Angelo and Jian da Nola, and a painting by Diana (the Communion of St. Augustine); the church of the Holy Apostles, restored in 1608 by the labour of famous artists, among whom were Giordano, Marco da Siena, Borromini, and Dolci, the tabernacle of the high altar being the work of Caugiano; the church of S. Domenico Maggiore, dating from 1255, is rich in paintings, mosaics, and sepulchres, and in the ancient monastery connected with this church is the cell of St. Thomas Aquinas ; the church of Donna Regina, built by Mary of Hungary, in 1300, and renewed by the Theatine Guarino in 1670, contains valuable paintings and frescos, and also, the tomb of the foundress.

The church of St. Philip Neri, in baroque style, by Dionisio di Bartolomeo (1592), contains statues by Sammartino, and both the church and the sacristy have very valuable paintings by Luke Giordano, Guerra, Guido Reni, Caravaggio, Spagnoletto, Domenichino, and others; the church of St. Francis of Paul (1817), an imitation of the Pantheon, with two wings that have porticos, is adorned with paintings of the nineteenth century. The church of San Giacomo of the Spaniards (1540) is decorated with works of art; St. John Carbonara (1343) contains the mausoleums of King Ladislaus and of the constable Sergianni Caracciolo, and paintings by famous artists. The church of St. Barbara, a work of Giuliano di Maiano, has a beautiful bas-relief of the Madonna with angels over the principal entrance, and another fine bas-relief within the edifice; adjacent to the church is the cell inhabited by St. Francis of Paula. The church of St. Clare (1310), restored in 1752, contains the mausoleums of Robert the Wise and of other personages, and also, paintings by Lanfranco, Giotto, and other artists; the pulpit is a graceful work of art. The church of Santa Maria del Carmine, built in the thirteenth century, and restored in 1769, contains the tomb of Conradin executed by Schoepf in 1874 by order of King Louis of Bavaria. The church of St. Mary of Piedigrotta. where each year, about September, popular feasts are celebrated; the church of St. Anna of the Lombards of Mt. Olivet (1411) contains many works of art, and also the tomb of the architect Charles Fontana ; the church of St. Peter ad aram , so called because it contains an altar upon which St. Peter is said to have celebrated Mass. The church of Santa Maria del Parto, built by the poet Sannazaro, contains the mausoleum of its founder, a work of Fra Giovanni Montorsoli; the church of S. Paolo Maggiore, built on the ruins of the ancient temple of Castor and Pollux, after the plans of the Theatine Grimaldi; the church of SS. Severinus and Sosius, which is very ancient, was restored in 1490 and in 1609. While painting the vault of this temple, the artist Correnzio, falling from the scaffolding, was killed and he lies buried at the place of his fall; other artists have also adorned this church with fine works. The church of the Most Holy Trinity , or the new Gesù, an ancient palace converted into a church by the Jesuit Provedo (1584). Mention should be made, however, of the catacombs, near the church of St. Januarius of the Poor, famous in the second century, and of the new cemetery, rich in artistic monuments, among which are the Pietà by Calì in the chapel, and the statue of Religion by Angelini.

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Secular

The Royal Palace, which ranks among the grandest of palaces on account of the majestic severity of its style, was begun in the early part of the seventeenth century by the viceroy Count of Lemos according to the designs of Domenico Fontana ; it has a sumptuous interior, and contained valuable artistic collections, one of which, consisting of 40,000 engravings, is now at the Museo Nazionale. There is another royal palace at Capodimonte, built by Charles III, where there is a collection of arms and of modern paintings ; the Palace of the Prefecture is modern; S. Giacomo Palace, formerly the residence of the minister of State, now contains the municipal and 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 court-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 Hercules, the Farnese Bull, and others, are from the collections of the Farnese family, and it possesses many interesting objects found in the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum, frescos and mosaics, among others; it contains also rich collections of cameos, coins, and inscriptions (Neapolitan laws ), besides a gallery of pictures. At S. Martino, a former convent of the Cistercians, there is a collection of paintings by Neapolitan 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 theological institute, a nautical institute, and many intermediate schools. The National Library has nearly 390,000 volumes, and the Brancacciana Library more than 115,000 volumes. The State Archives are very important. Nearly all of the great families of the ancient Kingdom of Naples built sumptuous palaces, the private monumental architecture of Naples antedating that of Florence. Naples has more than 60 charitable institutions , some of which date from the thirteenth century, as, for example, the boarding-school of St. Eligius (1273), accommodating 300 young girls; the Casa Santa dell' Annunziata (1304); the boarding-school del Carmelo (1611), for 300 girls; and St. Januarius of the Poor (1669). Few ancient monuments are to be found at Naples; there is the piercing of the Posilipo ridge (crypta neapolitana ), 815 yards in length, done by one Cocceius, probably under Tiberius, and there are the ruins of villas of the ancient city, of a theatre and some temples ; there is also the tomb of Vergil on the Pozzuoli road.

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HISTORY

Naples was founded by Greeks from Cumæ, and Cumæ, according to Mommsen, is the Palæopolis 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 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 preference. 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-captured 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 on the Exarch of Ravenna ; and that condition remained, even after the invasion of the Lombards. In 616, the dux Cousinus attempted to establish his independence, but the exarch Eleutherius defeated and killed him in the following year. A hundred years later, at the instance of the iconoclast, Leo the Isaurian, Exhileratus moved upon Rome to assassinate Pope St. Gregory II, but he was compelled to turn back, and was killed by the infuriated people. From that time on, the Byzantine rule at Naples was merely nominal; in place of a dux , there was frequently a consul in command of the city, which flourished in wealth, and displayed military virtues in the defence of its independence against the Lombard dukes of Benevento, Spoleto, Capua, and Salerno, and also against the Saracens ; in 850, however, the town was nearly taken by Duke Sico of Benevento. The consul Sergius drove the Saracens from the island of Ponza, while his son Cæsarius, in 846, went to the assistance of Leo IV against the same foe, and in 852, freed Gaeta ; but to save their commerce, the Neapolitans thereafter allied themselves with the Mohammedans. Bishop Athanasius II imprisoned Sergius and proclaimed himself duke, but following the same friendly policy towards the Saracens, he was excommunicated by John VIII.

In the eleventh century, Pandolfo of Capua succeeded in taking possession of Naples, but, assisted by the Norman Rainulf, Duke Sergius was able to return to that city (1029), and through gratitude, gave Aversa to his ally. In 1038 the Normans assisted the Byzantine general, Maniakis, in his Sicilian undertaking, and, indignant at being defrauded of their reward, turned their arms against the Byzantines. Their subsequent conquests laid the foundation of what came to be the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, or the Kingdom of Naples. After their victory near Cannæ in 1041, the Normans were masters of Calabria and Apulia, with the exception of the seaboard towns; their capital was established at Melfi, and the twelve counts divided the territory among themselves — its reconquest by the Byzantines having been frustrated by the defection of Maniakis. In 1052, Argyros was again defeated, near Sipontum, and the troops of Leo IX were defeated near Civitella; whereupon the pope confirmed the Normans in the possession of their conquests. The first count of Apulia whose title was recognized was William of the Iron Arm, who was succeeded by his brothers, Drogo (1046), assassinated at the instigation of the Byzantines ; Humphrey; and, in 1057, Robert, called Guiscard, who by the capture of Reggio (1060), Otranto (1068), and Bari and Brindisi (1071), put an end to Byzantine rule in Italy, while (1059) he obtained from Nicholas II the title of Duke of Calabria, Apulia, and Sicily, which island he had yet to conquer. On the other hand, he took the oath of allegiance to the pope, so that all his possessions and future conquests should be fiefs of the Holy See. The pope acquired a new defender, especially against the empire, and also a new encumbrance. The conquest of Sicily was accomplished by Roger, a brother of Robert, after a struggle of thirty years (1061-1091); the first city of the island that was taken from the Saracens was Messina ; Girgenti and Syracuse were among the last (1086-1087); the Mussulmans, however, were given the freedom of the country. Meanwhile, Robert conquered the Republic of Amalfi (1073) and the Duchy of Salerno (1077), the last remnant of the Lombard power. He attempted the conquest of Epirus in 1082, but died in 1085, contemplating a movement against Venice. Robert was succeeded by Roger I (1085-1111), William II (1111-1127), and then, Roger II, son of the conqueror of Sicily. The latter, in 1098, had reduced Prince Richard of Capua to vassalage, and, it is said, obtained from Urban II the dignity of hereditary legate of the Holy See ( see MONARCHIA SICULA); and his son Roger II became duke of all those states, with Palermo for his capital. In 1130 the antipope, Anacletus II, conferred upon him the title of king, confirmed by Innocent II (1139), to whom Roger renewed the oath of allegiance. On the other hand, Naples under its duke, Sergius VII, had thrown open its gates to Roger, who extended his power in Epirus and Greece (1142 sq.), and also in Africa (Tripoli and Bona, 1152). He gave new constitutions to his states, protected education, promoted agriculture and the industries, especially the silk and textile branches, and during his reign Sicily increased in population. His successor William the Wicked (1154) became a prisoner of Matteo Bonellocapo, one of the conspiring barons, but was freed by the people. William the Good (1166-89) conquered Durazzo and Saloniki. His heiress was his aunt, Constance, who married Henry VI, the future Emperor of Germany. As this was contrary to the wishes of the people and the Holy See, who desired the kingdom to be independent of the empire, Tancred was acclaimed king.

Tancred, an illegitimate offspring of the royal house, was soon succeeded by his son William III. Henry VI triumphed in 1194, and was crowned in the cathedral of Palermo, in which city he died (1197), leaving as his heir the infant Frederick I (the II of Germany ), whose tutelage was entrusted by Constance to Innocent III. In the long contest for the succession of the empire, Innocent finally permitted Frederick to occupy both thrones, on condition that the two Governments should remain separate and independent of each other, and that, at the death of Frederick, the two crowns should not be inherited by the same prince. These conditions were not fulfilled, and the long struggle between the emperor and the Holy See arose, made all the more bitter by the ecclesiastical usurpations of Frederick. Conrad and Conradin continued the struggle, as did King Manfred, a natural son of Frederick, whom the latter made administrator, but who reigned in reality as sovereign. The Holy See ( Innocent IV, Clement IV, and Urban IV ) as suzerain of the kingdom, offered it to whoever would free the pope of the domination of the Swabians; and Charles of Anjou, a brother of St. Louis, King of France, offered himself. Manfred perished in the battle of Benevento (1266), and Conradin, after his defeat at Tagliacozzo, was taken to Naples and executed in the Piazza del Mercato (1268). Naples then became the capital of the kingdom, to which, however, Peter III of Aragon laid claim on account of his marriage to a daughter of Manfred. The people, who could not endure French rule, opened the way for him by the Sicilian Vespers (1282), and Sicily remained under the power of the Aragonese ; but, under James, second son of Peter, it became an independent kingdom. When the former was called to the throne of Aragon (1295) he wished to restore Sicily to Charles II, but a brother of James, Frederick II, was acclaimed king by the Sicilians, and Charles, although several times victorious, was obliged at the peace of Caltabellotta (1302) to recognize Frederick as King of Trinacria. Frederick was succeeded by Peter II (1336), Louis (1342), and Frederick III (1355-77), who were continually at war with Naples, and always under the domination of the two parties into which the nobility was divided, the National and the Catalonian. Mary, daughter and heiress of Frederick, was married to Martin, son of the King of Aragon, who re-united Sicily to that realm in 1410, and was succeeded by Alfonso V (1416-58). The throne of Naples had been inherited by Robert the Wise (1309-1343), whom the Guelphs of Italy regarded as their leader, and who aspired to the conquest of the Italian peninsula. He was succeeded by his daughter, Joanna I, who was married four times, and the first of whose husbands, Andrew of Hungary, was brutally murdered in 1345. Louis of Hungary came to avenge his brother's death, and drove Joanna from Naples; but he was obliged to return to his country, and after a long war Joanna was restored (1352). Having no children, she adopted as her heir Louis of Anjou, a brother of Charles V, King of France. This action led Charles of Durazzo to declare war upon Joanna, in which he received the support of Urban VI ; the queen was killed (1382), and Louis, also, having died (1384), the throne was left to Charles without a contestant, but Charles died in Hungary in 1386.

Many who were dissatisfied with the regency for Ladislaus I, the minor son and heir of Charles, called to the throne Louis (II) of Anjou, also a minor, and thereby gave rise to a new war between the Durazzo and the Angevin parties. Ladislaus was victorious (1400) and sought to restore to Naples its preponderance in Italy ; in this attempt, he invaded the Pontifical States, and entered Rome itself (1408 and 1410). His successor was Joanna II (1414-1434), who was noted for the perversity of her life. Louis III (of Anjou) declared war against her in 1420, on which account she adopted Alfonso V, son of Ferdinand of Aragon and Sicily ; but as that prince wished the immediate possession of the kingdom, Joanna adopted Louis III, and after his death in 1434 his brother, René. The latter, assisted by Filippo Visconti, defeated the Sicilian fleet of Alfonso near Ponza, in 1435; Alfonso himself was taken prisoner to Milan, but was soon set at liberty, and received even the assistance of Filippo to conquer Naples, which he accomplished in 1442, establishing Spanish rule in that kingdom, which he left in 1458 to his illegitimate son, Ferdinand, while Sicily remained united to Aragon. Ferdinand refused to pay tribute to the pope, his suzerain, usurped ecclesiastical rights, violated boundaries, and in other ways provoked the displeasure of the barons of the kingdom and of Innocent VIII ; the latter, therefore, gave his support to the barons, who revolted (1484-87), but Lorenzo de' Medici restored harmony to the state. Scarcely had Alfonso II ascended the throne (1494), when Charles VIII, wishing to maintain the rights which he claimed to inherit from the house of Anjou to the throne of Naples, undertook his famous expedition into Italy. Alfonso II, knowing the hatred in which he was held, abdicated in favour of his son Ferdinand II ; vainly, however, for almost without striking a blow, Charles became master of the kingdom. His success was but transitory, and Ferdinand was able to return to Naples in 1496, leaving the principal ports of the Adriatic coast in the hands of the Venetians. By the Treaty of Granada, Ferdinand the Catholic and Louis XII divided the Kingdom of Naples between themselves at the expense of Frederick II, who had succeeded Ferdinand, and whose territory they invaded. There soon arose contentions between the two invaders with the result that Gonzalvo de Cordova drove the French from Italy (battle of Cerignola, 1503), and Naples thereafter was governed by Spanish viceroys. In 1528, the French general Lautrec had reached the walls of Naples, when Andrew Doria suddenly passed over with his fleet to the side of the Spaniards, who remained masters of the country. There were a great many insurrections against Spanish rule; in 1547, on account of the attempt to introduce the Inquisition ; in 1599, at the instigation of Tommaso Campanella, O.P. ; in 1647 (Giuseppe d'Allessio at Messina, and Masaniello at Naples) it was proposed to offer the crown to Duke Henry of Guise ; in 1674, there was a revolt at Messina ; all of these insurrections were suppressed.

In the war of the Spanish succession, Naples was conquered by the Austrians for Charles III, son of Emperor Leopold, and pretender to the throne of Spain ; later, he became emperor as Charles VI. At the peace of Utrecht (1713), Sicily was given to King Amadeus of Savoy, but in 1720, it was reunited to Naples. In 1734 Charles of Bourbon, son of Duke Philip of Parma, assisted by the Spanish general Montemar, conquered Naples without much difficulty and took the name of Charles III; the Austrians attempted in the following year to retrieve their loss, but were defeated at Velletri. Charles introduced many reforms, several, however, to the disadvantage of the Church (Tannucci ministry), and consequently he had difficulties with the Holy See which were not entirely cleared away by the concordat of 1755. When Charles ascended the throne of Spain, he left Naples to his third son Ferdinand IV (1759-1825). Having failed to drive the French from the Papal States in 1798, Ferdinand was compelled to withdraw to Sicily ; the French invaded Naples, and in January, 1799, proclaimed the Parthenopian Republic. The kingdom was soon restored, however, through the efforts of Cardinal Fabricius Ruffo Scilla. In 1806, Naples was again conquered by Joseph Bonaparte, who became its king; upon ascending the throne of Spain, he was succeeded at Naples by Murat, who was dethroned and killed in 1815. In 1820-21 sectarian agitations brought about an insurrection; the king gave a constitution, but was compelled by Austria to withdraw it, and with Austrian assistance, returned to the throne (1821). Under Francis I (1825) and Ferdinand II (1830-59), conspirators maintained their activity, especially in 1848 and 1849, when Sicily again attempted to sever its union with Naples. Cavour gave his support to the expedition of Garibaldi against Francis II. Garibaldi landed at Marsala on 11 May, 1860, and soon conquered Sicily ; he then passed over to Calabria, and on 7 September, took Naples. After the battle of Volturno (1 October), the regular troops of Piedmont entered the Kingdom of Naples, and King Francis withdrew to Gaeta, where, after a brave resistance, he capitulated on 12 February, 1861, and signed the annexation of his dominions to the Kingdom of Italy.

According to a legend connected with the church of St. Peter ad aram Apostle on his way to Rome consecrated as Bishop of Naples St. Asprenus, a brother of St. Candida, who had given hospitality to St. Peter. This St. Candida, however, is probably the one who lived in the sixth century and whose metrical epitaph is preserved. At all events, it was natural that Christianity should be taken to Naples at an early date, especially among the Hebrews, since that city was in the neighbourhood of Pozzuoli ( Acts 28:13 ), and the catacombs of St. Januarius, St. Severus, and St. Gaudiosus show that there was a considerable number of Christians at Naples in the beginning of the second century. Hence the establishment of the episcopal see may date from that time, as there is record of only nine bishops prior to 300, the first of them being Asprenus; the sixth, St. Agrippinus, suffered martyrdom, possibly under Valerian ; the deacons Marianus and Rufus, also, were martyred. Bishop St. Maximus was exiled by Constantius on account of the prelate's firm catholicity (357?). At the close of the fourth century, the pagans were still numerous, and the pagan Symmachus calls Naples urbs religiosa (Epist. I, VIII, 27). The first removal of the body of St. Januarius from Pozzuoli to Naples took place under Bishop Severus (367); Bishop St. Nostrianus (about 450) fought against Pelagianism and during his incumbency, St. Gaudiosus, fleeing from the persecutions of the Vandals in Africa, landed at Naples, and died there. Bishop Demetrius was deposed by St. Gregory the Great (593), who appointed to the See of Naples the Roman Fortunatus; the courage of Bishop St. Angelus (671-91) saved the city from the invasion of the Saracens ; Sergius, before he became bishop in 716, was famous for having retaken the castle of Cuma from the Lombards. St. Paul I (762), a friend of Pope Paul I, was prevented from taking possession of his diocese by the iconoclast dux ; St. Tiberius (818) died in prison, in which he was confined because of his condemnation of the wickedness of the consul Bonus; St. Athanasius I (850) was persecuted by his nephew, the dux Sergius, and died on a journey to Rome (872). Anastasius II, a cousin of Sergius, having become bishop, captured the dux , blinded him, and made himself Duke of Naples, and by favouring the Saracens, incurred excommunication by John VIII. The first Neapolitan prelate to bear the title of archbishop was Sergius (990-1005), and his successors continued to be consecrated at Rome, even after Leo the Isaurian had made all of Byzantine Italy dependent on the Patriarch of Constantinople; their clergy was in part Latin, and in part Greek. Under Archbishop Anselm (1192-1215), there was incorporated into the Diocese of Naples that of Cuma, where, in the time of Diocletian, Maxentius was bishop, and the deacon Maximus was martyred. Another bishop of Cuma was the Misenus who went in 483, with Vitalis and Felix, on a pontifical mission to Constantinople, where he betrayed the pope's interests. This city was destroyed by the Neapolitans in 1207, but many of its ruins are still in existence.

Other archbishops of Naples are Cardinal Henry Minutolo (1389), a liberal restorer of churches; Nicolò de Diano (1418), zealous for the maintenance of discipline and of good morals ; between 1458 and 1575, seven archbishops of the family of Caraffa succeeded each other, with only one interruption; among them was Giovanni Pietro (1549-1555), who became Pope Paul IV . This series was followed in 1576 by Blessed Paul Burali, a cardinal, and one of the associates of St. Cajetan of Tiene who died at Naples in 1547; Cardinal Annibale da Capua (1578), who, like his predecessor, was a reformer; Cardinal Alfonso Gesualdo (1596); Cardinal Ottavio Acquaviva (1604) and Francesco Boncompagni (1626) were distinguished, the one for his benevolence, and the other for his charity on the occasion of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 1631. Cardinal Antonio Pignatelli (1686) became Pope Innocent XII ; during the incumbency of Giuseppe Spinelli (1734) were found the marble tables containing the ancient calendar of the Neapolitan Church, illustrated by Mazzocchi; Cardinal Giuseppe M. Capece-Zurlo (1782) was confined by the republicans in the monastery of Montevergine, where he died in 1801. Cardinal Ludovico Ruffo Scilla (1802-32) fled in 1806 to Rome, was taken to France with Pius VII in 1809, and returned with the pope to Rome ; he did much for the Church, but was unfortunate under the restoration of the Bourbons at Naples. In 1818, a new condordat gave to the hierarchy of the kingdom a new organization. Cardinal Filippo Giudice Caracciolo (1833-54) restored the cathedral to its ancient architectural style; Cardinal Sisto Riario Sforza (1854-77) protested against the annexation of Naples to the Kingdom of Italy , and therefore, remained in exile at Civitavecchia, until 1866.

The suffragan sees of Naples are those of Acerra, Ischia, Nola, and Pozzuoli ; the archdiocese has 95 parishes, with 600,600 inhabitants; 32 religious houses of men, 27 congregations of nuns ; 7 educational establishments for boys, and 15 for girls; one Catholic daily paper, and 14 weekly and monthly publications.

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