Naples, the largest and richest city of Italy; has a lovely situation within the bend of Naples Bay, spreading from the foreshore back upon wooded hills and rising terraces, behind which lie the snow-clad Apennines; to the E. lies the old town with its historic Via di Roma and narrow crowded thoroughfares; the newer portion on the W. is more spaciously laid out, and much has been done in recent years over the whole city to improve the sanitation and water supply; the national museum, rich in Pompeii relics, the university (4150 students), the national library (275,000 vols.), the archiepiscopal cathedral, and the four mediæval gateways are the chief architectural features; large quantities of wine, olive-oil, chemicals, perfumery, &c., are exported, while woollen, silk, linen, glove, and other factories carry on a good home trade; Naples became incorporated in the kingdom of Italy in 1861 after the Bourbon dynasty had been swept away by Garibaldi.
Population (1907) 536,000
