Italy (Naples) Male

Italy is in Southern Europe, forming a boot shape in the Mediterranean Sea. To the north, it borders France, Switzerland, Austria, and Slovenia, and to the south, it consists of the entirety of the Italian Peninsula and the two Mediterranean islands of Sicily and Sardinia, in addition to many smaller islands.

From the late 19th century to the early 20th century, Italy rapidly industrialised in the north, while the south remained largely impoverished and excluded from industrialisation, fuelling emigration and the development of large and influential diaspora. Italian cuisine is noted for its regional diversity, abundance of difference in taste, and is known to be one of the most popular in the world, wielding strong influence abroad.

Italian is a Romance language. The other four most widely spoken Romance languages are Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Romanian. Italian has a 7 vowel sound system, and almost all words and syllables finish with pure vowels. It was adopted by the state after the Unification of Italy, having previously been spoken mostly by the upper class of Florentine society. Throughout Italy, regional variations of Standard Italian, called Regional Italian, are still spoken. As in most Romance languages, stress is distinctive but, but unlike most other Romance languages, Italian retains Latin’s contrast between short and long consonants.

Naples is a major city set in a bay on the south west coast of Italy. It is the capital of the Campania region, and the third-largest municipality in Italy after Rome and Milan. Naples’ historic city centre is the largest in Europe and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with a wide range of culturally and historically significant sites nearby, including the Palace of Caserta and the Roman ruins of Pompeii.

Naples is also known for its natural beauties such as Posillipo, Phlegraean Fields, Nisida, and Vesuvius. Neapolitan cuisine is synonymous with pizza – which originated in the city – but it also includes many lesser-known dishes. Catholicism is highly important to the populace; there are hundreds of churches in the city. In 2017 94.3% of the city’s inhabitants were Italian nationals.

Naples was one of the centres of the peninsula from which the modern theatre genre originated, evolving from 16th century “comedy of art”. The masked character of Pulcinella is a worldwide famous figure. Naples has had significant influence on Italian cinema. Because of the significance of the city, many films and television shows are set in Naples. In addition to serving as the backdrop for several movies and shows, many talented celebrities (actors, actresses, directors, and producers) are originally from the city of Naples.