1.
Madrid
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Madrid is the capital city of the Kingdom of Spain and the largest municipality in both the Community of Madrid and Spain as a whole. The city has a population of almost 3.2 million with an area population of approximately 6.5 million. It is the third-largest city in the European Union after London and Berlin, the municipality itself covers an area of 604.3 km2. Madrid lies on the River Manzanares in the centre of both the country and the Community of Madrid, this community is bordered by the communities of Castile and León. As the capital city of Spain, seat of government, and residence of the Spanish monarch, Madrid is also the political, economic, the current mayor is Manuela Carmena from Ahora Madrid. Madrid is home to two football clubs, Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid. Madrid is the 17th most liveable city in the according to Monocle magazine. Madrid organises fairs such as FITUR, ARCO, SIMO TCI, while Madrid possesses modern infrastructure, it has preserved the look and feel of many of its historic neighbourhoods and streets. Cibeles Palace and Fountain have become one of the monument symbols of the city, the first documented reference of the city originates in Andalusan times as the Arabic مجريط Majrīṭ, which was retained in Medieval Spanish as Magerit. A wider number of theories have been formulated on possible earlier origins, according to legend, Madrid was founded by Ocno Bianor and was named Metragirta or Mantua Carpetana. The most ancient recorded name of the city Magerit comes from the name of a built on the Manzanares River in the 9th century AD. Nevertheless, it is speculated that the origin of the current name of the city comes from the 2nd century BC. The Roman Empire established a settlement on the banks of the Manzanares river, the name of this first village was Matrice. In the 8th century, the Islamic conquest of the Iberian Peninsula saw the changed to Mayrit, from the Arabic term ميرا Mayra. The modern Madrid evolved from the Mozarabic Matrit, which is still in the Madrilenian gentilic, after the disintegration of the Caliphate of Córdoba, Madrid was integrated in the Taifa of Toledo. With the surrender of Toledo to Alfonso VI of León and Castile, the city was conquered by Christians in 1085, Christians replaced Muslims in the occupation of the centre of the city, while Muslims and Jews settled in the suburbs. The city was thriving and was given the title of Villa, since 1188, Madrid won the right to be a city with representation in the courts of Castile. In 1202, King Alfonso VIII of Castile gave Madrid its first charter to regulate the municipal council, which was expanded in 1222 by Ferdinand III of Castile
2.
Messina
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Messina is the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is located near the northeast corner of Sicily, at the Strait of Messina, opposite Villa San Giovanni on the mainland, according to Eurostat the FUA of the metropolitan area of Messina has, in 2014,277,584 inhabitants. The citys main resources are its seaports, cruise tourism, commerce, the city has been a Roman Catholic Archdiocese and Archimandrite seat since 1548 and is home to a locally important international fair. The city has the University of Messina, founded in 1548 by Ignatius of Loyola, Messina has a light rail system, Tranvia di Messina, that was opened on 3 April 2003. This line is 7.7 kilometres and links the central railway station with the city centre. The city is home to a significant Greek-speaking minority, rooted in its history, founded by Greek colonists in the 8th century BC, Messina was originally called Zancle, from the Greek ζάγκλον meaning scythe because of the shape of its natural harbour. A comune of its Metropolitan City, located at the entrance of the Strait of Messina, is to this day called Scaletta Zanclea. In the early 5th century BC, Anaxilas of Rhegium renamed it Messene in honour of the Greek city Messene, the city was sacked in 397 BC by the Carthaginians and then reconquered by Dionysius I of Syracuse. In 288 BC the Mamertines seized the city by treachery, killing all the men, the city became a base from which they ravaged the countryside, leading to a conflict with the expanding regional empire of Syracuse. Hiero II, tyrant of Syracuse, defeated the Mamertines near Mylae on the Longanus River, carthage assisted the Mamertines because of a long-standing conflict with Syracuse over dominance in Sicily. When Hiero attacked a second time in 264 BC, the Mamertines petitioned the Roman Republic for an alliance, although initially reluctant to assist lest it encourage other mercenary groups to mutiny, Rome was unwilling to see Carthaginian power spread further over Sicily and encroach on Italy. Rome therefore entered into an alliance with the Mamertines, in 264 BC, Roman troops were deployed to Sicily, the first time a Roman army acted outside the Italian Peninsula. At the end of the First Punic War it was a city allied with Rome. In Roman times Messina, then known as Messana, had an important pharos, Messana was the base of Sextus Pompeius, during his war against Octavian. In 1548 St. Ignatius founded there the first Jesuit college in the world, the Christian ships that won the Battle of Lepanto left from Messina, the Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes, who took part in the battle, recovered for some time in the Grand Hospital. The city reached the peak of its splendour in the early 17th century, under Spanish domination, in 1674 the city rebelled against the foreign garrison. A massive fortress was built by the occupants and Messina decayed steadily, in 1743,48,000 died of plague in the city. In 1783, an earthquake devastated much of the city, and it took decades to rebuild, in 1847 it was one of the first cities in Italy where Risorgimento riots broke out
3.
Italy
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Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
4.
Baroque architecture
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It was characterized by new explorations of form, light and shadow, and dramatic intensity. Baroque architecture and its embellishments were on the one hand more accessible to the emotions and on the other hand, the new style manifested itself in particular in the context of the new religious orders, like the Theatines and the Jesuits who aimed to improve popular piety. The architecture of the High Roman Baroque can be assigned to the reigns of Urban VIII, Innocent X and Alexander VII. Dissemination of Baroque architecture to the south of Italy resulted in variations such as Sicilian Baroque architecture or that of Naples. To the north, the Theatine architect Camillo-Guarino Guarini, Bernardo Vittone and Sicilian born Filippo Juvarra contributed Baroque buildings to the city of Turin and the Piedmont region. A synthesis of Bernini, Borromini and Cortona’s architecture can be seen in the late Baroque architecture of northern Europe which paved the way for the more decorative Rococo style. During the 17th century, Baroque architecture spread through Europe and Latin America, michelangelos late Roman buildings, particularly St. Peters Basilica, may be considered precursors to Baroque architecture. Colonialism required the development of centralized and powerful governments with Spain and France, the initial mismanagement of colonial wealth by the Spaniards bankrupted them in the 16th century, recovering only slowly in the following century. While this was good for the industries and the arts, the new wealth created an inflation. Rome was known just as much for its new sumptuous churches as for its vagabonds, one of the first Roman structures to break with the Mannerist conventions exemplified in the Gesù, was the church of Santa Susanna, designed by Carlo Maderno. The dynamic rhythm of columns and pilasters, central massing, there is an incipient playfulness with the rules of classic design, but it still maintains rigor. These concerns are more evident in his reworking of Santa Maria della Pace. Probably the most well known example of such an approach is Saint Peters Square, the piazza, designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, is formed principally by two colonnades of free standing columns centred on an Egyptian obelisk. Berninis own favourite design was his church of SantAndrea al Quirinale decorated with polychome marbles. His secular architecture included the Palazzo Barberini based on plans by Maderno, Berninis rival, the architect Francesco Borromini, produced designs that deviated dramatically from the regular compositions of the ancient world and Renaissance. His building plans were based on geometric figures, his architectural forms were unusual and inventive. Borrominis architectural spaces seem to expand and contract when needed, showing some affinity with the style of Michelangelo. A later work, the church of SantIvo alla Sapienza, displays the same playful inventiveness and antipathy to the flat surface, following the death of Bernini in 1680, Carlo Fontana emerged as the most influential architect working in Rome
5.
Baroque
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The style began around 1600 in Rome and Italy, and spread to most of Europe. The aristocracy viewed the dramatic style of Baroque art and architecture as a means of impressing visitors by projecting triumph, power, Baroque palaces are built around an entrance of courts, grand staircases, and reception rooms of sequentially increasing opulence. However, baroque has a resonance and application that extend beyond a reduction to either a style or period. It is also yields the Italian barocco and modern Spanish barroco, German Barock, Dutch Barok, others derive it from the mnemonic term Baroco, a supposedly laboured form of syllogism in logical Scholastica. The Latin root can be found in bis-roca, in informal usage, the word baroque can simply mean that something is elaborate, with many details, without reference to the Baroque styles of the 17th and 18th centuries. The word Baroque, like most periodic or stylistic designations, was invented by later critics rather than practitioners of the arts in the 17th, the term Baroque was initially used in a derogatory sense, to underline the excesses of its emphasis. In particular, the term was used to describe its eccentric redundancy and noisy abundance of details, although it was long thought that the word as a critical term was first applied to architecture, in fact it appears earlier in reference to music. Another hypothesis says that the word comes from precursors of the style, Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola and he did not make the distinctions between Mannerism and Baroque that modern writers do, and he ignored the later phase, the academic Baroque that lasted into the 18th century. Long despised, Baroque art and architecture became fashionable between the two World Wars, and has remained in critical favour. In painting the gradual rise in popular esteem of Caravaggio has been the best barometer of modern taste, William Watson describes a late phase of Shang-dynasty Chinese ritual bronzes of the 11th century BC as baroque. The term Baroque may still be used, usually pejoratively, describing works of art, craft, the appeal of Baroque style turned consciously from the witty, intellectual qualities of 16th-century Mannerist art to a visceral appeal aimed at the senses. It employed an iconography that was direct, simple, obvious, germinal ideas of the Baroque can also be found in the work of Michelangelo. Even more generalised parallels perceived by some experts in philosophy, prose style, see the Neapolitan palace of Caserta, a Baroque palace whose construction began in 1752. In paintings Baroque gestures are broader than Mannerist gestures, less ambiguous, less arcane and mysterious, more like the stage gestures of opera, Baroque poses depend on contrapposto, the tension within the figures that move the planes of shoulders and hips in counterdirections. Baroque is a style of unity imposed upon rich, heavy detail, Baroque style featured exaggerated lighting, intense emotions, release from restraint, and even a kind of artistic sensationalism. There were highly diverse strands of Italian baroque painting, from Caravaggio to Cortona, the most prominent Spanish painter of the Baroque was Diego Velázquez. The later Baroque style gradually gave way to a more decorative Rococo, while the Baroque nature of Rembrandts art is clear, the label is less often used for Vermeer and many other Dutch artists. Flemish Baroque painting shared a part in this trend, while continuing to produce the traditional categories
6.
Sicily
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Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is an autonomous Region of Italy, along with surrounding minor islands, Sicily is located in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula, from which it is separated by the narrow Strait of Messina. Its most prominent landmark is Mount Etna, the tallest active volcano in Europe, the island has a typical Mediterranean climate. The earliest archaeological evidence of activity on the island dates from as early as 12,000 BC. It became part of Italy in 1860 following the Expedition of the Thousand, a revolt led by Giuseppe Garibaldi during the Italian unification, Sicily was given special status as an autonomous region after the Italian constitutional referendum of 1946. Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially regard to the arts, music, literature, cuisine. It is also home to important archaeological and ancient sites, such as the Necropolis of Pantalica, the Valley of the Temples, Sicily has a roughly triangular shape, earning it the name Trinacria. To the east, it is separated from the Italian mainland by the Strait of Messina, about 3 km wide in the north, and about 16 km wide in the southern part. The northern and southern coasts are each about 280 km long measured as a line, while the eastern coast measures around 180 km. The total area of the island is 25,711 km2, the terrain of inland Sicily is mostly hilly and is intensively cultivated wherever possible. Along the northern coast, the ranges of Madonie,2,000 m, Nebrodi,1,800 m. The cone of Mount Etna dominates the eastern coast, in the southeast lie the lower Hyblaean Mountains,1,000 m. The mines of the Enna and Caltanissetta districts were part of a leading sulphur-producing area throughout the 19th century, Sicily and its surrounding small islands have some highly active volcanoes. Mount Etna is the largest active volcano in Europe and still casts black ash over the island with its ever-present eruptions and it currently stands 3,329 metres high, though this varies with summit eruptions, the mountain is 21 m lower now than it was in 1981. It is the highest mountain in Italy south of the Alps, Etna covers an area of 1,190 km2 with a basal circumference of 140 km. This makes it by far the largest of the three volcanoes in Italy, being about two and a half times the height of the next largest, Mount Vesuvius. In Greek Mythology, the deadly monster Typhon was trapped under the mountain by Zeus, Mount Etna is widely regarded as a cultural symbol and icon of Sicily. The Aeolian Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea, to the northeast of mainland Sicily form a volcanic complex, the three volcanoes of Vulcano, Vulcanello and Lipari are also currently active, although the latter is usually dormant
7.
Philip V of Spain
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Before his reign, Philip occupied an exalted place in the royal family of France as a grandson of King Louis XIV. His father, Louis, the Grand Dauphin, had the strongest genealogical claim to the throne of Spain when it became vacant in 1700. It was well known that the union of France and Spain under one monarch would upset the balance of power in Europe, Philip was the first member of the House of Bourbon to rule as king of Spain. The sum of his two reigns,45 years and 21 days, is the longest in modern Spanish history and he was a younger brother of Louis, Duke of Burgundy, the father of Louis XV of France. At birth, Philip was created Duke of Anjou, a title for younger sons in the French royal family. He would be known by name until he became the king of Spain. Philip was tutored with his brothers by François Fénelon, Archbishop of Cambrai, the three were also educated by Paul de Beauvilliers. In 1700 the King Charles II of Spain died childless and his will named the turning 17-year-old Philip, grandson of Charles half-sister Maria Theresa, the first wife of Louis XIV, as his successor. Upon any possible refusal, the crown of Spain would be offered next to Philips younger brother, Philip had the better genealogical claim to the Spanish throne, because his Spanish grandmother and great-grandmother were older than the ancestors of the Archduke Charles of Austria. However, the Austrian branch claimed that Philips grandmother had renounced the Spanish throne for herself and this was countered by the French branchs claim that it was on the basis of a dowry that had never been paid. After the Royal Council decided to accept the provisions of the will of Charles II naming Philip king of Spain, the ambassador, along with his son, knelt before Philip and made a long speech in Spanish which Philip did not understand, although Louis XIV did. Philip only later learned to speak Spanish, on 2 November 1701 the almost 18 year old Philip married the 13-year-old Maria Luisa of Savoy, as chosen by his grandfather King Louis XIV, by then an old man of 63. She was the daughter of Victor Amadeus II, Duke of Savoy, there was a proxy ceremony at Turin, the capital of the Duchy of Savoy, and another one at Versailles on 11 September. As queen of Spain, Maria Luisa proved very popular with her subjects and she served as regent for her husband on several occasions. Her most successful term was when Philip was away touring his Italian domains for nine months in 1702, in 1714, she died at the age of 26 from tuberculosis, a devastating emotional blow to her husband. The actions of Louis XIV heightened the fears of the English, the Dutch, however, a second act of the French king justified a hostile interpretation, pursuant to a treaty with Spain, Louis occupied several towns in the Spanish Netherlands. This was the spark that ignited the powder keg created by the issues of the War of the League of Augsburg. Almost immediately the War of the Spanish Succession began, inside Spain, the Crown of Castile supported Philip of France
8.
Carlo Fontana
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Carlo Fontana was an Italian architect originating from todays Canton Ticino, who was in part responsible for the classicizing direction taken by Late Baroque Roman architecture. There seems to be no proof that he belonged to the family of architects of the same name. Born in Brusato, near Como, Fontana went to Rome before 1655 and he became a draughtsman for the architectural plans of Pietro da Cortona, Carlo Rainaldi, and Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Bernini employed him for nearly a decade in diverse projects and his first independent project may be the church of San Biagio in Campitelli, completed by 1665. His façade at San Marcello al Corso is described as one of his most successful works. Among his other works were the designs for a Jesuit complex in Azpeitia, Spain, in the village of Loyola where Saint Ignatius of Loyola. This grandiose basilica was an influence upon baroque architecture of the New World. Fontana was an able artist and a designer, but lacked the innovation that characterized early Baroque architects like Cortona. In addition, he was successful as an architect than as a writer. By order of Innocent XI he wrote a historical description of the Templum Vaticanum. Fontana made a calculation of the expense of St. Peters from the beginning to 1694. He also published works on the Colosseum, the Aqueducts, the inundation of the Tiber, furthermore, twenty seven manuscript volumes of his writings and sketches are preserved in the Royal Library at Windsor. Fontana was principe of the Accademia di San Luca in 1686, fontanas studio was one of the most prolific in Europe, its designs for fountains, tombs, and altars were often imitated or reproduced abroad. Other Fontana pupils include Giovan Battista Contini and Carlo Francesco Bizzaccheri, rebuilding and refurbishing, with Francesco Borromini and others Palazzo Montecitorio, the headquarters of the Camera dei Deputati of the Italian government since 1871. Façade of the church of San Marcello al Corso, the conventional scrolls that ordinarily flank the upper central section are appropriately replaced with the martyrs palms. Church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli, in collaboration with Gian Lorenzo Bernini, church of San Biagio in Campitelli. Interior of Basilica dei Santi Apostoli, the fountain in the left of the Piazza San Pietro. The fountain in front of Santa Maria in Trastevere, one of the oldest fountains of Rome, was restored by Fontana The Cybo Chapel in Santa Maria del Popolo, sistine Chapel in Santa Maria Maggiore
9.
Giacomo Torelli
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Giacomo Torelli was an Italian stage designer, engineer, and architect. This was followed with designs for two works by Sacrati at the same theatre, Bellerofonte in 1642 and Venere gelosa in January 1643. He may also have worked on Francesco Cavallis Deidamia, staged in 1644, Torellis last work in Venice was for Sacratis LUlisse errante, performed during the carnival season of 1644 at the Teatro Santi Giovanni e Paolo. When the Italian-born Cardinal Mazarin succeeded Cardinal Richelieu as the minister of France in 1642. In June 1645 at the request of the regent Anne of Austria, the success of La finta pazza encouraged Mazarins ambitions, and he proceeded to mount another Italian opera, Egisto. Although the composer has not been identified with certainty, it is considered likely to have been the Egisto with music by Francesco Cavalli, Egisto was performed in 1646, but was not as successful as La finta pazza. Nevertheless, Mazarin proceeded with a newly composed Italian opera, Luigi Rossis Orfeo, another group of Italian singers was brought to France, and after many delays Orfeo finally premiered on 2 March 1647. By this time opposition to Italian opera was beginning to arise, and the work was criticised for being too Italian and too costly, but even so, Torellis scenic effects were well received. Although ostracised as a dependant of Mazarin during the Fronde, Torelli managed to stay in Paris and designed the scenery for a new French play, the Troupe Royale of the Hôtel de Bourgogne were to perform it, but their usual stage was unsuitable for a pièce à machine. Originally planned for the theatre in the Palais-Royal, Andromède was transferred sometime before the first performance to the Petit-Bourbon, many of Torellis set pieces created for Orfeo were moved and reused for Andromède, which premiered on 1 February 1650. François Chauveau created a series of six depicting the settings of the prologue and five acts. After King Louis XIV’s return to Paris in 1653 Torelli became involved more in the ballet de cours than in opera, in 1659 with the arrival in Paris of the Italian theatre-designing family of Gaspare Vigarani and his sons Carlo and Lodovico, Torelli soon fell from royal favour. Torelli returned to Fano, designing a theatre, the Teatro della Fortuna, and this not only saved labour, amongst other things, but also created spectacular scenic effects, the popularity of which led to a notable increase in the number of set changes per opera. Torelli also designed machinery for flying characters around the stage, mimicking weather effects, and so on, despite this apparent obsession with the infinite, however, Torelli also brought ‘closed’ space to the stage. Interior scenes became more common and were quite shallow. His innovations in stage machinery allowed not only stage flats to be changed and this allowed an interchange between interior and exterior sets, and Torelli would often alternate between open and enclosed sets to create a new sense of rhythm in the visual aspect of opera. His experimentation with different types of space were not limited to the contrast between interior and exterior either. Torelli would often delimit the foreground of a set with a structure such as a hill or a fountain
10.
Naples
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Naples is the capital of the Italian region Campania and the third-largest municipality in Italy, after Rome and Milan. In 2015, around 975,260 people lived within the administrative limits. The Metropolitan City of Naples had a population of 3,115,320, Naples is the 9th-most populous urban area in the European Union with a population of between 3 million and 3.7 million. About 4.4 million people live in the Naples metropolitan area, Naples is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Bronze Age Greek settlements were established in the Naples area in the second millennium BC, a larger colony – initially known as Parthenope, Παρθενόπη – developed on the Island of Megaride around the ninth century BC, at the end of the Greek Dark Ages. Naples remained influential after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, thereafter, in union with Sicily, it became the capital of the Two Sicilies until the unification of Italy in 1861. Naples was the most-bombed Italian city during World War II, much of the citys 20th-century periphery was constructed under Benito Mussolinis fascist government, and during reconstruction efforts after World War II. The city has experienced significant economic growth in recent decades, and unemployment levels in the city, however, Naples still suffers from political and economic corruption, and unemployment levels remain high. Naples has the fourth-largest urban economy in Italy, after Milan, Rome and it is the worlds 103rd-richest city by purchasing power, with an estimated 2011 GDP of US$83.6 billion. The port of Naples is one of the most important in Europe, numerous major Italian companies, such as MSC Cruises Italy S. p. A, are headquartered in Naples. The city also hosts NATOs Allied Joint Force Command Naples, the SRM Institution for Economic Research, Naples is a full member of the Eurocities network of European cities. The city was selected to become the headquarters of the European institution ACP/UE and was named a City of Literature by UNESCOs Creative Cities Network, the Villa Rosebery, one of the three official residences of the President of Italy, is located in the citys Posillipo district. Naples historic city centre is the largest in Europe, covering 1,700 hectares and enclosing 27 centuries of history, Naples has long been a major cultural centre with a global sphere of influence, particularly during the Renaissance and Enlightenment eras. In the immediate vicinity of Naples are numerous culturally and historically significant sites, including the Palace of Caserta, culinarily, Naples is synonymous with pizza, which originated in the city. Neapolitan music has furthermore been highly influential, credited with the invention of the romantic guitar, according to CNN, the metro stop Toledo is the most beautiful in Europe and it won also the LEAF Award 2013 as Public building of the year. Naples is the Italian city with the highest number of accredited stars from the Michelin Guide, Naples sports scene is dominated by football and Serie A club S. S. C. Napoli, two-time Italian champions and winner of European trophies, who play at the San Paolo Stadium in the south-west of the city, the Phlegraean Fields around Naples has been inhabited since the Neolithic period. The earliest Greek settlements were established in the Naples area in the second millennium BC, sailors from the Greek island of Rhodes established a small commercial port called Parthenope on the island of Megaride in the ninth century BC
11.
Teatro Capranica
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The Teatro Capranica is a theatre situated at 101 Piazza Capranica in the Colonna district of Rome. Originally constructed in 1679 by the Capranica family and housed in the early Renaissance Palazzo Capranica and it was the site of many premieres of Baroque operas including Caldaras Tito e Berenice, Scarlattis Griselda, and Vivaldis Ercole sul Termodonte. The Capranica ceased operating as a theatre and opera house in 1881. Following the closure of the cinema in 2000, it has functioned on a basis as a conference and performance venue. In the late 1670s, another member of the family, Pompeo Capranica, had a private theatre carved out from existing family apartments without changing the exterior of the building. The theatre was inaugurated on 6 January 1679 with Arcangelo Corelli leading the orchestra for the premiere of Bernardo Pasquinis opera Dovè amore è pietà. With the accession of Pope Alexander VIII, Pompeo Capranica and his brother Federico received permission to enlarge the theatre and they entrusted the task to Carlo Buratti who completely rebuilt the theatre in 1694 transforming it into the standard U-shape with rich ornamentation and 6 tiers of 26 boxes each. However, the new theatre still lacked an entrance opening onto the street. Audiences could only enter through the workshop of a carpenter on the floor of the palazzo. His lease required him to close his workshop during the opera season and it was a situation that was not be rectified until the 19th century. Under Pope Innocent XII, public performances were once again forbidden. The composer Alessandro Scarlatti was closely associated with the Capranica which premiered several of his early operas beginning in 1679, when he returned to Rome in 1718 after his years in Naples, he produced his three finest operas for the theatre, Telemaco, Marco Attilio Regolo and Griselda. Between 1718 and 1721, the Capranica also saw the premieres of Scarlattis oratorio, La gloriosa gara tra la Santità e la Sapienza, in 1760, he wrote his comedy Pamela maritata expressly for the theatre. The theatre went through more renovations, closures, and proprietors starting in the second half of the 18th century. By the 19th century, it had ceased being an opera house in the city and tended to concentrate on comic operas and plays, acrobatic displays. The theatre returned to the Capranica family in 1853 when Marchese Bartolomeo Capranica bought it back from Prince Alessandro Torlonia, however, it never regained its former prestige. The American writer Henry P. Leland described it in 1863 as, here came the shoemaker, the tailor, and the small artisan, all with their wives or women, and with them the wealthy peasant who had ten cents to pay for entrance. Here the audience wept and laughed, applauded the actors, eventually, the costs of upkeep and dwindling audiences led to the Capranicas demise
12.
Genoa
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Genoa is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015,594,733 people lived within the administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of Genoa, over 1.5 million people live in the wider metropolitan area stretching along the Italian Riviera. Genoa has been nicknamed la Superba due to its glorious past, part of the old town of Genoa was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2006. The citys rich history in notably its art, music. It is the birthplace of Christopher Columbus, Niccolò Paganini, Giuseppe Mazzini, Genoa, which forms the southern corner of the Milan-Turin-Genoa industrial triangle of north-west Italy, is one of the countrys major economic centres. The city has hosted massive shipyards and steelworks since the 19th century, the Bank of Saint George, founded in 1407, is among the oldest in the world and has played an important role in the citys prosperity since the middle of the 15th century. Today a number of leading Italian companies are based in the city, including Fincantieri, Selex ES, Ansaldo Energia, Ansaldo STS, Edoardo Raffinerie Garrone, Piaggio Aerospace, the Genoa area has been inhabited since the fifth or fourth millennium BC. In ancient times this area was frequented and inhabited by Ligures, Phoenicians, Phocaeans, Greeks, and Etruscans. The city cemetery, dating from the 6th and 5th centuries BC, testifies to the occupation of the site by the Greeks, but the fine harbour probably saw use much earlier, perhaps by the Etruscans. In the 5th century BC was founded the first oppidum at the foot of the today called the Castle Hill which now is inside the medieval old town. The ancient Ligurian city was known as Stalia, so referred to by Artemidorus Ephesius and Pomponius Mela, Ligurian Stalia was overshadowed by the powerful Marseille and Vada Sabatia, near modern Savona. Stalia had an alliance with Rome through a foedus aequum in the course of the Second Punic War, the Carthaginians accordingly destroyed it in 209 BC. The town was rebuilt and, after the Carthaginian Wars ended in 146 BC. it received municipal rights, the original castrum thenceforth expanded towards the current areas of Santa Maria di Castello and the San Lorenzo promontory. Trades included skins, wood, and honey, goods were shipped to the mainland, up to major cities like Tortona and Piacenza. Among the archeological remains from the Roman period, an amphitheatre was also found, another theory traces the name to the Etruscan word Kainua which means New City and still another from the Latin word ianua, related to the name of the God Janus, meaning door or passage. The latter is in reference to its position at the centre of the Ligurian coastal arch. The Latin name, oppidum Genua, is recorded by Pliny the Elder as part of the Augustean Regio IX Liguria, after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the Ostrogoths occupied Genoa
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