Naples and surroundings
Naples is third-biggest city of Italy after Rome and Milan, with a population near to a million.
It was founded as Parthenope by Greeks in the 8th century BC, and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited urban areas in the world. In the sixth century BC, it was renamed as Neápolis.
Its historic city centre has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A wide range of culturally and historically significant sites are nearby, including the Roman ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum. The city has a large amount of cultural, artistic, and monumental sites to visit.
Mount Vesuvius is a volcano located about 9km east of Naples and near the sea as shown on the globe.
Its eruption in 79 AD destroyed the Roman cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, Oplontis, Stabiae and other local villages
It has erupted many times since and is the only volcano on mainland Europe to have erupted in the last hundred years. 3million people live near the volcano and would be affected by an eruption, with at least 600,000 in the immediate danger zone. Eruptions tend to be violent and explosive!
​
The name Vesuvius was being used by writers in the late Roman Republic and the early Roman Empire. No one is sure of its original meaning, but unquenchable, hurling violence, the one who lightens, or hearth are possible interpretations
Pompeii, is at the south-eastern base of Mount Vesuvius.
The Roman city was hit by the Vesuvius eruption of 79AD and after volcanic rocks and boiling hot gasses descended on the city, It was buried under deep layers of ash and pumice. This cover kept the ruins perfectly preserved and the city was forgotten about until the 1700s.
Grand Roman buildings like rich villas an amphitheatre, all kinds of houses and shops, some dating back to 300BC were uncovered. Some had preserved remains of people who had tried to shelter from the eruption. The ruins reveal day-to-day life in Pompeii on the day it was ended.
Pompeii was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1997.
The first globe shows the The floor of this roman house which was decorated with a mosaic floor and in the centre was placed the bronze statue of a dancing satyr, or faun, after which the famous house has been named. The second globe shows typical roman buildings and columns both in the globe and around the base. Vesuvius appears ominously behind. The third, identifiable by the columns rather than the statue design in the globe is probably of the statue of Apollo as an archer. It was one of the first large-scale bronzes to be excavated at Pompeii, Italy. Found in fragments in 1817.
faun.jpg)
In Naples itself , the medieval Castel Nuovo, was founded in 1279 by Charles I of Naples. It is known locally as the Maschio Angioino, in reference to Charles’s Angevin origins. Its location in central Naples and imposing size makes it one of the main historical features of the city. It was used by the kings of Naples, Aragon and Spain until 1815.​​​
Sorrento, called Surrentum since the 8th century BC, is a town located on a scenic plateau above the sea with spectacular views over the Bay of Naples. It has been a popular tourist destination for nearly two centuries.
Capri is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea on the south side of the Gulf of Naples It has been a popular destination since Roman times. It has a rugged limestone landscape, sea stacks, grottoes and high cliffs all round the island. The globe shows its rocky nature and a boat entering the Blue Grottto cave.
