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Naples
was founded between the 7th and 6th centuries BC by the Greeks and was given the
name Neapolis.
During the period of Roman domination, the town preserved its Greek language and
customs. Following the Roman period, the city was dominated by many different
groups of people (Byzantines, Lombards, Normans, Swabians, Angevins, Aragonese,
Spaniards, Austrians, Bourbons and revolutionary French). Nowadays one can see
the traces of all those rulers in the monuments, in the culture and in the
habits of the town. In 1266 the Angevins moved the capital of the Kingdom of
Sicily from Palermo to Naples. Sicily soon parted and formed an independent
Kingdom of Sicily. After the Congress of Vienna Naples became the capital of the
united Kingdom of Two Sicilies. After a long period of decline following the
creation of the Italian State over 100 years ago, the city is making strides in
recovering its eminence as a center for culture. |
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