When the Spaniards shaped the most mythical site of Naples
Naples was the most prosperous city in Italy for a significant period of time, one of the largest in Europe and a treasure for the Spanish crowns that dominated it. Today its historic center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and those who have been here agree: it is the most authentic city in Italy. This unique metropolis had a strong Spanish presence for four centuries. Today, these traces can still be seen today in the layout of its streets, in several of the city’s most representative monuments and in certain traditions. Many Italian historians have a negative perception of this Spanish influence, but its inhabitants have embraced it without resentment. Perhaps because it is from this relationship that the most mythical neighborhoods of Naples took shape: the Quartieri Spagnoli. Colorful, chaotic and Neapolitan to say the least.
One of the most classic images of the Spanish quarters of Naples. | Shutterstock
The Quartieri Spagnoli were born in the 16th century as a response to the presence of Spanish military troops, as simple as that. If they are known this way it is because they were invaded by a Spanish army following orders from the Crown of Aragón, which for a long time had its eye on the city. It first came under its dominion in the mid-15th century, under the rule of Alfonso V of Aragón. A period of war against the French, who aspired, like the Spanish, to control the city, gave way to centuries of relatively quiet rule in which Spanish rulers reshaped Naples.
A succession of Spanish viceroys ruled in the name of Ferdinand II of Aragon first, Charles V or Philip II later. During the respective periods of time several names stood out that have been engraved in the history of the city. This is the case of Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, known as Gran Capitán, the man responsible for the conquest of the city in 1504 for the Crown of Aragon. Also Pedro Álvarez de Toledo, viceroy who in the thirties of the 16th century carried out important reforms in the configuration of the city.
Charles III of Spain, already in the 18th century, was one of the main promoters of the Archaeological Museum, considered today one of the most important of its kind. Under his direction, to the private collections already contained therein were added the rich finds obtained in the cities near Vesuvius, works carried out at the express wish of the king.
Naples was Spanish until the very Risorgimento, the Italian unification that took place in the 19th century. This movement succeeded in uniting all the Italian states to form the current country, thus alienating the dynasties considered non-Italian. This included the Spanish lineages, which only then and after a long process, left the city.
The buildings seem to tip over each other in the narrow streets of these neighborhoods. | Shutterstock
The Spanish quarters emerged, as mentioned above, around the 16th century, when the Crown of Aragon was trying to expel the French from a territory it already considered its own, having occupied it some time before. To achieve definitive control, a garrison of some 5,000 soldiers, commanded by the Grand Captain, was installed in the heart of the city. Their main objective was to defeat the French army, but little by little, with the city already conquered, they shifted their gaze to the Neapolitans. They had to follow them, but also to protect them, since they were already part of the Crown to which they also belonged.
From the beginning, the presence of the Spaniards in this area was characterized by violence, criminality and prostitution. Towards the middle of the 16th century, barracks were built to accommodate them in other parts of the city and spaces were reallocated for these soldiers. These quarters, in any case, were already known as the Spanish quarters. The Quartieri Spagnoli were born.
Typical stall in Via San Liborio. | Shutterstock
It is essential to highlight the influence of Pedro Álvarez de Toledo when it comes to understanding the birth of these places. After his arrival in the city in 1532, one of his main objectives was to reform the city from an urbanistic point of view. His mandate as viceroy lasted twenty years and during this time he was in charge of, among other things, the paving of the streets and the demolition of the old western wall, which became obsolete after the demolished extensions.
Perhaps his main contribution was Via Toledo, which, at more than a kilometer long, is one of the main streets of Naples. From Via Toledo depart most of the streets that underpin the labyrinthine structure of the Quartieri Spagnoli, to which it limits its expansion towards the sea. In 1870, after the Italian unification, it changed its name to Via Roma, in honor of the newly inaugurated capital of Italy. It was in vain. The Neapolitans, then and forever, continued to refer to it with the name of that viceroy.
The streets of the Spanish neighborhoods are always crowded. | Shutterstock
There are three neighborhoods that make up the Quartieri Spagnoli: San Ferdinand, Avvocata and Montecalvario. All are characterized by narrow streets, Vespas that cross each other without order or order, with more passengers than one could have imagined, and a generalized chaos that in this case is synonymous with life. Colorful and bustling neighborhoods, with tall buildings welded together by ropes used for hanging laundry, maybe the most popular image of Naples. In any case, one should not romanticize everything that has to do with the Quartieri Spagnoli, which dazzle with a unique beauty that can make invisible the major problems that have plagued them since the beginning of their existence. These are neighborhoods historically dominated by the Camorra, socially conflictive and shaken by precariousness. Many of the problems of Naples are perfectly reflected in this place and that should not be forgotten.
Cars, Vespas, locals, tourists… There is a lot of life in these neighborhoods. | Shutterstock
Also noteworthy are its many murals and more than four hundred altars dedicated to the Virgin Mary hidden in the most unexpected nooks and crannies of its streets. Looking for those Spanish traces, we must stop at the great palaces and the many churches that populate this labyrinth. It is, perhaps along with Rome and Seville, the city with the highest concentration of churches in Europe.
In this regard, just a stone’s throw from the Quartieri Spagnoli lies a temple worth visiting: the Pontificia reale basilica di San Giacomo degli Spagnoli, that is, the Pontificia Real Basilica of St. James of the Spaniards, inaugurated in the mid-sixteenth century. It is under the care of the Royal Brotherhood of Spanish Nobles of Naples, which had great social and political influence until the 19th century. This church became an important refuge for the Spanish and also for the Neapolitans during the successive conflicts with the French. And they were not few.
The colors stand out in the Spanish quarters. | Shutterstock
Among the many Spanish corners that can be found throughout the world, this one located in Naples has a special significance. Perhaps because the relationship between the two territories has always been a close relationship full of similarities, to the point that one can feel in Spain in practically any other part of Italy. Of course, none like these Quartieri Spagnoli, which have so much of historic Spain that it is even in their name. There are many other traces around Naples, a city that, apart from this, is worth discovering. As the Italians say, vedi Napoli e poi muori. Don’t die until you get to know it.
