Foreigners in Naples during the nineteenth century: attractions, sociability and culture

di Annunziata Berrino
in Memoria e Ricerca n.s. 46 (2014), p. 13

At the beginning of the nineteenth century Naples consolidated its reputation as a center of culture, developed during the eighteenth century, with new forms of attractions, spread by the romantic culture. In the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, during the decades of the Bourbon restoration, the forms of sociability, the attractions and the cultural opportunities for foreign guests – which during the eighteenth century were primarily organized in private circles or amongst the aristocrats – are no longer valid. The new travellers have different expectations and request holidays which guarantee services and freedom of movement. However Naples is governed by a reactionary police establishment. From the 1840’s foreigners began leaving the capital and heading around the Gulf. In Sorrento, the islands of Capri and Ischia they found a more liberal ambient combined with new attractions, sociability and culture. Keywords: Travellers, Sociability, Naples, Nineteenth Century, Liberalism, Culture