Neapolitan language in the context of "Duchy of Naples"

Play Trivia Questions online!

or

Skip to study material about Neapolitan language in the context of "Duchy of Naples"

Ad spacer

⭐ Core Definition: Neapolitan language

Neapolitan (autonym: ('o n)napulitano [(o n)näpuli't̪ɑːnə]; Italian: napoletano) is a Romance language of the Southern Italo-Romance group spoken in most of continental Southern Italy. It is named after the Kingdom of Naples, which once covered most of the area, and the city of Naples was its capital. On 14 October 2008, a law by the Region of Campania stated that Neapolitan was to be protected.

While the language group is native to much of continental Southern Italy or the former Kingdom of Naples, the terms Neapolitan, napulitano or napoletano may also instead refer more narrowly to the specific variety spoken natively in the city of Naples and the immediately surrounding Naples metropolitan area and Campania region. The present article mostly deals with this variety, which enjoys a certain degree of prestige and has historically wide written attestations.

↓ Menu

>>>PUT SHARE BUTTONS HERE<<<

👉 Neapolitan language in the context of Duchy of Naples

The Duchy of Naples (Latin: Ducatus Neapolitanus, Neapolitan: Ducato di Napule) began as a Byzantine province that was constituted in the seventh century, in the lands roughly corresponding to the current province of Naples that the Lombards had not conquered during their invasion of Italy in the sixth century.

It was governed by a military commander (dux), and rapidly became a de facto independent state, lasting more than five centuries during the Early and High Middle Ages. Naples remains a significant metropolitan city in present-day Italy.

↓ Explore More Topics
In this Dossier

Neapolitan language in the context of Eduardo De Filippo

Eduardo De Filippo OMRI (Italian: [eduˈardo de fiˈlippo]; 26 May 1900 – 31 October 1984), also known mononymously as Eduardo, was an Italian actor, director, screenwriter, and playwright, best known for his Neapolitan works Filumena Marturano and Napoli milionaria [it]. Considered one of the most important Italian artists of the 20th century, De Filippo was the author of many theatrical dramas staged and directed by himself first and later awarded and played outside Italy. For his artistic merits and contributions to Italian culture, he was named senator for life by the President of the Italian Republic Sandro Pertini.

↑ Return to Menu

Neapolitan language in the context of Pulcinella

Pulcinella (Italian: [pultʃiˈnɛlla]; Neapolitan: Pulecenella) is a classical character that originated in commedia dell'arte of the 17th century and became a stock character in Neapolitan puppetry. Pulcinella's versatility in status and attitude have helped maintain the character's popularity in various forms since his introduction to commedia dell'arte by Silvio Fiorillo [it] in 1620.

His visual appearance includes a humpback, a crooked nose, gangly legs, a potbelly, large cheeks, and a gigantic mouth. These traits were inherited from two stock characters of the Atellan Farce. He typically wears a pointed hat (conical hat). When depicted as a member of the upper class, Pulcinella is a cunning thief and schemer. When depicted as a member of the servant class, Pulcinella is a perverted bumpkin. In either case, he is a social climber, striving to rise above his station in life. He is an opportunist who always sides with the winner in any situation and who fears no consequences. His main motivations are self-interest and self-preservation, yet Pulcinella tends to rescue other characters from trouble. He is said to be every character's savior, despite acting as a rebel and a delinquent.

↑ Return to Menu

Neapolitan language in the context of Naples

Naples (/ˈnpəlz/ NAY-pəlz; Italian: Napoli [ˈnaːpoli] ; Neapolitan: Napule [ˈnɑːpələ]) is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its province-level municipality is the third most populous metropolitan city in Italy with a population of 2,958,410 residents, and the eighth most populous in the European Union. Its metropolitan area stretches beyond the boundaries of the city wall for approximately 30 kilometres (20 miles). Naples also plays a key role in international diplomacy, since it is home to NATO's Allied Joint Force Command Naples and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean.

Founded by Greeks in the first millennium BC, Naples is one of the oldest continuously inhabited urban areas in the world. In the eighth century BC, a colony known as Parthenope (Ancient Greek: Παρθενόπη) was established on the Pizzofalcone hill. In the sixth century BC, it was refounded as Neápolis. The city was an important part of Magna Graecia, played a major role in the merging of Greek and Roman society, and has been a significant international cultural centre ever since with particular reference to the development of the arts.

↑ Return to Menu

Neapolitan language in the context of Potenza

Potenza (/pəˈtɛnzə/, also US: /pˈtɛntsɑː/; Italian: [poˈtɛntsa] ; Neapolitan: Putenza, Potentino dialect: Putenz) is a comune in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata (former Lucania).

Capital of the Province of Potenza and the Basilicata region, the city is the highest regional capital and one of the highest provincial capitals in Italy, overlooking the valley of the Basento river in the Apennine Mountains of Lucania, east of Salerno. Its territory is bounded by the comuni of Anzi, Avigliano, Brindisi Montagna, Picerno, Pietragalla, Pignola, Ruoti, Tito and Vaglio Basilicata.

↑ Return to Menu

Neapolitan language in the context of Province of Potenza

The province of Potenza (Italian: provincia di Potenza; Potentino: provìgnë dë Pùtenzë) is a province in the Basilicata region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Potenza.

↑ Return to Menu

Neapolitan language in the context of Province of Matera

The province of Matera (Italian: provincia di Matera; Materano: provìngë dë Matàërë) is a province in the Basilicata region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Matera. It has an area of 3,447 square kilometres (1,331 sq mi) and a total population of 201,133; the city of Matera has a population of 61,204. The province contains 31 comuni (sg.: comune), listed in the list of comuni of the province of Matera). It is bordered by the province of Potenza in the west and south, the region of Calabria also to the south, the region of Apulia to the east and north, and by the Ionian Sea to the southeast.

The history of settlement in the region dates back to the Palaeolithic Period and the first instance of organised settlement was in 251 BCE, when Roman Republic consul Lucius Caecilius Metellus founded the town as Matera. Matera was sacked multiple times; initially by the Franks, then by Roman Emperor Louis II of Italy, and then by invading Muslims during the 10th century. Following this, the town was owned by the Capetian House of Anjou and the Crown of Aragon and was sold multiple times to successive wealthy families.

↑ Return to Menu

Neapolitan language in the context of Molise

Molise (UK: /mɒˈlz/ mol-EE-zay, US: /ˈmliz, mˈlz/ MOH-lee-zay, moh-LEE-zay; Italian: [moˈliːze]; Molisan: Mulise, pronounced [mə'li.zə]) is a region in Southern Italy. Until 1963, it formed part of the region of Abruzzi e Molise together with Abruzzo. The split, which did not become effective until 1970, makes Molise the newest region in Italy. Covering 4,460.65 square kilometres (1,722 sq mi), it is the second smallest region in the country, after the Aosta Valley, and has a population of 287,966 as of 2025.

The region is split into two provinces, named after their capitals: Campobasso and Isernia. Campobasso also serves as the regional capital. Molise's small size and relative obscurity led it to become the subject of a popular meme "Molise doesn't exist".

↑ Return to Menu

Neapolitan language in the context of Phlegraean Islands

The Phlegraean Islands (Italian: Isole Flegree [ˈiːzole fleˈɡrɛːe]; Neapolitan: Isule Flegree) are an archipelago in the Gulf of Naples and the Campania region of southern Italy.

The name is derived from the common affiliation to the geologic area of the Phlegraean Fields.

↑ Return to Menu