Naples
Naples has always attracted writers who want to describe a city that refuses to behave. Norman Douglas set South Wind on an island in the bay and filled it with conversations about pleasure, while Twain's Innocents Abroad arrives by sea and complains about the guides before noticing the bay.
The national library is housed in the royal palace and holds collections that document the Bourbon kingdom and the city's printing trade. Naples was one of the largest cities in Europe in the eighteenth century, and its archives are correspondingly large, which is why serious work on its history usually begins with a catalogue rather than a walk.
A library to check
- Biblioteca Nazionale Vittorio Emanuele III — catalogues and digital collections, open to readers online
Books connected to Naples
- South Wind — Norman Douglas, 1917. The most enjoyable argumentative novel in English, set on an island you will want to visit.
- The Innocents Abroad — Mark Twain, 1869. The funniest travel book of the nineteenth century, and a useful antidote to reverence.
A note on accuracy
We describe literary connections and public collections, not street addresses, opening hours or ticket prices. Those change and we cannot verify them for every reader. Follow the institution's own site for current visiting information.