Spaccanapoli is the straight and narrow main street that traverses the old, historic center of the city of
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. The name is a popular usage and means, literally, "Naples splitter". The name is derived from the fact that it is very long and from above it seems to divide that part of the city.
This street is the lower (''Decumanus Inferiore'') and southernmost of the three
decumani, or east-west streets, of the grid of the original Greco-Roman city of ''Neapolis''. The central main ''
Decumanus Maggiore'' is now ''Via dei Tribunali''; while the northernmost or upper ''
Decumanus Superiore'' is now ''via Anticaglia'' and ''Via della Sapienza''. The three ''decumani'' were (and still are) intersected by numerous north-south cross-streets called ''cardini'', together forming the grid of the ancient city.
Today, the street officially starts at
Piazza Gesù Nuovo and is officially named ''Via
Benedetto Croce
Benedetto Croce (; 25 February 1866 – 20 November 1952)
was an Italian idealist philosopher, historian, and politician, who wrote on numerous topics, including philosophy, history, historiography and aesthetics. In most regards, Croce was a lib ...
''. Moving east, the street changes name to ''Via S. Biagio dei Librai'' and then crosses ''Via Duomo'' (named for the
Cathedral of Naples
The Naples Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Napoli; nap, Viscuvato 'e Napule), or Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary ( it, Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta, links=no), is a Roman Catholic cathedral, the main church of Naples, southern Italy, and the s ...
) and moves beyond the confines of the old center of town.
Spaccanapoli is the main promenade for tourists as it provides access to a number of important sights of the city. These include:
*
Santa Chiara
*
Santa Marta
Santa Marta (), officially Distrito Turístico, Cultural e Histórico de Santa Marta ("Touristic, Cultural and Historic District of Santa Marta"), is a city on the coast of the Caribbean Sea in northern Colombia. It is the capital of Magdalena ...
*
San Biagio Maggiore
*
Santi Filippo e Giacomo
*
San Francesco delle Monache
*
San Domenico Maggiore
San Domenico Maggiore is a Gothic, Roman Catholic church and monastery, founded by the friars of the Dominican Order, and located in the square of the same name in the historic center of Naples.
History
The square is bordered by a street/alle ...
*
Palazzo Venezia
The Palazzo Venezia or Palazzo Barbo (), formerly Palace of St. Mark, is a palazzo (palace) in central Rome, Italy, just north of the Capitoline Hill. The original structure of this great architectural complex consisted of a modest medieval hous ...
*Palazzo Petrucci
*Palazzo Pinelli
*
Palazzo Carafa della SpinaStoria City
entry on Palace.
*Palazzo del Panormita
The Palazzo del Panormita is a Renaissance architecture, Renaissance style palace in central Naples. It rises alongside the narrow via Nilo, near Spaccanapoli (street), via Spaccanapoli, where it is called ''San Biagio dei Librai'', diagonally fr ...
* Palazzo Filomarino della Rocca
*Palazzo di Sangro
*Palazzo di Sangro di Casacalenda
* Palazzo Marigliano
*Piazzetta Nilo with the Nile God statue
*Palazzo of Monte di Pietà, Naples
A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whic ...
References
Streets in Naples
Tourist attractions in Naples
{{Italy-road-stub