Naples is a city in

Collier County, Florida Collier County is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 375,752; an increase of 16.9% since the 2010 United States Census. Its county seat is East Naples, where the county offices were moved from E ...

, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the historical city (i.e. in the immediate vicinity of downtown Naples) was 19,115. Naples is a principal city of the

Naples-Marco Island, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area Collier County is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 375,752; an increase of 16.9% since the 2010 United States Census. Its county seat is East Naples, where the county offices were moved from Ev ...

, which had a population of about 375,752 as of 2020. Naples' USPS City population (i.e. the total population that lists Naples as the city on their postal address and who consider themselves residents of Naples) includes most of the communities in Collier County with the notable exceptions of Immokalee, Marco Island, Ave Maria, Everglades City and a few others, and thus Naples' USPS City population is approximately 333,083. The city is mostly known for its high-priced homes, white-sand beaches, and numerous golf courses. Naples is the self-titled "Golf Capital of the World", as it has the second most holes per capita out of all communities, and the most holes of any city in Florida. The city is also known for being appealing to retirees, and a large percent of the population is made up of them.

History

Before the period of

European colonization The historical phenomenon of colonization is one that stretches around the globe and across time. Ancient and medieval colonialism was practiced by the Phoenicians, the Greeks, the Turks, and the Arabs. Colonialism in the modern sense began ...

, the

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

Calusa The Calusa ( ) were a Native American people of Florida's southwest coast. Calusa society developed from that of archaic peoples of the Everglades region. Previous indigenous cultures had lived in the area for thousands of years. At the time of ...

lived in Florida (including the region of present-day Naples) for thousands of years, from Charlotte Harbor to

Cape Sable Cape Sable is the southernmost point of the United States mainland and mainland Florida. It is located in southwestern Florida, in Monroe County, and is part of the Everglades National Park. The cape is a peninsula issuing from the southeast ...

. In 1513, Spanish ''

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...

'' Juan Ponce de León explored the region and encountered the Calusa, who resisted attempts by de León to establish a Spanish colony in Florida. This initiated nearly two hundred years of conflict between the Spanish and the Calusa. In the early 18th century, following

slave raids Slave raiding is a military raid for the purpose of capturing people and bringing them from the raid area to serve as slaves. Once seen as a normal part of warfare, it is nowadays widely considered a crime. Slave raiding has occurred since ant ...

from

Muscogee The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language), are a group of related indigenous (Native American) peoples of the Southeastern WoodlandsYamasee The Yamasees (also spelled Yamassees or Yemassees) were a multiethnic confederation of Native Americans who lived in the coastal region of present-day northern coastal Georgia near the Savannah River and later in northeastern Florida. The Yamas ...

raiders allied with European settlers in Carolina, the majority of the remaining Calusa moved south and east to escape the raids. The city of Naples was founded in 1886 by former

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

general and

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

John Stuart Williams John Stuart Williams (July 10, 1818July 17, 1898) was a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War, and a postbellum Democratic U.S. Senator from Kentucky. Early life and career Born near Mount Sterling, Kentucky, ...

and his partner,

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

businessman Walter N. Haldeman, the publisher of the

Louisville Courier-Journal The ''Courier Journal'', also known as the ''Louisville Courier Journal'' (and informally ''The C-J'' or ''The Courier''), and called ''The Courier-Journal'' between November 8, 1868, and October 29, 2017, is the highest circulation newspape ...

. Throughout the 1870s and 1880s, magazine and newspaper stories ran stories about the area's mild climate and abundant fish and likened it to the sunny Italian peninsula. The name Naples caught on when promoters described the bay as "surpassing the bay in

Naples, Italy 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 ...

". By the summer of 1888, Naples had a population of about 80 people, and the first hotel opened in 1889. Major development was anticipated after Collier County was established in 1923, the completion of the

Seaboard Air Line Railroad The Seaboard Air Line Railroad , which styled itself "The Route of Courteous Service," was an American railroad which existed from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime rival, t ...

extension in 1927, and the completion of the

Tamiami Trail The Tamiami Trail () is the southernmost of U.S. Highway 41 (US 41) from State Road 60 (SR 60) in Tampa to US 1 in Miami. A portion of the road also has the hidden designation of State Road 90 (SR 90). The north� ...

linking Naples to Miami in 1928, but did not begin until after the 1929 Stock market crash, the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, and World War II. During the war the U.S. Army Air Forces built a small airfield and used it for training purposes; it is now the Naples Municipal Airport. After a hurricane in 1945, a fill was required to repair the damage. A local

dredging Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing da ...

company, Wyatt Brothers, created a lake north of 16th Avenue S, between Gordon Drive and Gulf Shore Boulevard. In 1949, Reginald Wyatt II asked Mr. Rust to sell him the from Jamaica Channel to today's 14th Avenue S. The Jamaica Channel was widened, one canal was dredged, and 14th Avenue S was created. That same year, Naples officially became a city. Today, the Wyatt family is credited with the construction of Naples' first beach. Additional channels were eventually added to the south of 14th Avenue S and are named alphabetically for local water birds. The first channel south of 14th Avenue S is

Anhinga The anhinga (; ''Anhinga anhinga''), sometimes called snakebird, darter, American darter, or water turkey, is a water bird of the warmer parts of the Americas. The word ''anhinga'' comes from ''a'ñinga'' in the Brazilian Tupi language and means ...

Channel, then

Bittern Bitterns are birds belonging to the subfamily Botaurinae of the heron family Ardeidae. Bitterns tend to be shorter-necked and more secretive than other members of the family. They were called ''hæferblæte'' in Old English; the word "bittern ...

Channel is south of 15th Avenue S, Crane Channel is south of 16th Avenue S, Duck Channel is south of 17th Avenue S, and

Egret Egrets ( ) are herons, generally long-legged wading birds, that have white or buff plumage, developing fine plumes (usually milky white) during the breeding season. Egrets are not a biologically distinct group from herons and have the same build ...

Channel is north of 21st Avenue S. From the channels there are coves named Flamingo, Gull, Heron, and Ibis, as well as the original Aqua Cove. These initial channels, canals, and coves were dredged and bulldozed from the

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evoluti ...

swamps. Where shallow rock precluded digging, the land was filled to create lots with navigable water. The Aqualane Shores Association was incorporated as a non-profit corporation on February 3, 1966. It served lot owners in the area roughly bounded by the Bay of Naples to the east, Gordon Drive to the west, and the land between 14th Avenue and 21st Avenue S, as well as Marina Drive, Forrest Lane, and Southwinds Drive. Thirty years later, in 1996, a state-mandated city master plan renamed the area the Aqualane Shores Neighborhood and extended its boundary west to the Gulf of Mexico, east to the Bay of Naples, and the area from 14th Avenue S all the way south to Jamaica Channel. The numerous canals and waterfront homes add a distinctive feature to the south portion of Naples and provide access to the Gulf of Mexico for many homeowners.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...

, there were 19,115 people, 10,797 households, and 6,441 families residing in the city.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 19,537 people, 9,710 households, and 6,568 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 16,957 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 94.1% White, 4.5% Black, 0.12% Native American, 0.33% Asian, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 0.30% from other races, and 1.0% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 4.5% of the population. The largest self-identified ancestry/ethnic groups in Naples were

German-American German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the Unite ...

20.0%,

English-American English Americans (historically known as Anglo-Americans) are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in England. In the 2020 American Community Survey, 25.21 million self-identified as being of English origin. The term is distin ...

19.2%,

Irish-American , image = Irish ancestry in the USA 2018; Where Irish eyes are Smiling.png , image_caption = Irish Americans, % of population by state , caption = Notable Irish Americans , population = 36,115,472 (10.9%) alone ...

17.8% and

Italian-American Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan areas, w ...

9.2%. There were 9,708 households, out of which 10.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.8% were married couples living together, 5.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.2% were non-families. Thirty-four percent of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.92 and the average family size was 2.38. In the city, the population was spread out, with 10.9% under the age of 18, 2.3% from 18 to 24, 14.5% from 25 to 44, 30.0% from 45 to 64, and 42.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 61 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.0 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 83.9 males. The median income for a household in the city was $71,553, and the median income for a family was $102,262. Males had a median income of $86,092 versus $30,948 for females. The per capita income for the city was $61,141. About 3.1% of families and 5.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.1% of those under age 18 and 3.3% of those aged 65 or over.

Economy

The economy of Naples is based largely on tourism and was historically based on

real estate development Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw Real Estate, land and the sale of developed land or parcels ...

and agriculture. Due to its proximity to the

Everglades The Everglades is a natural region of tropical climate, tropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin within the Neotropical realm. The system begins near Orland ...

and

Ten Thousand Islands The Ten Thousand Islands are a chain of islands and mangrove islets off the coast of southwest Florida, between Cape Romano (at the south end of Marco Island) and the mouth of the Lostmans River. Some of the islands are high spots on a submerg ...

, Naples is also popular among ecotourists. Companies based in Naples include

ACI Worldwide ACI Worldwide Inc. () is a payment systems company headquartered in Miami, Florida. ACI develops a broad line of software focused on facilitating real-time electronic payments. These products and services are used globally by banks, financial i ...

Beasley Broadcast Group Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc., based in Naples, Florida, is an owner/operator of radio stations in the United States. , the company owned 63 stations under the Beasley Media Group name. History The company was founded in 1961 by George G. Bea ...

ASG Technologies ASG Technologies Group, Inc., doing business as ASG Technologies, is a provider of enterprise information management and IT System Management solutions software. History, acquisitions and funding ASG Technologies was founded in 1986 by Arthur L. ...

, and Arthrex, a global medical device company, in addition to numerous small businesses. Due to the wealth present in Collier County, Naples is also home to many small non-profit organizations. The surrounding Naples metro area is also home to major private employers such as

Fortune 1000 The Fortune 1000 are the 1,000 largest American companies ranked by revenues, as compiled by the American business magazine ''Fortune''. It only includes companies which are incorporated or authorized to do business in the United States, and for ...

company Health Management Associates and technology company

NewsBank NewsBank is a news database resource that provides archives of media publications as reference materials to libraries. History John Naisbitt, the author of the book ''Megatrends'', founded NewsBank.Andrews 1998, p. 17. The company was launched i ...

. In 2009, Naples placed 10th in a report by '' U.S. News & World Report'' titled "10 Pricey Cities That Pay Off." The report ranked cities by its "amenity value," a measurement based on the amount of satisfaction an asset brings to its owner. In 2012, a report by

Kiplinger Kiplinger ( ) is an American publisher of business forecasts and personal finance advice which is a subsidiary of Future plc. Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc., was a closely held company managed for more than nine decades by three generations ...

ranked Naples with the sixth-highest per capita income in the country, along with the second-highest proportion of millionaires per capita in the US.

Geography and climate

Naples is located in southwest Florida at (26.139, −81.795) on U.S. Highway 41 between Miami to the east and

Fort Myers Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in southwestern Florida and the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 92,245 in 20 ...

to the north. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and , or 25.09%, is water. Naples experiences a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of p ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Aw''). Naples is normally frost-free and the growing season is 365 days. Of the two tropical seasons, Naples' wet season is from approximately June through September with frequent afternoon rains, while the dry season is from approximately October through May. Of the six ecological seasons, Naples experiences only two: Vernal (spring) from approximately October through May and Estival (high summer) from approximately June through September. Within the Vernal (spring) season, October, November, February, March, April and May are mild temperate, while December and January are cool temperate. Of the six ecological seasons, Naples does not experience Prevernal (pre-spring), Serotinal (late summer), Autumnal (autumn) and Hibernal (winter) because its trees and vegetation are in a perpetual state of leaf replenishment and bloom; and large numbers of bird species are settled in Naples year-round.

Education

Naples is served by the

District School Board of Collier County The Collier County Public Schools (or District School Board of Collier County) is a school district in Collier County, Florida. The district has schools in four cities throughout the county: Everglades City, Immokalee, Marco Island, and Naples. ...

and various private institutions, including the following:Zone Maps
"

. * St. Elizabeth Seton School (private) *

Naples High School Naples High School is a secondary education school located in Naples, Florida, and is one of eight public high schools located in Collier County. Naples High School is part of the District School Board of Collier County. Academics Athletic ...

(City of Naples, public) *

Barron G. Collier High School Barron G. Collier High School is a four-year public high school located in North Naples, Collier County, Florida, United States, near Pine Ridge and about northeast of the city of Naples. Barron Collier was included in ''Newsweek''s 2006 list ...

(public) *

Gulf Coast High School Gulf Coast High School is a public high school located in North Naples, Florida about from Naples, Florida. The school opened in August 1998 and is part of the District School Board of Collier County. Athletics Gulf Coast High School is one of t ...

(public) * St. John Neumann High School (private) *

Golden Gate High School Golden Gate High School is a secondary education school located near Naples, in an unincorporated census-designated place in Collier County, Florida, United States. Golden Gate High School is part of the District School Board of Collier County. ...

(public) *

Lely High School Lely High School is a four-year public high school located in Lely Resort, Collier County, Florida, about southeast of Downtown Naples. The school serves Naples Manor, Marco Island, Lely, Verona Walk, and some unincorporated areas of Coll ...

(public) *

Palmetto Ridge High School Palmetto Ridge High School is a secondary education school located near Naples, in an unincorporated census-designated place in Collier County, Florida, United States. Palmetto Ridge High School is part of the District School Board of Collier Count ...

(public) * Community School of Naples (private) * Seacrest Country Day School (private) * First Baptist Academy (private) * Mason Classical Academy (charter) * Lorenzo Walker Technical High School (public) * Naples Christian Academy (private) * Saint Ann School (private) * Naples Classical Academy (charter)

Colleges and universities

While no colleges are based within the city limits,

Ave Maria School of Law Ave Maria School of Law is a private Roman Catholic law school in Vineyards, Florida. It was founded in 1999 and is accredited by the American Bar Association. The school is perennially ranked as the "most conservative" and "most devout" law scho ...

is located in

Vineyards A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...

, and

Florida SouthWestern State College Florida SouthWestern State College (FSW or Florida SouthWestern) is a public college with its main campus in Fort Myers, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System. The college has satellite campuses in Charlotte County and Collier Cou ...

has a satellite campus in

Lely Resort Lely Resort is a census-designated place (CDP) in Collier County, Florida, United States. The population was 4,646 at the 2010 census, up from 1,426 in 2000. It is part of the Naples–Marco Island Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2017, t ...

. Also,

Florida Gulf Coast University Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) is a public university in Lee County, Florida. It is part of the State University System of Florida and is its second youngest member. The university was established on May 3, 1991, and is accredited by the ...

operates

continuing education Continuing education (similar to further education in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland) is an all-encompassing term within a broad list of post-secondary learning activities and programs. The term is used mainly in the United ...

classes from their Downtown Naples campus, and Hodges University has a campus in North Naples. Higher education institutions close to Naples include: *

Ave Maria University Ave Maria University (AMU) is a private Roman Catholic university in Ave Maria, Florida. It shares its history with the former Ave Maria College in Ypsilanti, Michigan, which was founded in 1998 and moved its campus in 2007. The two schools w ...

(35 miles northeast of Naples) *

(30 miles northwest of Naples) *

Hodges University Hodges University is a private university in Fort Myers, Florida. Founded in 1990 as International College, it was renamed Hodges University in 2007 in recognition of a $12 million donation from local residents Earl and Thelma Hodges. The Hodge ...

(35 miles north of Naples) *

(8 miles northeast of Naples)

Transportation

Road

Since February 2001, Naples has been served by several bus routes operated by the Collier Area Transit. Service runs seven days a week and end times depend on the route. Highways that pass through Naples are

I-75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from St ...

and

US-41 U.S. Route 41, also U.S. Highway 41 (US 41), is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs from Miami, Florida, to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Until 1949, the part in southern Florida, from Naples to Miami, ...

Air

The city is served by the

Naples Airport Naples International Airport ( it, Aeroporto Internazionale di Napoli) is the intercontinental airport serving Naples and the Southern Italian region of Campania. According to 2019 data, the airport is the fifth-busiest airport in Italy and ...

, and although it doesn't have any scheduled commercial service, it is one of the busiest private jet airports in the United States. The closest airport with regular-scheduled commercial service for both domestic and international destinations is

Southwest Florida International Airport Southwest Florida International Airport is a major county-owned airport in the South Fort Myers area of unincorporated Lee County, Florida, United States. The airport serves the Southwest Florida region, including the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, N ...

Healthcare

The region is served by the NCH Healthcare System, which currently has 716 beds between two hospitals, and Physician's Regional Healthcare System, which has two hospitals that contain 201 beds and is owned by the Health Management Associates, headquartered in Pelican Bay. In addition to the two hospitals, the company operates six clinics in Naples. Healthcare Network of Southwest Florida (HCN) was founded in 1977 to serve migrant farmworkers and their families in Immokalee. It now provides care to over 41,000 residents of Collier County through 20 practices, including internal medicine, family practice, obstetrics, gynecology, pediatrics, behavioral health and dental care.

Area attractions

Tourism is a major industry for the city. The Naples area is home to several major land reserves, including the

Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary is a National Audubon Society sanctuary located in southwest Florida, north of Naples, Florida and east of Bonita Springs, in the United States. The sanctuary was established to protect one of the largest remaining stands ...

Everglades National Park Everglades National Park is an American national park that protects the southern twenty percent of the original Everglades in Florida. The park is the largest tropical wilderness in the United States and the largest wilderness of any kind east ...

Big Cypress National Preserve Big Cypress National Preserve is a United States National Preserve located in South Florida, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) west of Miami on the Atlantic coastal plain. The Big Cypress, along with Big Thicket National Preserve in Texas, becam ...

Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge The Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge is part of the United States National Wildlife Refuge System, located in southwestern Florida, twenty miles east of Naples, in the upper segment of the Fakahatchee Strand of the Big Cypress Swamp ...

Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge The Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge is located in Southwest Florida in Collier County, Florida, Collier County, between Marco Island and Everglades City, Florida. The refuge was first established in 1996 and covers 35,000 acres of ...

, and

Picayune Strand State Forest Picayune Strand State Forest is one of 37 state forests in Florida managed by the Florida Forest Service. The 78,000-acre forest consists primarily of cypress swamps, wet pine flatwoods and wet prairies. It also features a grid of closed roads ove ...

. The Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary is known not only for its of landscape and wildlife, but for a two-and-a-half-mile-long boardwalk winding through the sanctuary. The Naples area is also home to the

Naples Zoo 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 ...

at Caribbean Gardens, which dates back to 1919. Near the zoo is where the

Coastland Center Coastland Center is a shopping mall located in Naples, Florida. Opened in 1976, it features Macy's, JCPenney, and Dillard's as its anchors. It hosts a food court and many other specialty stores. The food court is the main attraction. The mall it ...

is located, an indoor mall with many different types of stores anchored by J. C. Penney and

Macy's Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...

. Downtown Naples is home to

The Naples Players The Naples Players (TNP) is a community theatre company located in Naples, Florida. The company was founded on January 19, 1953 in the Sugden Community Theatre at 701 5th Avenue South in downtown Naples. It has been named the "Best Live Theatre" ...

, the 5th Avenue South, and 3rd Street South shopping districts, which feature a variety of antique luxury shops. Gallery Row is a concentration among the numerous art galleries spread throughout the downtown area. Located directly off of

are the Waterside Shops, an upscale open-air shopping center with popular stores such as

Gucci Gucci (, ; ) is an Italian high-end luxury fashion house based in Florence, Italy. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and home decoration; and it licenses its name and branding to Coty, Inc. for fragran ...

and

Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Malletier, commonly known as Louis Vuitton (, ), is a French high-end luxury fashion house and company founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton. The label's LV monogram appears on most of its products, ranging from luxury bags and leather ...

. Near downtown Naples Bay and the Gordon River is the shopping district of Tin City. This open-air shopping center specializes in antiques and handmade local novelties. The

Naples Half Marathon The Naples Half Marathon is an annual half marathon road running race held in Naples, Florida, United States, since 1989 (with the exception of 2016 due to a tornado). The 25th running of the race was held on January 20, 2013, with 2036 runners t ...

is a

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcu ...

held every year in Naples since 1989, with record participation in 2013 of 2,038 runners. The race has been called one of the best half-marathons in the United States by ''

Runner's World ''Runner's World'' is a globally circulated monthly magazine for runners of all skills sets, published by Hearst in Easton, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Before its acquisition by Hearst, it was founded and published by Rodale, Inc. in E ...

'' magazine.

Sports

The last LPGA golf tournament played each year, the

CME Group Tour Championship The CME Group Tour Championship is a women's professional golf tournament, the season-ending event of the LPGA Tour. It succeeded the LPGA Tour Championship, which was played for two seasons in 2009 and 2010. From 2011 to 2013 the tournament w ...

, has been held in Naples since

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

. Since

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, it has been played at the Gold Course of the Tiburón Golf Club. It claims the largest purse and the largest winner's share of any women's golf tournament, presently $5,000,000 and $1,500,000 respectively. The purse and winner's share increase in

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

, to $7,000,000 and $2,000,000 respectively. Swamp Buggy Day races- Naples, Florida (3324165294)

Pickleball Pickleball is an indoor or outdoor racket/paddle sport where two players (singles), or four players (doubles), hit a perforated hollow polymer ball over a net using solid-faced paddles. Opponents on either side of the net hit the ball back and ...

is an increasingly popular sport in Naples. Because of this, many parks have added pickleball courts. Naples is home to the U.S. Open Pickleball Championships, which have been held annually since 2016. Naples has a semi-pro soccer team, Naples United FC, which was founded in 2017. They currently play in the Sunshine Conference of the

National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's association football, soccer league. The NPSL is a semi-professional league, comprising some teams that have paid players and some that are entirely amateur. The league is officially ...

. Naples is also the home of

swamp buggy A swamp buggy, also known as a marsh buggy, is a motor vehicle used to traverse boggy swamp terrain. Swamp buggies may be purpose-built buggies or vehicles modified to traverse swamp terrain. Swamp buggies are capable of traveling through or over ...

races, held three times each year at the Florida Sports Park. The swamp buggy was invented in Naples.

Performing arts and culture

Naples is home to

, Naples Shakespeare Festival (and sister company Marco Island Shakespeare Festival), Opera Naples, the Equity Theatre Companies Theatre Zone, and Gulfshore Playhouse. The Naples Philharmonic and

The Baker Museum The Baker Museum (formerly the Naples Museum of Art) is part of Artis–Naples, a multidisciplinary organization that also is the home of the Naples Philharmonic, located at 5833 Pelican Bay Boulevard, Naples, Florida. The museum, opened in 2000, h ...

are located at Artis—Naples, which also serves as the educational campus for the Naples Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, Youth Chorus, Youth Jazz Orchestra and Youth Symphony. The Holocaust Museum and Education Center of Southwest Florida educates about 155,000 students each year both in its facility and with a locally traveling exhibit.

Hurricanes

National Weather Service records that date back to 1851, indicate 74 tropical storms have passed within 85 nautical miles of Naples, or once every 2.2 years (as of a 2014 data). 2005

Hurricane Wilma Hurricane Wilma was an extremely intense and destructive Atlantic hurricane which was the most intense storm of its kind and the second-most intense tropical cyclone recorded in the Western Hemisphere, after Hurricane Patricia in 2015. Part o ...

(Category 5) – Wilma reached maximum wind strength of 185 mph but its winds were 125 mph when it made landfall near Cape Romano (below Naples, just beyond the southwestern tip of Marco Island and northwest of the Ten Thousand Islands in Collier County). Wilma caused 87 deaths and $22.4 billion in damage. 2017

Hurricane Irma Hurricane Irma was an extremely powerful Cape Verde hurricane that caused widespread destruction across its path in September 2017. Irma was the first Category 5 hurricane to strike the Leeward Islands on record, followed by Maria two ...

(Category 5) – Irma had maximum wind strength of 180 mph but when it made landfall near Marco Island, its winds were 115 mph. As Irma hit Florida, tropical-storm-force winds extended out to 400 miles from the center and had hurricane-force winds that extended up to 80 miles. This storm left over 7.5 million homes (70% of the state) without electricity for days. Irma caused 134 deaths and $50 billion in damage. 2022 Hurricane Ian (Category 4) -

Beaches, parks, and recreation areas

The beach on the coast of the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

is more than long and is known for its cleanliness and pristine white sand. In 2005, Naples was voted the best all-around beach in America by the

Travel Channel Travel Channel (stylized as Trvl Channel since 2018) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, which had previously owned the channel from 1997 to 2007. The channel is headquartered in New York, New York, United S ...

. Naples area beaches include: * Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park * Clam Pass Beach Park * Naples Pier *

Vanderbilt Beach Vanderbilt Beach is an unincorporated community in Collier County, Florida, United States. It is located north of the Pelican Bay census-designated place and west of Naples Park, along the Gulf of Mexico. Vanderbilt Beach is north of the cente ...

* North Gulfshore Boulevard Beach * Seagate Beach * Lowdermilk Beach Park

In popular culture

Many movies have been filmed in or around Naples, such as '' Still Green'', '' Just Cause'', '' Pick-Up'' and '' Thunder and Lightning''.

Points of interest

Naples Botanical Garden Naples Botanical Garden is a botanical garden located in Naples, Florida. History The botanical garden was founded in 1993 and consists of 170 acres of cultivated gardens and preservation land, representing seven distinct natural habitats and e ...

* Naples Depot Museum *

* Palm Cottage *

* Venetian Village * Waterside Shops *

Golisano Children's Museum of Naples The Golisano Children's Museum of Naples (C'MON) is a children's museum in Naples, Florida, United States C'MON was founded in 2002 and is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit charitable organization and a member of the Association of Children's Museums Th ...

Notable people

* Bill Bain, management consultant, founder of

Bain & Company Bain & Company is an American management consulting company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. The firm provides advice to public, private, and non-profit organizations. One of the Big Three management consultancies, Bain & Company was fou ...

* Obe Blanc, member of 2010 U.S.

Freestyle Wrestling Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling originated from Great Britain and the United States. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games. American high school and men's college wrestling ...

World Team *

Ben Bova Benjamin William Bova (November 8, 1932November 29, 2020) was an American writer and editor. During a writing career of 60 years, he was the author of more than 120 works of science fact and fiction, an editor of '' Analog Science Fiction and F ...

, award-winning science fiction author and science author * Hayden Buckley, professional golfer *

Mary Carillo Mary Carillo (born March 15, 1957) is an American sportscaster and former professional tennis player. She is an analyst for '' Tennis on NBC'' and a reporter for NBC Olympic broadcasts. Career Tennis Carillo played on the women's professional ...

, former professional tennis player, now a sportscaster *

Michael Collins Michael Collins or Mike Collins most commonly refers to: * Michael Collins (Irish leader) (1890–1922), Irish revolutionary leader, soldier, and politician * Michael Collins (astronaut) (1930–2021), American astronaut, member of Apollo 11 and Ge ...

(1930–2021),

Apollo 11 Apollo 11 (July 16–24, 1969) was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module ''Eagle'' on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, an ...

Command Module Pilot *

Robin Cook Robert Finlayson "Robin" Cook (28 February 19466 August 2005) was a British Labour politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1974 until his death in 2005 and served in the Cabinet as Foreign Secretary from 1997 until 2001 wh ...

, author *

Mike Ditka Michael Keller Ditka (born Michael Dyczko; October 18, 1939) is an American former football player, coach, and television commentator. A member of both the College (1986) and the Pro (1988) Football Halls of Fame, he was UPI NFL Rookie of Year i ...

, former NFL player and coach, part-time Naples resident *

Glennon Doyle Glennon Doyle (born March 20, 1976) is an American author and activist known for her #1 ''New York Times'' bestsellers '' Untamed,'' ''Love Warrior,'' and ''Carry On, Warrior''. Doyle is also the creator of the online community Momastery, and is ...

, author, blogger, and activist *

Keith Eloi Keith Eloi (born November 1, 1984) is a former American football wide receiver. He graduated from Lely High School in Naples, FL. Keith was signed by the Washington Redskins as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college football at Nebra ...

, 2003 Lely high graduate, wide receiver in the UFL and

AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...

Dominic Fike Dominic David Fike (born December 30, 1995) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. Fike first received recognition after releasing several popular songs to the website SoundCloud. Following the release of his debut extended play, '' Don't ...

, rapper * J. Dudley Goodlette (born 1948), politician and lawyer *

Earnest Graham Earnest Graham Jr. (born January 15, 1980) is an American former college and professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons. He played college football for the University of Florida ...

, former NFL running back for the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

Garnet Hathaway John Garnet Hathaway (born November 23, 1991) is an American professional ice hockey forward for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Early life Hathaway was born in Naples, Florida, but moved to Kennebunkport, Maine w ...

, born in Naples and plays for the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL) ...

* Carlos Hyde, current NFL running back, part of the Naples High graduation class of 2009 *

Sonny Jurgensen Christian Adolph "Sonny" Jurgensen III (born August 23, 1934) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins. He was inducted int ...

, NFL Hall of Fame quarterback * Shahid Khan, Pakistani-American billionaire, owner of the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

, English soccer club

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

and Flex-N-Gate *

John Kruk John Martin Kruk (born February 9, 1961) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and outfielder. Kruk played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, Philadelphia Phillies, and Chicago White Sox from through . Du ...

, Major League Baseball player and broadcaster (

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

) *

Mickey Kuhn Theodore Matthew Michael Kuhn Jr. (September 21, 1932 – November 20, 2022) was an American actor. He started his career as a child actor, active on-screen during the Golden Age of Hollywood from the 1930s until the early 1950s. He is noted for ...

, child actor *

Denny Laine Denny Laine (born Brian Frederick Hines, 29 October 1944) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter, known as a founder of two major rock bands: the Moody Blues, with whom he played from 1964 to 1966, and Wings, with whom he played from 1 ...

, first lead singer of The Moody Blues, Ginger Baker's Airforce, and Paul McCartney and Wings *

John Legere John Legere (born June 4, 1958) is an American businessman, former chief executive officer (CEO) and president of T-Mobile US. He previously worked for AT&T, Dell, Global Crossing. He resigned as CEO following the approval of the merger of T-Mob ...

, former CEO of T-Mobile, purchased a Naples mansion in 2019 *

Alex Lifeson Aleksandar Živojinović, (born 27 August 1953), known professionally as Alex Lifeson (), is a Canadian musician, best known as the guitarist and backing vocalist of the progressive rock band Rush. In 1968, Lifeson co-founded the band that wo ...

, rock musician, has a home in Naples * John Lodge, British musician for

The Moody Blues The Moody Blues were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1964, initially consisting of keyboardist Mike Pinder, multi-instrumentalist Ray Thomas, guitarist Denny Laine, drummer Graeme Edge and bassist Clint Warwick. The g ...

, bought a home in Naples in 2015 * Fred McCrary, former NFL player, graduated from

in 1991 * James Morgan, scenic designer and Producing Artistic Director of the

York Theatre York Theatre is an off-Broadway theatre company based in East Midtown Manhattan, New York City. In its 50th year, York Theatre is dedicated to the production of new musicals and concert productions of forgotten musicals from the past. Each seas ...

Earl Morrall Earl Edwin Morrall (May 17, 1934 – April 25, 2014) was an American football player who was a quarterback (and occasional punter) in the National Football League (NFL) for 21 seasons, both a starter and reserve. In the latter capacity, he be ...

, two-time Super Bowl champion and former NFL quarterback, died in 2014 *

Piotr Nowak Piotr "Peter" Nowak (; born 5 July 1964) is a Polish professional football manager and former player. He was most recently in charge of Ekstraklasa club Jagiellonia Białystok. Nowak played in Europe for Polish clubs such as Zawisza Bydgoszcz ...

, former soccer player and head coach of

United States U-23 men's national soccer team The United States U-23 men's national soccer team, also known as the United States men's Olympic soccer team, is a youth soccer team operated under the auspices of U.S. Soccer. Its primary role is qualification into and competition at the quadri ...

D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

and

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Union compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the club began playing in 201 ...

* Jake O'Connell, former NFL tight end that went to

* Drew O'Keefe, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, had a residence in Naples *

Chris Resop Christopher "Chris" Paul Resop (born November 4, 1982) is a former American professional baseball right-handed pitcher. He has since entered a career as a real estate professional. Early life Resop graduated from Barron G. Collier High School i ...

, former

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

pitcher * Rick Scott, U.S. Senator and former Governor of Florida * Richard M. Schulze, businessman, best known as the founder of Best Buy * Bob Seger, musician who has a residence in Naples *

Judith Sheindlin Judith Susan Sheindlin (''née'' Blum; born October 21, 1942), known professionally as Judge Judy, is an American court show arbitrator, media personality, television producer, author, women's advancement philanthropist and former prosecutor an ...

, better known to the public as ''

Judge Judy ''Judge Judy'' is an American arbitration-based reality court show presided over by former Manhattan Family Court Judge Judith Sheindlin. The show featured Sheindlin as she adjudicated real-life small-claims disputes within a simulated courtr ...

'', author and television personality (Pelican Bay) *

Donna Summer LaDonna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the " Queen of Disco", while her mus ...

, entertainer; died at her Naples home in 2012 * Peter Thomas, the narrator of television programs * Margit Varga, artist, gallerist, art director * Abby Wambach, a former professional soccer player, has a home in Naples * Jesse Witten, professional tennis player

References

External links

; Visitors
City of Naples official website

Naples, Marco Island, Everglades – Convention and Visitors Bureau website
{{Authority control Beaches of Florida Cities in Collier County, Florida Populated coastal places in Florida on the Gulf of Mexico Seaside resorts in Florida Cities in Florida Beaches of Collier County, Florida 1886 establishments in Florida Populated places established in 1886

History

Demographics

2020 census

2010 census

Economy

Geography and climate

Education

Colleges and universities

Transportation

Road

Air

Healthcare

Area attractions

Sports

Performing arts and culture

Hurricanes

Beaches, parks, and recreation areas

In popular culture

Points of interest

Notable people

See also

References

External links