![Napoli - Antignano Dazio 100 4668](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/Napoli_-_Antignano_Dazio_100_4668.JPG)
Rione Antignano is one of the oldest areas of the
Vomero
Vomero () is a bustling hilltop district of metropolitan Naples, Italy — comprising approximately and a population of 48,000.
Vomero is noted for its central square, Piazza Vanvitelli; the ancient Petraio, its earliest path up and down t ...
district in
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 ...
; currently it extends along via Antignano, largo Antignano, vico Antignano, via Giuseppe Recco (formerly via Nuova Antignano), as well as the upper section of via Annella di Massimo, part of
piazza degli Artisti and via San Gennaro in Antignano.
Historical notes and descriptions
Antignano arose in Roman times as a simple rural settlement, on via Puteolis Neapolim per colles, the road which before the much later tunnels between
Fuorigrotta
Fuorigrotta ( nap, Forerotta; ) is a western suburb of Naples, southern Italy.
Covering an area of 6,2 km2, it is the most populated suburb of the city (population: 76.521).
Geography
It lies beyond the Posillipo hill and has been joined ...
and
Mergellina
Mergellina is a coastal district of the city of Naples, Italy. It is located in the quartiere of Chiaia. It stands at the foot of the Posillipo Hill and faces the Castel dell'Ovo. Some people say the name derives from "mergoglino", a local name fo ...
had become the primary land crossing between the
Phlegraean area and Naples proper.
Around the 2nd century AD the road was rearranged and called via Antiniana (either from ante
Agnano
Agnano is a suburb of Napoli, Italy, situated southwest of the city in the Campi Flegrei region. It was popular among both ancient Greeks and Romans and was famed for its hot sulphurous springs.
History
Lake Agnano formed in the Middle Ages ...
as it faces the small
lake of Agnano, which had dried up centuries previously , or from the adjective Antonianum, referring to a particular owner of the area). At the beginning of the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
, innumerable small agricultural settlements formed along the road and others that linked
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 ...
to
Nola
Nola is a town and a municipality in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Campania, southern Italy. It lies on the plain between Mount Vesuvius and the Apennines. It is traditionally credited as the diocese that introduced bells to Christian worship. ...
,
Atella
Atella was an ancient Oscan city of Campania, located 20km directly north of Naples.
Remains
The ruins of the city walls, private houses, the so-called ''garden of Virgil'' and many tombs remain, on sites in the ''comuni'' of Frattaminore, Ort ...
,
Capua
Capua ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, in the region of Campania, southern Italy, situated north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain.
History
Ancient era
The name of Capua comes from the Etrusc ...
and
Cuma
CUMA (Canadian Underwater Mine-countermeasure Apparatus) (commercially called SIVA+) is a make of rebreather underwater breathing set designed and made in Canada for the Canadian Armed Forces by Fullerton Sherwood Engineering Ltd to replace the Ro ...
, which were called "casali".
Antignano had more than fifty farmhouses that surrounded Naples since the time of the
Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...
s, whose inhabitants came down to the city to sell agricultural products.
In the 15th century, Antignano was the home of the noble
Capece Capece is an Italian surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Bill Capece (born 1959), American football player
* Corrado Capece (died 1482), Italian Roman Catholic prelate, Archbishop of Benevento
*Carlo Sigismondo Capece (1652–1728), ...
family, including Scipione Capece, Lord of Antignano and of
San Giovanni a Teduccio
San Giovanni a Teduccio is a coastal suburb in the east of Naples, in southern Italy.
Etymology
The area took its name after the discovery of a marble bust of John the Baptist in the 4th century which was found in a building that belonged to Theo ...
. Toward the end of the century, the poet
Giovanni Pontano
Giovanni Pontano (1426–1503), later known as Giovanni Gioviano ( la, Ioannes Iovianus Pontanus), was a humanist and poet from Cerreto di Spoleto, in central Italy. He was the leading figure of the Accademia Pontaniana after the death of Antonio ...
, minister of Ferrante I and of
Alfonso II of Aragon
Alfonso II (1–25 March 1157Benito Vicente de Cuéllar (1995)«Los "condes-reyes" de Barcelona y la "adquisición" del reino de Aragón por la dinastía bellónida» p. 630-631; in ''Hidalguía''. XLIII (252) pp. 619–632."Alfonso II el Casto, hi ...
,had a magnificent villa built in Amtignano with the famous horti, which he himself sang in his compositions.
The basilica of
San Gennaro in Antignano on the homonymous street, dates to the early twentieth century, devoid of stylistic merit. Near the entrance to via della Cerra is a tiny aedicule with a marble effigy of the saint's head, taken from the pre-existing church erected in 1707, demolished in 1893 to make room for the current basilica, then built in 1904 on a project by
Giuseppe Pisanti
Giuseppe is the Italian form of the given name Joseph,
from Latin Iōsēphus from Ancient Greek Ἰωσήφ (Iōsḗph), from Hebrew יוסף.
It is the most common name in Italy and is unique (97%) to it.
The feminine form of the name is Giuse ...
; this complex stands in the place where, traditionally, the miracle of the liquefaction of the blood of
San Gennaro
Januarius ( ; la, Ianuarius; Neapolitan and it, Gennaro), also known as , was Bishop of Benevento and is a martyr and saint of the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. While no contemporary sources on his life are preserved, lat ...
took place for the first time.
In the Bourbon period Antignano was a nerve center of the
Dazio
Dazio is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Sondrio in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan and about west of Sondrio. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 380 and an area of .All demographics and ot ...
, of which the seat is still preserved, a small building with two arches on the side of which the inscription: "Here you pay for the census regj". Along the Via Arenella, which since the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
has connected the
Vomero
Vomero () is a bustling hilltop district of metropolitan Naples, Italy — comprising approximately and a population of 48,000.
Vomero is noted for its central square, Piazza Vanvitelli; the ancient Petraio, its earliest path up and down t ...
Vecchio, Antignano and the
Arenella
Arenella is a quarter of Naples, southern Italy. It is on the Vomero hill above the city and was, 300 meters in elevation. Many years ago was considered a place to go to "get away from it all". It is near to the main hospital section of the city, ...
, has seen the great procession of the
Risen Christ
The resurrection of Jesus ( grc-x-biblical, ἀνάστασις τοῦ Ἰησοῦ) is the Christian belief that God raised Jesus on the third day after his crucifixion, starting – or restoring – his exalted life as Christ and Lord. ...
take place since the 17th century, also known as "the mystery of Antignano": a religious and folkloristic event, typical projection of the ancient medieval theater, perhaps introduced in the viceregal period.
[{{Cite web, last=Bianco, first=Cristina, date=6 April 2017, title=Il Mistero di Antignano, una processione tutta da scoprire, url=https://storienapoli.it/2017/04/06/mistero-antignano-processione/, url-status=live, archive-url=, archive-date=, access-date=30 January 2021, website=storienapoli.it, language=nap]
References
Rioni of Naples