Spaccanapoli is the straight and narrow main street that traverses the old, historic center of the city of

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, 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 Metropolitan City of N ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. 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 In Roman urban planning, a ''decumanus'' was an east–west-oriented road in a Roman city or ''castrum'' (military camp). The main ''decumanus'' of a particular city was the ''decumanus maximus'', or most often simply "the ''decumanus''". In the ...

, 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. A Cultural liberalism, poli ...

''. 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 (; ), or the Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary (), is a Roman Catholic cathedral, the main church of Naples, southern Italy, and the seat of the Archbishop of Naples. It is widely known as the Cathedral of Saint Januarius ...

) 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 the Distrito Turístico, Cultural e Histórico de Santa Marta (), is a port List of cities in Colombia, city on the coast of the Caribbean Sea in northern Colombia. It is the capital of Magdalena Department and the fou ...

* San Biagio Maggiore * Santi Filippo e Giacomo * San Francesco delle Monache *

San Domenico Maggiore San Domenico Maggiore is a Gothic architecture, 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 bord ...

Palazzo Venezia The Palazzo Venezia (; "Venice Palace") or Palazzo Barbo, formerly Palazzo di San Marco ("Saint Mark's Palace"), is a large early Renaissance palace in central Rome, Italy, situated to the north of the Capitoline Hill. Today the property of the ...

*Palazzo Petrucci *Palazzo Pinelli * Palazzo Carafa della SpinaStoria City
entry on Palace. * Palazzo del Panormita * 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

References

Streets in Naples Tourist attractions in Naples {{Italy-road-stub