Naples

San Domenico Maggiore, founded by Charles II. in 1289, but completely restored later, has an effective interior particularly rich in Renaissance sculpture. In the neighbouring monastery is shown the cell of S. Thomas Aquinas. San Filippo Neri or dei Gerolomini, erected in 1592-1619, has a white marble façade and contains the tombstone of Giambattista Vico. Sta. Maria del Parto, in the Chiaja, contains the tomb of Sannazaro, and is named after his poem, De Partu Virginis. San Francesco di Paola, oppo site the royal palace, is an imitation of the Pantheon at Rome, by Pietro Bianchi of Lugano (1815-18). The church of the Cer tosa (Carthusian monastery) of San Martino, has now become a museum. Dating from the 14th century, and restored in the 17th, it is a building of extraordinary richness of decoration, with paintings and sculpture by Guido Reni, Lanfranco, Caravaggio, D'Arpino, Solimena, Luca Giordano and Ribera. The monastery has been transformed into a mediaeval museum. The view from the south-western balcony is incomparable.

Other churches with interesting monuments are Sant' Anna dei Lombardi (the church of Monte Oliveto), built in 1414, which contains some splendid marble Renaissance sculpture; Sant' An gelo a Nilo, which contains the tomb of Cardinal Brancaccio, the joint work of Donatello and Michelozzo (1426-28), San Gio vanni a Carbonara, built in 1343 and enlarged by King Ladislaus in 140o, which contains among much other remarkable sculpture the tomb of the king, the masterpiece of Andrea da Firenze (1428), and that of Gianni Caracciolo, the favourite of Joanna IL, who was murdered in 1432 (the chapel in which it stands has one of the earliest majolica pavements in Italy) ; San Lorenzo (13th century), the Royal Church of the House of Anjou, and S. Maria Donna Regina, with its frescoes by Pietro Cavallini. The catacombs of S. Gennaro (2nd century) are in many respects not inferior to those at Rome.

Of the secular institutions in Naples none is more remarkable than the National Museum, formerly known as the Museo Bor bonico. The building was put to its present use in 179o, when Ferdinand IV. placed in it the Farnese collection, which he had inherited from his father, and all the specimens from Hercu laneum, Pompeii, Stabiae, Puteoli, Paestum, etc., which till then had been housed in the palace at Portici. Vast numbers of objects have since been added to it, both by purchase and from excava tions, and it is now unique as a treasure house of Italo-Greek and Roman antiquities, besides containing important pictures.

The building, as now arranged, contains the large bronzes and statues on the ground floor; a gallery of Pompeian frescoes and mosaics in the entresol; the picture gallery, papyri, terra cottas and small bronzes, on the first floor; and the glass, jewellery, arms, gems, and the collection of Italo-Greek vases, on the second floor. The large bronzes are almost the only ones which have survived from classical times, the most famous of them being the seated Mercury and the dancing Faun; the marbles reckon among their vast number the Psyche, the Capuan Venus, as well as the huge group called the Toro Farnese (Amphion and Zethus tying Dirce to the horns of the bull), the Farnese Hercules, the excellent though late statues of the Balbi on horseback, and a very fine col lection of ancient portrait busts.

The Galleria Umberto I. and Galleria Principe di Napoli some what resemble the Milan arcade. The Borsa (or exchange) is a fine building in the Piazza of the same name, built over the re mains of the very ancient church of Sant' Aspreno, which are still preserved in the crypt. In front of it is the fine 16th century Fontana Medina.

Educational and Learned Institutions.

The university of Naples was founded by Frederick II. in 1224, and is well equipped with zoological, mineralogical and geological museums, a physio logical institute, a cabinet of anthropology, and botanical gardens. The buildings were originally erected in 1557 for the use of the Jesuits. The new building, completed in 1906, faces the Corso Umberto I. (Rettifilo), the street from the Borsa to the railway station. The famous zoological station at Naples, whose aquarium is the principal building in the Villa Nazionale, was founded by Dr. Dohrn in 1872 ; the marine flora and fauna of the neighbour hood are more varied than those of any district in Europe. The chief universities of the world pay iroo a year for tables to which they send students. The astronomical observatory is situated on , the hill of Capodimonte.

The Royal Society of Naples, dating from 1756, is divided into three academies, namely , moral and political; physical and mathematical; letters, archaeology and fine arts. The famous Ac cademia Pontaniana, founded by Antonio Becardella and J. J. Pontanus in 1442, was restored in 1808 and still exists. The Royal School for Oriental Languages owes its existence to Matteo Ripa, who in 1732 established a school for Chinese missionaries. The Royal Conservatory of Music in S. Pietro a Majella has existed in one form or other since 1760, and has had many famous pupils. Elementary education has been greatly improved. Whereas in 1925 the schools were utterly insufficient, the attendances have risen from 42,000 to 51,000 in 1928, out of the 90,000 who should by law attend. The higher grade schools are also numerous, and there are special foreign schools, established by private enterprise. The State archives in Vico San Severino e Sossio contain all the records of past Governments ; the Notarial archives in Via San Paolo contain all the original notarial acts from 1450 on wards, to the number of 800,000. The Societa di Storia Patria, established in 1875 to record all details of the history of the locality, has a good library also.