| Naples is very ancient,
having been founded by a colony
from Greece, the name Neapolis
signifying "the New
City." The Greek language,
manners and customs prevailed
exclusively for a long time. The
location is one of great beauty,
partly seated on a spacious bay
upon the shores of which are
magnificent villas and gardens.
Its general form is oblong, and
with its suburbs, nearly 18 miles
in circumference. On the east
stands the isolated summit of
Vesuvius, its sides to near
one-third its height dotted over
with houses, the villages of
Portici, Resina, and
Torre-del-Greco lying below. On
the other side is the hill of
Posilipo with the tomb of Virgil.
The city is situated on the slope
of a range of hills fronting the
south and east. Its entire aspect
is pleasing, the principal
streets wide and well built, the
public edifices so lofty and
solid as to give it an air of
grandeur. The streets are paved
with square blocks of lava laid
in mortar, and are said to
resemble the old Roman roads. The
houses are like those of Paris,
except being on a larger scale,
the ground floor being used for
business purposes, the upper
portion for dwellings, the roofs
serving as promenades. The finest
street is the Via Roma, extending
half the length of the town,
having at one end the
Largo-Mercatello, and at the
other the Royal Palace. There are
300 churches, many of them
containing remarkable works of
art. The
Museo Nazionale, with its vast
number of apartments, has become
the general depot of all the
riches recovered from the buried
cities of Pompeii and
Herculaneum, as well as other
localities of Naples and Sicily.
The
Observatory, founded in 1812,
commands a magnificent view in
every direction. The University
of Naples was founded by the
Emperor Frederick in 1224.
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