The English version has been carried out by the English department of liceo classico scientifico Francesco Sbordone
Naples and its waters: a 2700 year long history
Parthenŏpe and Mount Echia:
the territory.
The origins of the city of Naples are linked to the sources of Monte Echia, located in the Pizzofalcone area, also known as "Monte di Dio", in the Neapolitan district of San Ferdinando, among the village of Santa Lucia, the Chiatamone and the Chiaia district. The name “Pizzofalcone” was born in the mid-13th century, when King Charles of Anjou decided to use this area for falcon hunting.
Instead, the name "Monte di Dio" comes from the 16th century church of the same name, which no longer exists. Above the hill you can see the remains of the Villa of Licinio Lucullus, the Palazzo Carafa di Santa Severina and the church of the Immacolatella, via the ramps of Pizzofalcone, it is also possible to admire Villa Ebe.
The Pizzofalcone ramps are also called “Lamont Young ramps”, from the name of the architect who designed Villa Ebe. Lamont Young was an architect of British origins, born in Naples in 1851, who took his own life in 1929, in the Villa he designed.
He was a visionary in that, in 1874, he proposed a highly sustainable project for the first metro in Naples, which also envisaged the development of the urban planning situation of the Bagnoli district for tourism.
In this area, at the end of the 8th century BC, the Cumans founded Parthenope, which included the territory between the islet of Megaride and the hill of Pizzofalcone, which subsequently became Neapolis in the 6th century BC.
The Cumans, i.e. the Chalcidean Greeks who settled in Cuma to conquer the Gulf of Naples, decided to exploit the tufaceous hill of Pizzofalcone as it was protected by natural barriers and convenient for dominating the coast.
In fact, this is located in a strategic position to block access to the gulf from the south side in order to control, thanks also to their colony of Pithecusa (Ischia) to the north, the marine traffic of the gulf.
At the base of the hill there was a good landing place for ships and the mouth of the Sebeto river, with mineral springs of suffregna water, sulphurous water and ferrata water.
In Roman times this area belonged to Licinius Lucullus, but with the end of the Western Roman Empire, in the 5th century the hill was occupied by Basilian monks.
In 1442, Naples was then besieged by Alfonso V of Aragon, and, to protect themselves, the Neapolitans created the "Pizzofalcone fortress" outside the city walls, which is still visible today.
The real urbanization began in 1509 with Andrea Carafa della Spina, count of Santa Severina.