Identity: ten municipalità, the Neapolitan language, San Gennaro

Municipality and municipalità

The Comune di Napoli is organised in ten municipalità, each made up of two to four historic quarters and provided with a president and a council elected together with the mayor; the municipalità run decentralised registry offices, maintenance, nursery schools and local social services. Municipalità I covers Chiaia, Posillipo and San Ferdinando; II the old centre (Avvocata, Montecalvario, San Giuseppe, Porto, Pendino, Mercato); V Vomero and Arenella; X Bagnoli and Fuorigrotta; VIII Scampia, Piscinola and Chiaiano.

Naples is the seat of the Metropolitan City of Naples, which replaced the province in 2015 and groups 92 municipalities.

The Neapolitan language

Neapolitan is not a variant of Italian but a Romance language with its own literary and musical tradition. The Campania Region protects it through regional law no. 14 of 8 July 2019, "Safeguarding and promotion of the Neapolitan linguistic heritage", which funds research, cultural initiatives and school projects and sets up a scientific committee. In daily life Neapolitan is spoken by all social classes alongside Italian: newcomers hear it everywhere and partly understand it after a few months.

San Gennaro and anniversaries

The patron saint is San Gennaro, a fourth-century martyr bishop: the main feast is 19 September, a public holiday for the city, with the ceremony of the liquefaction of the blood in the Cathedral; the rite is repeated on the Saturday before the first Sunday of May and on 16 December. Other city dates: the Piedigrotta festival (September), the Maggio dei Monumenti with special openings, the nativity-scene season of San Gregorio Armeno in December. The historic centre has been on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 1995.