Naples, 1300–1700
Authors: Musto Ronald G. 
Published: September 2020

The history of Naples and its kingdom (Regno) during these four centuries is one of constant change, foreign influence, and internal turmoil and renewal: in short, a major metropolis of early modern Europe. While these centuries have been intensely studied in Italy and Europe, Anglophone scholarship had been slow to follow the lead. The Angevin period (1265–1442) has attracted few Anglophone scholars, mostly in art history and textual study, and their numbers fluctuate regularly. The Aragonese period (1442–1504) has been more fortunate as this coincides with Renaissance studies for humanism, the classical art impulse, and the new sciences. The Spanish period (1504–1707) shares the fate of both the early modern Mediterranean and Iberian studies, both attached to larger European trends. Early modern Naples, like its master Spain, has been the object both of the Black Legend and of subsequent historiographical disdain among Anglophones for the monarchical and supposedly backward nature of its governance, economy, and Catholic culture. This article therefore includes major works in both English and Italian and divides entries according to these dynastic demarcations. One of the major historiographical issues in Neapolitan studies is the destruction of the state archives by the retreating Nazis in September 1943 in which Angevin, Aragonese, and many earlier archives were firebombed. See Riccardo Filangieri, “Report on the Destruction by the Germans, September 30, 1943, of the Depository of Priceless Historical Records of the Naples State Archives”. Given the pan-Mediterranean interests and influence of Neapolitan dynasties, however, we have been fortunate in the survival of copies of many records in Marseilles (Angevin) and Barcelona (Aragonese). These have been meticulously reconstructed since the mid-20th century by a research team first assembled in Filangieri, et al. 1950. Spanish materials are housed largely in Neapolitan private and church archives and in Barcelona, Simancas, and elsewhere. We are more fortunate in narrative sources, which were systematically studied in Bartolommeo Capasso, Le fonti della storia delle provincie napolitane dal 568 al 1500. Important chronicles, diaries, relazioni, and archival materials survive for all these periods and have been published, many with recent editions. Scholars at Naples have also undertaken a comprehensive philological and contextual study of these works to place them within both Latin and vernacular literatures and literacies. Also of major importance has been the topographical study of the city itself, confined to its tufa platform from its ancient foundations into the Spanish period when exponential growth burst beyond the medieval walls to encompass extensive areas to the city’s west and south. This article concentrates on books and series and lists only select fundamental articles. Several of the volumes listed are collections of essays that offer the latest research findings. Earlier works incorporated into current research have not always been included here but can be accessed through these later studies’ bibliographies and notes.