Naples was founded in the VII century a. C. by the Greeks who, departed from Cuma, settled on the hill of Pizzofalcone and called it Partenope. In 500 a. C. the Greeks themselves founded a second settlement further down, towards the sea, and to distinguish it from the old they called it Neapolis, which in Greek means "new city".

Evidence of the many dominations is evident in Naples: with the Norman-Swabian monarchy the city was fortified with new buildings, such as Castel Capuano and Castel dell'Ovo, and Federico II founded the first University in 1224. With the Angevins religious buildings began, such as the Duomo, the church of San Domenico Maggiore, Santa Chiara and San Martino. In this period Naples became an important cultural center and hosted artists of great importance, from Giotto to Simone Martini. However, the Renaissance was the happiest period for the arts, with the spread of Flemish painting.

The current structure of the city took shape during the Spanish viceroyalty, from 1503. We are in a period full of events: the eruption of Vesuvius in 1631, the revolt of Masaniello in 1647, the plague of 1656. On the other side instead the art continues to be the protagonist with artists who refer to Caravaggio's naturalistic painting.

During the eighteenth century with the Habsburg viceroyalty first and the Bourbons later, Naples experienced a particularly happy moment: the San Carlo Theater, the Royal Palace, was built. In 1860, after the unification of Italy, the Recovery Plan gutted many city districts and sacrificed many churches and to build the Rettifilo, the road that connects the station to Piazza Borsa.

In the 1900s the Maritime Station, the Mostra d'oltremare and the Palazzo delle Poste were built but with the bombing and the earthquake of 1980 Naples suffered serious damage. The arts are always in turmoil, so much so that large museum spaces were born: the Gallery of Fine Arts was, in fact, enlarged and the Pan and the Madre were founded.