Welcome to Around Naples, a webpage meant to supplement the University of Maryland's courses in Italian Life and Culture and for those otherwise interested in Naples, Italy.


Most of the material (approx. 1300 entries) is now contained in the Around Naples Encyclopedia. It is updated regularly. Other material (about 40 items) is available from the main page or the menu, above, under the menu item "other articles," originally the main body of this website.

The material in the "other articles" sections was originally written by Jeff Matthews or David Taylor, authors of A Brief History of Naples and Other Tales  (©Fotoprogetti Press, Naples, 1994).  (Occasional third authors are indicated in the by-lines.) All of the items in that book originally appeared in  the Lion Magazine, an English-language magazine about the Naples area, founded by Tony Quattrone and subsequently written and edited by him, Matthews and Taylor. It was published monthly between 1987 and 1996 in Naples. 

First, have a brief look at all the menu items. Then, the "site map" should be helpful. If you want to start looking through things to read, go to "other articles" or the "Naples encyclopedia index"  (from these links or from the main page). There is also a Portal Index, a grouping into rough subject areas such as "music" and "literature." Most entries have at least one internal link that will take you to additional, relevant items as you read. If you want to read a straight, chronological history of Naples, open "articles" and look at the top section, marked "chronological history".

This page is maintained by me, Jeff Matthews. You can email me by clicking on my name, underlined in the previous sentence. I welcome comments. This website was put up on Jan. 7, 2001. The contents are revised and updated frequently.

Note: Please respect the "fair use" principle in your use of the contents of Around Naples. That is, please don't copy it, distribute it, or otherwise "borrow" it without my permission. Also, if you quote it, please acknowledge the source. 
 

(update: January 2010) About me: I grew up in Los Angeles, California, but have lived and worked in Naples for about 35 years. Most of the time I've taught English as a Second Language to Italian students at the Orientale University as well as to military personnel from many nations stationed at the NATO base in Bagnoli. I am also involved with the continuing education program for the University of Maryland University College in Naples, where I've taught English composition, literature and linguistics to US military personnel. I also teach Music History of Naples for the ElderHostel program in Sorrento. I have an M.A. in Linguistics from the University of Hawaii but have also attended the U. of Heidelberg, Germany (I have no duelling scar) and the Music Conservatory in Graz, Austria. At various times in my life, I have been a mailman, a taxi driver, a trombone player and an oil refinery roustabout. I seem to have a short attention span, which is why I write about so many different things in this encyclopedia. I have grown to love history, but astronomy is pretty nice, too, as is juggling. I once rode a bicycle across the US.  (I think I also wrote a sentence one time that did NOT start with 'I'.) I am intensely concerned about whether or not quantum entanglement violates the Theory of Relativity. If you know, please tell me. The last book I read was a German translation of an Agatha Christie novel. You may read about that experience here.

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