2-995-997 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Naples, [Italy], from the Castel del Carmine - from a drawing by S. Read, 1860. 'The city stands on the north shore of the bay of the same name, and is built at the base and on the slopes of a range of hills which have the general form of an amphitheatre. Its forts are St. Elmo on the north-west, fort del Carmine, and the Castello Nuovo between the Royal palace and the sea, and the Castello dell'Ovo. The Castel del Carmine...is a massive pile, and was founded by Ferdinand I. in 1484, when he enlarged the walls of the city and erected most of the modem gates, and enlarged by Don Pedro de Toledo. It is - rather was - used as a barrack and a military prison. In Masaniello's insurrection in 1647 it was the stronghold of the populaces, and after that event it was fortified...The Marinelli, a long open beach, beyond the Castel del Carmuno, was formerly the abode of the Lazzaroni, a class which has lost its distinctive features, and the term is now applied to the fishermen...[Naples'] population in 1857 was 419,850, excluding a garrison of about 20,000'. From "Illustrated London News", 1860.