Campania, a magical land full of art, natural beauties and a lot of good food.

Campania  is a region in Southern Italy. The region at the end of 2014 had a population of around 5,869,000 people, making it the third-most-populous region of Italy; its total area of 13,590 km2 (5,247 sq mi) makes it the most densely populated region in the country.

Located on the Italian Peninsula, with the Mediterranean Sea to the west, it includes the small Phlegraean Islands and Capri for administration as part of the region.

Campania was colonised by Ancient Greeks and was part of Magna Græcia. During the Roman era, the area maintained a Greco-Roman culture. The capital city of Campania is Naples. Campania is rich in culture, especially in regard to gastronomy, music, architecture, archeological and ancient sites such as Pompeii, Herculaneum, Paestum and Velia. 

Campania, a magical land.

The name of Campania itself is derived from Latin, as the Romans knew the region as Campania felix, which translates into English as "fertile countryside". 

The rich natural sights of Campania make it highly important in the tourism industry, especially along the Amalfi Coast, Mount Vesuvius and the island of Capri.

Discover Italy: Campania.

The original inhabitants of Campania were three defined groups of the Ancient peoples of Italy, who all spoke the Oscan language, which is part of the Italic family; their names were the Osci, the Aurunci and the Ausones.

During the 8th century BC, people from Euboea in Greece, known as Cumaeans, began to establish colonies in the area roughly around the modern day province of Naples.

Another Oscan tribe, the Samnites, moved down from central Italy into Campania. Since the Samnites were more warlike than the Campanians, they easily took over the cities of Capua and Cumae, in an area which was one of the most prosperous and fertile in the Italian Peninsula at the time.

During the 340s BC, the Samnites were engaged in a war with the Roman Republic in a dispute known as the Samnite Wars, with the Romans securing rich pastures of northern Campania during the First Samnite War.

The major remaining independent Greek settlement was Neapolis, and when the town was eventually captured by the Samnites, the Neapolitans were left with no other option than to call on the Romans, with whom they established an alliance, setting off the Second Samnite War.

The Roman consul Quintus Publilius Filo recaptured Neapolis by 326 BC and allowed it to remain a Greek city with some autonomy as a civitas foederata while strongly aligned with Rome.

The Second Samnite War ended with the Romans controlling southern Campania and additional regions further to the south

Geography.

Campania has an area of 13,590 km2 (5,247 sq mi) and a coastline of 350 km (217 mi) on the Tyrrhenian Sea. Campania is famous for its gulfs (Naples, Salerno and Policastro) as well as for three islands (Capri, Ischia and Procida).

Four other regions border Campania; Lazio to the northwest, Molise to the north, Apulia (Puglia) to the northeast and Basilicata to the east.

The mountainous interior is fragmented into several massifs, rarely reaching 2,000 metres (Miletto of 2,050 m), whereas close to the coast there are volcanic massifs: Vesuvio (1,277 m) and Campi Flegrei.

The climate is typically Mediterranean along the coast, whereas in the inner zones it is more continental, with low temperatures in winter. 51% of the total area is hilly, 34% mountainous and the remaining 15% is made up of plains. There is a high seismic risk in the area of the region.

Read also: Italian biodiversity, the reasons for biological wealth and the causes of its reduction.

Ancient, medieval, and early arts.

The region of Campania is rich with a vast array of culture and history. Since the Greek colony of Elea, now Velia, Campania was home to philosophers of the Pre-Socratic philosophy school, such as Parmenides and Zeno of Elea, who came to prominence around 490–480 BC.

The Latin poet Vergil (70 BC–19 BC) settled in Naples in his late life: parts of his epic poem Aeneid are located in Campania. The ancient scientist Pliny the Elder studied Mount Vesuvius, and died after being poisoned and killed by gas emitted from the volcano during the 79 AD eruption.

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Contemporary and modern arts.

The so-called "School of Posillipo" and "School of Resina", dating from the late 19th to early 20th centuries, included painters such as Giacinto Gigante, Federico Cortese, Domenico Morelli, Saverio Altamura, Giuseppe De Nittis, Vincenzo Gemito, Antonio Mancini, Raffaello Pagliaccetti.

Amongst the painters who inspired directly these schools, are Salvator Rosa, Pierre Jacques-Antoine Volaire, Anton Sminck van Pitloo who spent his last years in Naples. Opera singer Enrico Caruso was also a native of Naples. Russian revolutionary leader Vladimir Lenin lived for a period in Capri. In the 20th century, the music genre called Neapolitan song became popular worldwide, with songs such as "O sole mio", "Funiculì, funiculà", "O surdato nnamurato", "Torna a Surriento", "Guapparia, "Santa Lucia", "Reginella", "Marechiaro", "Spingule Francese".

Cuisine.

Campanian cuisine varies within the region. While Neapolitan dishes centre on seafood, Casertan and Aversan ones rely more on fresh vegetables and cheeses. The cuisine from Sorrento combines the culinary traditions from both Naples and Salerno.
Pizza was conceived in Naples.

Spaghetti is also a well-known dish from southern Italy and Campania.