Campania
| Campania | |
|---|---|
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| Location of Campania in Italy. | |
| Region | |
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| Flag | Coat of Arms |
| Administration | |
| Country |  Italy |
| Capital | Naples |
| Language | Italian |
| Website | regione.campania.it |
| Provinces | Avellino Benevento Caserta Naples Salerno |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 40° 54′ 38″ North 14° 55′ 14″ East |
| Area | 13,590 km2 |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 5,827,949 |
| Edit | see template • edit |
Campania (in Italian, Campania) is a region in southern Italy. Its main city is Naples.
Geography[change | change source]
Campania consists of:
- the small coastal plains of Naples and Paestum;
- the Phlegraean Fields, a densely populated region west of Naples, overlooking the Gulf of Naples and situated around Mount Vesuvius;
- the Sorrento Peninsula, which juts into the Tyrrhenian Sea, separating the Gulf of Naples from the Gulf of Salerno; and where hills (low and high), hollows, and mountains alternate;
- the interior, which is mountainous.
History[change | change source]
At the beginning of the 1st millennium BCE, Campania was inhabited by the Ausones and the Oscans. The Greeks founded numerous colonies there as early as the 8th century (Naples, Cumae, Posidonia-Paestum, and Pozzuoli).
In the 7th century, Campania was occupied by the Etruscans, who founded Capua. Then the Samnites settled there in the 5th century (thereby causing wars with Rome). Campania was subsequently Romanized. At the end of the Roman Republic and under the Roman Empire, wealthy Romans owned sumptuous villas there.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, Campania was successively part of the Ostrogothic kingdom, the Byzantine Empire, the Lombard Kingdom of Benevento, and the Norman Kingdom of Sicily in the 11th century. From 1130 onward, it was incorporated into the Kingdom of Sicily (where it remained until 1860).
Economy[change | change source]
Even in Antiquity, this region was very rich due to its volcanic soils. Grains, fruit, citrus fruits, and vegetables are grown there. Land ownership is highly fragmented, and the standard of living for farmers is low.
The surplus of the rural population migrates to the cities and ekes out a living there through small trades.
Since the mid-20th century, the Italian government has encouraged industrial development there, resulting in the presence of steel mills, cement plants, mechanical industries, and oil refineries.
Tourism is very active there due to the abundance of Greek and Roman archaeological sites, such as Paestum, Herculaneum, and Pompeii.
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