Quality of life in Naples

Naples (Italian: Napoli; Neapolitan: Napule) in Italy, an ancient port on the Mediterranean sea, is the third most populous municipality and centre of the second most populous metropolitan area in Italy.

Founded in the 9th century BC as Neapolis ("New City") by the Greeks, it is one of the oldest continuously-inhabited cities in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage site. The UNESCO evaluation committee described Naples' centre as being "of exceptional value", and went on to say that Naples' setting on the Bay of Naples "gives it an outstanding universal value which has had a profound influence". But Italians have known these things for centuries: The view of Naples from the sea is so beautiful that a traditional Italian saying states that once you've seen it, you can die.

Founded as a Greek colony of Cuma and positioned near the geographical center of the Mediterranean basin, it has an unmatched heritage as a place of exchange between cultures. This is reflected in the city's structure and monuments, which are a mixture of Greek, Roman, Norman, Angevin, Swedish, Spanish and French architecture. The Neapolitan language - notoriously unintelligible to many speakers of standard Tuscan Italian - also bears witness to the town's diverse cultural origins, being composed of French, Spanish and Arabic words, inserted into a Greek, Oscan and Latin structure.