Province: Naples

Owners Title: Re

% of Worldwide          6.5%                    Starting Population     2,000                   

Population                                                                                      

% of Worldwide          9.4%                    Starting Income         60,600                  

Income                                                                                          

% of Worldwide GDP      3.3%                    Starting GDP            201,109                 

% of Worldwide          1.8%                    Starting Surplus        600
                     

Surplus                                                                                         

Language: I7

Kingdom: HRE:Naples

Industrial Fief

Starting Owner: d'Anjou (231)

Starting Overlord : d'Anjou (231)

Regional Location: Far south of HRE:Italy

Comments: Naples was founded by Greek colonists in the dim past. It came early under Roman rule, and prospered for centuries. Even the fall of Rome only somewhat dimmed the city's greatness, for it passed to Byzantine control in the sixth century, despite the fact that much of the rest of southern Italy was overrun by the Langobards.

The advent of the Normans in the 11th century led to the gradual consolidation of all of southern Italy into the Kingdom of Naples, which eventually passed to the Hohenstauffen family, and achieved great levels of culture, prosperity, and civilization under the Emperor Frederick II.

Unfortunately, that worthy had spent too many years disputing the temporal authority of the popes, and upon his death, the current pope authorized the French Angevin prince Charles I, brother of St. Louis, to assume the property, which he did in 1266, not without bloodshed. King Charles lost control of Sicily to Aragon in 1282, as a result of the extremely byzantine machinations of the Byzantine Emperor, who wished to curb Angevin ambitions in Greece.

Nevertheless, the current dynasty of Naples descends from him. Ecclesiastical authority is quite diffused, as there are fully 20 archbishops in the Regno (Naples, Capua, Benevento, Brindisi, Bari, etc), not to mention a few places directly under papal authority. This is a consequence of the early conversion of many areas of southern Italy to Christianity. There are universities at Salerno, arguably the oldest in Europe, and Naples.

There is a good deal of maritime commerce, as well as some banking and manufacturing in the larger cities, especially Naples, and agriculture is very productive, with the grape and olive prominent, as well as wool production.