Campania Culture

Neapolitan pizza follows a specific, defined method -- a soft dough leavened for at least eight hours, topped simply, and baked briefly at very high heat in a wood-fired oven -- recognized by the European Union as a Traditional Speciality Guaranteed since 2010. The Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, founded in Naples in 1984, certifies pizzerias that follow this method, though plenty of well-regarded Neapolitan pizzerias operate outside its certification.

Via San Gregorio Armeno, a narrow street in the historic center, has specialized in handmade nativity figures (presepi) since at least the 18th century; workshops there still produce traditional shepherd and Holy Family figures alongside novelty figures of contemporary public figures, a modern addition to an old craft rather than a break from it.

The canzone napoletana tradition -- songs such as «'O sole mio» and «Funiculì, Funiculà» -- developed in Naples in the 19th century and shaped a repertoire still performed locally and recognized well beyond Italy. Neapolitan itself is classified as a vulnerable language in UNESCO's Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger, not simply an Italian dialect; it remains widely spoken in Naples and much of the region alongside standard Italian, particularly in informal settings.