Naples and the Nation

This book addresses Naples’ relationship with Italy, since the introduction of direct mayoral election in 1993 and as articulated in cultural production. It deploys theoretical frameworks pertaining to postcolonialism and cultural accentedness to challenge the historical framing of Naples as Italy’s internal ‘other’ and to reposition the city at the very heart of the Italian cultural imaginary. The book showcases the breadth of texts and media addressing the city-nation relationship, analysing less renowned works of journalism, literature, fashion and film alongside celebrated texts such as Roberto Saviano’s Gomorra, Elena Ferrante’s ‘Neapolitan Novels’ and the soap opera Un posto al sole. It highlights how such works contest perceptions of Naples as diverging from a national norm by emphasising the continuities that align the city with the nation. Though developed with the specificities of Naples in mind, the approach is intended as a model for the study of city-nation relations in other cultural contexts.