Italy - Cirio Tomatoes Postcard

One of the first large Italian companies producing canned vegetables, Cirio, was founded in Naples. Naples and the surrounding area also has a large number of smaller firms manufacturing canned vegetables, mostly tomato sauce. Family-sized pasta companies in Torre Annunziata collapsed around 1949-1950 due to the rise of industrial pasta makers in northern Italy. Naples (Italian: Napoli listen (help·info), pronounced [ˈna(ː)poli], Neapolitan: Napule) is a city in Italy; it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples. The city is known for its rich history, art, culture, architecture, music and gastronomy, playing an important role in the country's history and beyond [2] throughout much of its existence, which began more than 2,800 years ago. Naples is located halfway between two volcanic areas, the volcano Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, sitting on the coast by the Gulf of Naples. Founded in the 8th century BC,[3] as a colony, before under the name of Parthenope, and later Neápolis (New City), Naples is one of the oldest cities in the world, and it held an important role in Magna Graecia and then as part of the Roman Republic in the central province of the Empire. The city has seen a multitude of civilisations come and go, each leaving their mark: now the historic city centre is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Naples was preeminently the capital city of a kingdom which bore its name from 1282 until 1816 in the form of the Kingdom of Naples, then in union with Sicily it was the capital of the Two Sicilies until the Italian unification. Naples has profoundly influenced many areas of Europe and beyond.[4] The city proper has a population of around 1 million people: Naples is the most densely populated major city in Italy. The population of urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 2.25 million, while the Naples metropolitan area, according to different sources, is the second after the Milan metropolitan area (with 4,434,136 inhabitants according to SVIMEZ DATA[5] or 4,996,084 according to CENSIS INSTITUTE[6]) or the third (3.1 million inhabitants according to OECD[7]) most populated metropolitan area in Italy. Naples is ranked fourth in Italy, for economic strength, after Rome, Milan and Turin. Naples is a thriving and cosmopolitan metropolis, and is the world's 91st richest city by purchasing power, with a GDP of $43 billion, surpassing the economies of Budapest and Zürich.[8] The port of Naples is also one of the most important in Europe. Even though the city has had a remarkable economic growth, and unemployment levels in Campania and the city have decreased since 1999,[9] Naples is unfortunately still chraacterised by political and economic corruption and a thriving black market empire. Italian mega-companies, such as MSC, are headquartered in the city. Since 1958, the city hosts the Centre Rai of Naples (media), while in the Bagnoli discrict there is a NATO base. Naples is also full member of Eurocities network of European cities. [10] Naples was the most bombed Italian city of World War II.[11] In the twentieth century, first under Fascism and reconstruction following the Second World War built much of the periphery. In recent decades, Naples has adopted a business district (the Centro Direzionale) with skyscrapers and infrastructure such as the TGV in Rome or in a subway expansion: it will include half of the region. The metropolis will host the IAC 2012[12] and the Universal Forum of Cultures 2013. The city is also synonymous with pizza, which originated in the city. A strong part of Neapolitan culture which has had wide reaching effects is music, including the invention of the romantic guitar and the mandolin as well as strong contributions to opera and folk standards. There are popular characters and figures who have come to symbolise Naples; these include the patron saint of the city Januarius, Pulcinella, and the Sirens from the epic poem the Odyssey.