Neapolitan cuisine has influences that date back to theGreco-Roman period. Over the following centuries, the cuisine developed as different cultures controlledNaples and itskingdoms, such as those ofAragon andFrance.

Because Naples was the capital of theKingdom of Naples, its cuisine drew substantially from thecuisine of the entire Campania region, leading to the cuisine including both dishes based on rural ingredients (pasta, vegetables,cheese) and seafood (fish,crustaceans,mollusks). Many recipes are influenced by the local aristocratic cuisine, such astimballo and thesartù di riso, pasta or rice dishes with elaborate preparation, and dishes from popular traditions prepared with inexpensive but nutritious ingredients, such aspasta e fagioli (pasta and beans) and other pasta dishes with vegetables.

Dishes originating from Neapolitan cuisine, particularly pasta andpizza, are among the best known foods in Italian cuisine worldwide, disseminated via migration. Citing this influence, food writerWaverley Root wrote in the late 60s that "what the world knows as “Italian” cooking originated in [Naples]."^[1]

Campania extensively produces tomatoes, peppers,spring onions, potatoes, artichokes, fennel, lemons, and oranges which all take on the flavour of volcanic soil. TheGulf of Naples offers fish and seafood. Campania is one of the largest producers and consumers of pasta in Italy, especially spaghetti. In the regional cuisine, pasta is prepared in various styles that can feature tomato sauce, cheese, clams, and shellfish.^[2]

Spaghetti alla puttanesca is a popular dish made with olives, tomatoes, anchovies, capers, chili peppers, and garlic. The region is well known for its mozzarella production (especially from the milk ofwater buffalo) that is used in a variety of dishes, includingparmigiana di melanzane (shallow fried aubergine slices layered with cheese and tomato sauce, then baked). Desserts includestruffoli (deep fried balls of dough), ricotta-basedpastiera,sfogliatelle,torta caprese, andrum baba.^[2]

Originating in Neapolitan cuisine, pizza has become popular worldwide.^[3] Pizza is an oven-baked, flat, disc-shaped bread typically topped with a tomato sauce, cheese (usually mozzarella), and various toppings depending on the culture. Since the original pizza, several other types of pizzas have evolved.

Since Naples was the capital of theKingdom of Two Sicilies, its cuisine drew significantly from the cuisine of the entire Campania region, leading to the cuisine including both dishes based on rural ingredients (pasta, vegetables, cheese) and seafood dishes (fish, crustaceans, mollusks). Many recipes are influenced by the local aristocratic cuisine, such astimballo andsartù di riso, pasta or rice dishes with elaborate preparation, and dishes from popular traditions prepared with inexpensive but nutritious ingredients, such as pasta with beans and other pasta dishes with vegetables.

Regional wines includeAglianico (Taurasi),Fiano,Falanghina,Lacryma Christi,Coda di Volpe dei Campi Flegrei, andGreco di Tufo.

Carbonized bread found inPompeii

Macaroni-maker firm in Naples at the beginning of the 20th century

Naples has a history that goes back many centuries, and the city itself predates many others in the region includingRome. It has endured theGreeks,Romans, theGoths, theByzantines, and dozens of successions of kings fromFrance andSpain. Each culture left a mark on the way food is prepared in Naples and Campania itself.

Finding the connections between modern and Greco-Roman culinary traditions is not always easy. Among the traces of classical culinary tastes, plates from the period of Greek rule found inMagna Graecia (southern Italy) depict fishes and mollusks, an indication that seafood was appreciated during that period. Frescoes fromPompeii depict fruit baskets filled withfigs andpomegranates. An excavation atOplontis in theVilla Poppaea shows a fresco of a cake, the ingredients of which are not yet known.

The Romangarum is the ancient sauce most similar to that used for the moderncolatura di alici, typical ofCetara. It can be traced back to the sweet-sour taste typical of the Roman cooking described byApicius, along with the use ofraisins in salty dishes, such aspizza di scarola (endive pie), orbraciole al ragù (meat rolls inragù sauce). The use ofwheat in the modernpastiera cake, typical ofEaster, could have had originally a symbolic meaning, related to cults ofArtemis,Cybele andCeres and pagan rituals of fertility, celebrated around theSpring equinox. The namestruffoli, a Christmas cake, comes from the Greek word στρόγγυλος (stróngylos, meaning 'round-shaped').

During the 16th century, Naples was known for their breads.^[4] Pasta was a luxury and not especially common; in times of famine, production was restricted so more bread could be made. The basic diet centered around a combination of meat and cabbage.^[5] According to food writer Arthur Schwartz, the most common flavour combination wassweet and sour.^[6]

By the beginning of the following century, this began to shift. Under Spanish rule, production issues and inefficiencies in the public market system caused the supply of meat and vegetables, particularly cabbage, to falter. In their place, Neapolitans ate breads and pasta. The uptake of pasta was assisted by developments in technology, allowing cheaper production and a new status as astaple food. Cheese and pasta took over as the basic food pairing, and the Neapolitans became known as "macaroni eaters". In the 19th century, this combination was developed with the addition of tomato sauce.^[5]

As Italy underwent unification in the mid 19th century, Naples, and by extension Southern Italy, was strongly identified with pasta. To calm a tense political environment, the Piedmontese of Northern Italy adopted pasta as a symbol of unity, and as they did, pasta became a symbol of Italy as a whole.^[7] At the turn of the century, Naples had a reputation among travellers for squalid conditions; journalistWaverley Root described scenes he observed driving through Naples in the 1920s of "home-made macaroni hung out to dry like the family washing—at the mercy of dust, dirt, insects and the depredations of passing pigeons, children and dogs." Over the following decades, Naples industrialized, and most pasta became made in factories.^[1]

There is a great variety of Neapolitanpastas. Pasta was not invented in Naples, but one of the best grades available is found quite close by,^{[clarification needed]} inGragnano, and inTorre Annunziata, a few kilometers from the capital. It was here also that the industrial production of pasta started, with the techniques to dry and preserve it. The main ingredient isdurum wheat, which is harder thansoft wheat, so there was more industrial production than innorthern Italy, where home-made pasta is more popular. Traditionally in Naples pasta must be cookedal dente.

The most popular variety of pasta, besides the classicspaghetti andlinguine, are thepaccheri and theziti, long pipe-shaped pasta, broken by hand before cooking and usually topped withNeapolitan ragù. Pasta with vegetables is usually also prepared withpasta mista (pasta ammescata inNeapolitan language), which is now produced industrially as a distinct variety of pasta, but which was once sold cheaply, made up of broken pieces of different types of pasta.

Hand-madegnocchi, prepared withflour and potatoes, have been popular despite widespread dislike of potatoes in Naples. In 1949W. H. Auden wroteIgor Stravinsky from Forio in Ischia, "Forio thinks us crazy because we eat potatoes, which are to them a mark of abject poverty." In reporting this,Francis Steegmuller, a longtime resident of Naples, remarks on the French-inspiredgattò, in which "the potato complement is nearly overwhelmed by cheese, ham and other ingredients".^[8]

Some of the more modern varieties of pasta, such asscialatielli, are also becoming popular.

Tomatoes entered Neapolitan cuisine during the 18th century.

Industrial preservation of tomatoes began in 19th-century Naples. Products, includingpelati (peeled tomatoes) andconcentrato (tomato paste) have become exported worldwide. There are traditionally several ways of preparing home-made tomato preserves, either bottled tomato juice, or chopped into pieces. Theconserva (sun dried concentrated juice) tomato is cooked for a long time and becomes a dark red cream with a velvety texture.

Campanian dishes using vegetables includeparmigiana di melanzane andpeperoni ripieni (stuffedpeppers). Some of the most typical products areCichorium endivia, smooth or curly (two varieties ofendive), and different types ofbeans,chickpeas and otherlegumes.^{[citation needed]} Several types ofbroccoli are eaten with regularity, the local fondness for the vegetable described by food writer Arthur Schwartz as "beyond [the American] imagining." The most popular of these isbroccoli rabe, which is closely associated with sausage andbraciole, and is also often eaten with pasta andItalian wedding soup. Cabbage is eaten in winter when other crops are out of season, a simple preparation being stewing. Contrary to what is popularly believed internationally, only small quantities of garlic are used in Neapolitan cooking.^[9]

Zucchini are widely used; the largest ones fried withvinegar and freshmint (a scapece). The male flowers of zucchini can be fried in a salty dough (sciurilli [it]).^[a] Regular red and yellow peppers are widely used, and a local variety of small green peppers (not spicy),peperoncini verdi, are usually fried. Blackolives used in Neapolitan cooking are always the ones fromGaeta.

Salad is a side dish of many dishes, especially seafood ones.Lettuce, and more often theincappucciata (a local variety of theiceberg lettuce), more crispy, is mixed withcarrots,fennel,rucola (some time ago it spontaneously grew in landfields, and was sold in the streets together with the less noblepucchiacchella),radishes, traditionally the long and spicy ones, which today are more and more rare, almost completely replaced by the round and sweeter ones.

During theSecond World War, poor families sometimes resorted to eating whatever was available. Recipes have been reported of pasta cooked with empty pods offava beans orpeas.^[10]

Cheeses, both soft and aged, are important part of the Italian diet and also used in Neapolitan cooking: some recipes are descended from very old Roman traditions.

Starting from the freshest ones, the most used are:

• thericotta di fuscella, very fresh and light, was originally sold in hand-made baskets. Commonly found now as a filling for certain pastas
• thericotta fresca, eaten both fresh, and as side ingredient (for instance, on top ofpasta with Neapolitan ragù)
• thericotta secca [it], salty, slightly aged, typical of the Easter period
• thecaciottella fresca, ofSorrento's peninsula, with very delicate taste
• themozzarella di bufala, fresh cheese made with buffalo's milk, produced mostly on the region ofAversa and in the plain ofSele river
• thefior di latte, similar to mozzarella, but made with cow's milk; it is best produced in the region ofAgerola.
• theprovola affumicata, afior di latte with scent of oak wood smoke, light brown on the exterior, more yellowish inside
• thebocconcini del cardinale, orburrielli, small mozzarellas, preserved in clay pots, flooded into cream or milk
• thescamorze, white or smoked
• theburrini di Sorrento, small provolone cheese with abutter hart
• theprovoloni, thecaciocavalli of different aging

Neapolitan cooking has always used an abundance of all types of seafood from theTyrrhenian Sea. Samuel Johnson's friendHester Thrale was enthusiastic for "the most excellent, the most incomparable fish I ever ate;red mullets large as our mackerel, and of singularly high flavour; besidecalamaro or ink-fish, a dainty worth of imperial luxury".^[11] Recipes use either less expensive fishes, in particularanchovies, and other fishes, such as those used to prepare thezuppa:scorfano (Scorpaena scrofa),tracina (Trachinus draco),cuoccio (Triglia lanterna), or fishes of medium and large size, such asspigola (European seabass) andorate (gilt-head bream), presently sold mainly from fish farms, or such asdentice (Dentex dentex),sarago (Diplodus sargus) andpezzogna (Pagellus bogaraveo). Fishes of very small size are also used:

• Thecicenielli, baby fishes, very small and transparent, prepared either steamed or fried in a dough
• Thefravaglio, few centimeter long, mainly oftriglia (Mullus surmuletus) orretunni (Spicara smaris), typically fried

Thebaccalà (cod) andstockfish, imported fromnorthern Europe seas, are either fried or cooked with potatoes and tomatoes.

Mostcephalopods are employed (octopus,squid,cuttlefish), as well ascrustacea (mainlyshrimp).

Shellfishcozze (mussels),vongole (clams),cannolicchi (Ensis siliqua,taratufi,telline (Donax trunculus),sconcigli (Haustellum brandaris) are employed in many seafood meals, and sometimes are eaten raw, but this happens more and more seldom nowadays. Clams require a special note. Thevongola verace isVenerupis decussata, not to be confused with the Philippines clam (Venerupis philippinarum), very frequently found on the markets, and often calledverace in northern Italy's markets), and thelupino (Dosinia exoleta).

It is now illegal to sell and eatdate mussels, as their fishing seriously damages coastline rocks, mainly in theSorrento peninsula.

Meat is less common in Neapolitan cooking than in the cuisine of Northern Italy. The most common types of meat used are:

• Sausage:salsicce andcervellatine, with not finely hand-cut meat (a ponta 'e curtiello)
• Porkliver, rounded in a net of pork's fat and abay leaf
• Trippa (tripe) and other more humble cuts ofpork orbeef, such as the typical'o pere e 'o musso (pig's feet and cowsnouts) and thezuppa di soffritto, a spicy soup with tomato and hotchili pepper
• Braciole, pork rolls stuffed withraisins,pine nuts andparsley, fixed withtoothpicks and cooked inragù
• Lamb andgoat areroasted, usually with potatoes and peas, typically aroundEaster.
• Rabbit andchicken, often cookedalla cacciatora,pan fried withtomatoes
• Beef or other red meat withtomatoes, cooked for a long time to tenderise an inexpensive piece of meat as incarne pizzaiola

The meatballs of Naples are known internationally and throughout Italy, where they are held in poor regard for their high ratio of bread to meat. Shaped into balls the size of marbles, meatballs are used to fill baked dishes includingtimballo andsartù di riso. Larger meatballs are pan fried and eaten with a vegetable and without sauce for the second course in a meal, or simmered in a tomato sauce either raw or after browning. Historic preparations contained pine nuts and raisins, inclusions which were by the 1990s comparatively rare.^[12]

The most popular bread ispane cafone prepared with naturalyeast, cooked in awood-fired oven with hard crust and large holes inside. Also used aresfilatini, somewhat similar to a Frenchbaguette, but shorter and thicker.Rosetta rolls and other varieties are also present.

Cuisine traditionally attributed to the poor often mixes pasta withlegumes. The most popular are:pasta e fagioli (pasta withbeans), sometimes enriched withpork rind (cotiche),pasta e ceci (pasta andchickpeas),pasta e lenticchie (pasta andlentils),pasta e piselli (pasta andpeas). Similarly tolegumes, other vegetables are associated with pasta, such aspasta e patate (pasta andpotatoes),pasta e cavolfiore (pasta andcauliflower),pasta e zucca (pasta andpumpkin). The most traditional cooking method consists of cooking the condiments first, for instance,pan frying garlic with oil, then add steamed beans, or by fryingonion andcelery, then adding potatoes cut into little dices. After frying, water is added, brought to a boil, salted. To this, pasta is added and stirred frequently. Unlike in a process where pasta is cooked then drained, thestarch here is retained. Cooking pasta with vegetables makes the sauce creamier (azzeccato), and is distinct from the tradition of "noble" cuisine. Another hearty dish in the cuisine of the poor is pasta cooked with cheese and eggsstracciatella (pasta caso e ova).

Spaghetti, dressed with tomato sauce, black olives fromGaeta andcapers makesspaghetti alla puttanesca.Spaghetti alle vongole fujute is spaghetti, dressed withcherry tomatoes sauce, garlic, oil and parsley. This is a seafood pasta recipe made without clams.

Frittata is sometimes prepared with pasta leftovers, either with tomato sauce or white. Pasta, cookedal dente is mixed with raw scrambled egg and cheese, then pan fried. It can be enriched with many different ingredients. Must be cooked on both sides, flipped with the help of a plate. If well cooked, it is compact, and can be cut into slices. It can be eaten during outdoor lunches.

The aristocratic cuisine used pasta for elaborate recipes, such astimballi, rarely used in everyday food.

Richer sauces, more elaborate than the vegetable pasta dishes mentioned above, that are frequently used to dress pasta include:

• TheBolognese sauce, vaguely inspired by theragù emiliano, prepared with mincedcarrot,celery,onion, ground beef and tomato
• TheGenovese sauce, not inspired byGenoa in spite of the name, but prepared with meat browned with abundant onions and other aromatics

With theNeapolitan ragù the most traditionally used pasta are theziti, long macaroni, that are broken into shorter pieces by hand before cooking. The Neapolitan ragù is also used, together withfior di latte, to dress thegnocchi alla sorrentina [it], then cooked in oven in a small single-portion clay pot (pignatiello).

Spaghetti,linguine andpaccheri are believed to pair very well with fish and seafood, and from this union come the dishes typical of important lunches or dinners (weddings, in particular). The most typical ones are:

• Spaghetti alle vongole or other shellfishes (clams,mussels, and other)
• Paccheri con la zuppa di pesce (scorfani,cuocci,tracine and more)
• Pasta con i calamari, withsquid sauce, cooked withwhite wine

There are many more varieties, for instance spaghetti with a white sauce of Mediterraneancod.

Sometimes the traditional dishes of pasta with legumes can be mixed with seafood, so there are, for instance,pasta e fagioli con le cozze (pasta and beans with mussels), or other more modern variations, such as pasta with zucchini andclams, that lose any traditional connotation.

The most famous rice dish is thesartù di riso, a sort oftimballo made with rice, stuffed with chicken livers,sausage, littlemeatballs,fior di latte orprovola,peas,mushrooms, and with Neapolitan ragù, or, in the white version (in bianco) withbéchamel sauce.

In the cuisine of the poor, rice is also cooked asriso e verza (rice andcabbage), flavoured with little pieces ofParmesan cheese crusts that slightly melt while cooking.

A seafood rice dish is therisotto alla pescatora (fisherman'srisotto), prepared with various mollusks (different types of clams, squid and cuttlefish), shrimps and a broth made from the boiling of seafood shells.

Arancini (palle 'e riso), more typical ofSicilian cuisine, are also frequently eaten in Naples.

Pizza is the most popular and best known creation of all Neapolitan cuisine. It soon became very popular across all social classes, up to being present in theBourbon court.King Ferdinand I experienced cooking pizza inCapodimonte's porcelain ovens. AfterItalian unification, the new kings were also attracted by this southern food. ThepizzaioloRaffaele Esposito is often credited with popularising a particular variety of Neapolitan pizza. A popular legend of one pizza,pizza Margherita, is that in 1889 Esposito prepared in honor of queenMargherita of Savoy a nationalistic pizza, where the colours of theItalian flag were represented by themozzarella (white),tomato (red) andbasil (green).^[14][15] Sometimes pizza is made in home ovens, but the real Neapolitan pizza must be cooked in awood-fired oven, hand-made by apizzaiolo who makes the dough disk thinner in the center and thicker in the outer part; the ingredients and olive oil are rapidly spread across the surface, and with a quick movement the pizza is put on a shovel and slid in the oven where it is turned a few times for uniform cooking.

Octopus is held in high esteem. From theSanta Lucia quarter comes the most basic preparation of stewing,polpi alla lucìana, wherein octopus is cooked withchili pepper, garlic, olive oil, parsley and tomato. Rules must be followed in Naples in cooking octopus, the first being "the octopus has got to cook in its own water". This means cooks should not add water when adding octopus to oil, as they releases flavourful juices believed to replenish energy.^[b] The second mandates that the octopus should be cooked with a cork to produce a tender dish. Attaining a tender product is highly prized, and it is believed that only small, double-suckered octopus will become very tender.^[16] Octopus is steamed, and prepared as salad with lemon juice,parsley and green olives. A richer seafood salad is prepared also mixingsquid,cuttlefish andprawns.

Medium size fishes are cookedall'acqua pazza, with tomato, garlic and parsley; the larger ones are simply grilled, accompanied, in the most important meals, with king size prawns.

Mussels are prepared in different ways: rapidly steamed withblack pepper (all'impepata), and dressed with a few drops of lemon juice each; also cookedalgratin. Clams and other shellfishes are also cookedsauté, rapidly passed in a large pan with olive oil, garlic, and served on crust breads.

Cheap fish are also used in some recipes, the most popular of which useanchovy. Some of these include:

• Alici indorate e fritte, boneless anchovies, passed inflour, egg and deep-fried
• Alici marinate [it], raw anchovies marinated in lemon juice or vinegar, then dressed with olive oil, garlic and parsley
• Alici arreganate, boneless anchovies, rapidly cooked in a large pan with olive oil, lemon juice andoriganum

Cicenielli, the tiny baby fishes, are either steamed and dressed with oil and lemon, or deep-fried in a light dough, which is also used to deep-fry little pieces of some sea algae.

Frittura di paranza (deep-fried fishes) is usually done with small-sized local fishes, such ascod,goatfish, anchovies and others. It should be eaten very hot, right after being fried (frijenno magnanno). Baby shrimps, sold alive, are fried with no flour, unlike theparanza.

Vegetable dishes can become very rich and elaborated. The most famous are:

• Theparmigiana di melanzane,aubergine pie with tomato sauce andfior di latte
• Thegattò di patate [it], potato pie stuffed with cheese and salami
• Thepeperoni ripieni, stuffed whole peppers
• Themelanzane a barchetta, aubergines cut in half, the center scooped out and filled with different types of stuffing.

Beyond fried fish, many vegetables are deep-fried with flour and egg (dorate e fritte):artichoke, zucchini,cauliflower. The richest versions add pieces of liver,ricotta and, in the past, cow's brain.Mozzarella can be prepareddorata e fritta as well and alsoin carrozza, passed in flour and egg together with two bread slices softened inmilk, to form a small sandwich. Typical Neapolitan fried food are also thecrocchè, stuffed potato balls passed inbreadcrumbs and deep fried, or also thesciurilli [it], zucchini's male flowers fried in a dough, that can also be bought on the streets of Naples historical center in typical fried food shops, calledfriggitoria, together withscagliozzi [it] (fried slices ofpolenta),pastacresciute [it] (fried bread dough balls) andaubergine slices.

Onions, fried up to a golden color, are the base for the famousfrittata di cipolle (onionomelette).

After pasta, the main second-course meals are frequently accompanied by side dishes.The most popular ones are:

• Zucchine alla scapece, deep fried sliced zucchini dressed withvinegar and freshmint
• Melanzane a funghetto, friedaubergines, in two versions: stick-shaped and fried, then dressed with cherry tomato sauce, or dice-fried, with no tomato
• Peperoni in padella, sliced peppers pan-fried with blackGaeta olives andcapers
• Peperoncini verdi fritti, local small non-spicy green peppers, dressed with cherry tomato sauce
• Friarielli, local vegetable leaves, pan-fried with oil, garlic and chili pepper. They often are side dishes of friedsausages andcervellatine, which are sometimes also accompanied by potato fries, typically cut as small dice.

Savory pies are convenient for outdoor food. The most popular savory pies are:

• Thepizza di scarola (endive pie), prepared with friedscarole with garlic,pine nuts,raisins, black Gaeta olives andcapers. Those vegetables are the stuffing for the pie, which is made with a simple dough of flour, water andyeast.
• Thecasatiello ortortano, typical of Easter holidays, usually prepared for the day after Easter, usually spent outdoor.

Neapolitan cuisine has a large variety of cakes and desserts. The most famous ones are:

• Babà, small cake saturated in syrup made with hard liquor
• Sfogliatella, in two varieties:frolla ("smooth") orriccia ("curly"). Two variation are theSanta Rosa, larger and with an additional stuffing of cream and black cherry, and thecoda d'aragosta ("lobster tail"), with abignè inside and stuffed with various types of cream.
• Zeppole, deep fried or baked
• Graffe, prepared for theCarnival period
• Pastiera, prepared forEaster holidays
• Struffoli, typicalChristmas cake
• Delizia al limone [it]

Ice creams are famous as well. The most traditional are thecoviglie [it] and thespumoni.

Christmas Eve dinner is usually the time when all family members join. It is typically done withspaghetti alle vongole, followed bycapitone fritto andbaccalà fritto (deep friedeel andstockfish); as a side-dishinsalata di rinforzo [it] is served, a salad made with steamedcauliflower,giardiniera, spicy and sweet peppers (pupaccelle), olives andanchovies, all dressed with oil andvinegar.

Christmas cakes are:

• Struffoli
• Roccocò [it]
• Mustacciuoli
• Susamielli [it]

Christmas Eve dinner is completed with theciociole, which are dried fruits (walnuts,hazelnuts andalmonds), driedfigs and thecastagne del prete, bakedchestnuts.

Christmas lunch has typically theminestra maritata or hand-made pasta with chicken broth.

The mainEaster dishes are thecasatiello ortortano, a salty pie made with bread dough stuffed with various types of salami and cheese, also used the day after Easter for outdoor lunches. Typical of Easter lunches and dinners is thefellata, a banquet ofsalami andcapocollo and saltyricotta. Typical dishes are alsolamb orgoat baked with potatoes and peas. Easter cake is thepastiera.

Carnival has the Neapolitan version oflasagna, that has nobéchamel sauce, unlike other Italian versions. As dessert, there is thesanguinaccio dolce withsavoiardi biscuits, or also thechiacchiere, diffused all over Italy with different names.

2 November (All Souls' Day) cake is thetorrone dei morti, which, unlike the usualtorrone is not made withhoney andalmonds, but withcocoa and a variety of stuffings, such ashazelnuts, dried and candy fruits or alsocoffee and more.

Fruit is often present at the end of a meal. Local produce is frequently used, and one of the most popular is theannurca apple, which have been eaten in the region since Roman times. Slices ofwatermelon ('o mellone) were historically sold in little street shops (mellunari). The yellowpeach ('o percuoco c' 'o pizzo inNeapolitan) is also sometimes used, chopped in pieces to flavour red wine coming fromMonte di Procida, cold and somewhat similar to Spanishsangria.

Among white wines the most famous areGreco di Tufo,Falanghina,Fiano di Avellino and Asprinio di Aversa, while the most famous red wines are Aglianico del Taburno,Taurasi, Campi Flegrei Piedirosso, also known aspere 'e palummo,Solopaca andLacryma Christi fromVesuvius, that is produced both white and red.

The most abundant lunches or dinners end withcoffee andliqueur. Althoughlimoncello is the most famous variety, historically the most preferred one was theliquore ai quattro frutti, withlemon,orange,tangerine andlimo (not to be confused withlime), which is a local variation ofbergamot orange, now very rare.Nocino is also very popular all over Italy, and is the most popular bitter liqueur.

There is a long history in Naples of street food. The origins probably date back to Romanthermopolia or maybe earlier. Typical fried food can still today be bought in little shops, such aspastacresciute [it] (deep fried bread dough balls),scagliozzi [it] (deep friedpolenta slices) andsciurilli [it] (deep fried malezucchini flowers), or deep friedaubergines.Pizza is also prepared in small sizes to be eaten in the street, the so-calledpizza a libretto, still found in Naples pizzerias in Via dei Tribunali, Port'Alba and Piazza Cavour. In Via Pignasecca, in the historical center, there are still somecarnacuttari shops, selling various types oftripe,'o pere e 'o musso (pork's foot and cow's nose) or the oldzuppa 'e carnacotta (tripe soup).

FromMergellina to Via Caracciolo there are still several little shops sellingtaralli nzogna e pepe (salty biscuits with pork's fat and black pepper). Nowadays the old typical'o broro 'e purpo (octopus broth) has become extremely rare to find. A few decades ago, street shops sold 'o spassatiempo, a mix of bakedhazelnuts,pumpkin seeds, toastedchickpeas andlupins underbrine.

Many Neapolitan cookery books report classic recipes, but also re-interpretations in Neapolitan style of other recipes. So, it is not unusual to find recipes such ascotoletta alla milanese,carne alla genovese,sugo alla bolognese, and other. Books with both classic and revisited recipes are:

• Jeanne Caròla Francesconi,La vera cucina di Napoli, edit. Newton, 1995 (ISBN 88-8183-021-3).
• Frijenno Magnanno, Salvatore di Fraia, Editore,Pozzuoli (NA): contains a large variety of recipes and creative Neapolitan dishes.

• Italian cuisine
  • Cuisine of Abruzzo
  • Apulian cuisine
  • Arbëreshë cuisine
  • Emilian cuisine
  • Cuisine of Liguria
  • Lombard cuisine
  • Cuisine of Mantua
  • Cuisine of Basilicata
  • Piedmontese cuisine
  • Roman cuisine
  • Cuisine of Sardinia
  • Sicilian cuisine
  • Tuscan cuisine
  • Venetian cuisine

The oldest Neapolitan cuisine is reported in the books of classic authors, including:

• Vincenzo Corrado,Il cuoco galante, in Napoletan language, III edition, 1786, editby Forni, Sala Bolognese (BO), 1990.
• Vincenzo Corrado,Pranzi giornalieri variati ed imbanditi in 672 vivande secondo i prodotti della stagione, in Napoletan language, III edition, 1832, re-edit by Grimaldi, Naples, 2001.
• Ippolito Cavalcanti,Cucina casareccia, in Napoletan language, 1839, re-edited by Il Polifilo, Milan, 2005 (ISBN 88-7050-324-0).
• Ippolito Cavalcanti,Cucina teorico - pratica, in lingua napoletana, 1852, re-edited by Grimaldi, Naples, 2002.

• Montanari, Massimo (2013).Italian Identity in the Kitchen, or Food and the Nation. Translated by Brombert, Beth Archer (English ed.). Chichester, West Sussex:Columbia University Press.ISBN 978-0-231-53508-3.
• Piras, Claudia; Madigani, Eugenio (2000).Culinaria Italy.ISBN 978-3829029018.
• Schwartz, Arthur (1998).Naples at Table: Cooking in Campania. New York:HarperCollins.ISBN 0-06-018261-X.

Media related toCuisine of Campania at Wikimedia Commons

• Neapolitan cuisine
• Culture in Naples
• Cuisine of Campania

• All articles with dead external links
• Articles with dead external links from December 2025
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from January 2024
• Articles containing Italian-language text
• Wikipedia articles needing clarification from August 2025
• All articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with unsourced statements from October 2025
• Articles containing Latin-language text
• Commons category link is locally defined