A Tale of Two Cities: Mapping Florentine Identity in Early Modern Naples

Michela Young, Ph.D.

My project investigates the presence and settlement of Florentine nationals and exiles in Naples during the Renaissance, building on existing research into the movement of Florentine exiles across and beyond the Italian peninsula following political upheavals in Florence. Broadly, it examines how foreign communities re-established themselves in the urban context and the role of (community) neighbourhoods in shaping collective identity. The project aims to trace and spatialise Florentine settlement in Naples, questioning the significance of neighbourhood both at the micro level and within the wider urban structure. By examining space and the permeability of boundaries, I explore the city as a strategy for identity formation and integration into its social and political life: was geography any way an important determinant of community feeling? Were there recognisable Florentine neighbourhoods in Naples, and did family and neighbourhood ties from Florence carry over into exile or dissolve into a broader civic identity abroad? To what extent did the Florentine national church serve as the nucleus of the community’s urban presence? To address these questions, the project will consider the social practices that anchored the Florentine community to its local context – including social networks of family, work, business, burial, and patronage – together with the role of confraternities, religious feasts and processions, and the social use of the church interior.