Naples (Italy)

Naples/Napoli is a major Mediterranean port (cruise, ferry and cargo) located in Southern Italy's Campania region. By population (around 970,000) the city is ranked Italy's 3rd largest (after Rome and Milano). As cruise port, Naples is currently ranked (by annual passenger capacity) Italy's 3rd largest (after Civitavecchia-Rome and Genova). Porto di Napoli is located on Tyrrhenian Sea and at Bay of Naples (15-km / 9-mi wide gulf). The city is served by Naples International Airport, which is approx 6 km (4 mi) northeast from Napoli (Capodichino district). The airport has 1 terminal building, 1 runway and annual passenger traffic around 8,6 million.

Napoli (named Neapolis) was originally a Greek settlement conquered by the Romans in 4th-century BC. It was captured by the Byzantine Empire (330-1453) in 6th-century, and in 8th-century became an independent duchy state. The Normans conquered the duchy in 1139. Subsequently, it was incorporated into Regnum Neapolitanum (Kingdom of Naples and Sicily / 1282-1816) and passed to Spain in 1503. House of Bourbon (Austria) ruled the city between 1707-1734, and in 1815 it was united with Sicily forming "Kingdom of the Two Sicilies" (part of Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946).

The best-known tourist attractions and landmarks are the ruins of Herculaneum and Pompeii (Roman cities). In close proximity are the beautiful Amalfi Coast (Italian Riviera) resort towns Sorrento, Ravello, Positano, Amalfi. On a causeway-connected to Naples rocky island stands Castel dell'Ovo (12th-century fortress). Other castles include Castel Nuovo (13th-century, on the harbor) and Castel Sant'Elmo (14th-century, on a hill overlooking the city). Palazzo Reale (17th-century palace) houses original Bourbon furniture, statues, paintings, National Library. Near the palace is Teatro San Carlo (18th-century - one of Europe's biggest). The National Museum has a rich collection of Graeco-Roman artifacts from Herculaneum and Pompeii.

Fincantieri (one of world's largest shipbuilding companies) owns the merchant shipbuilding yards Monfalcone, Marghera (Venice), Sestri Ponente (Genoa), Ancona, Castellammare di Stabia (Naples) and Palermo (Sicily). The company also owns the naval shipyards Riva Trigoso (Genoa) and Muggiano (La Spezia).

Port Naples

Port Naples is among Italy's largest passenger (cruise-ferry) and containership ports. It handles over 64000 ships annually and provides steady jobs for over 4800 employees. Porto di Napoli is located in downtown, close to Piazza Municipio and approx 15 km (9 mi) from Naples Airport.

• UN-LOCODE (United Nations location code) - ITNAP
• port address (GPS coordinates) 40°51′0.00″ N 14°16′0.00″ E
• supported by excellent road, rail and air infrastructure
• deep channel water and berths - Cargo pier (7,6 m), Oil terminal (6,1 m)

Harbor type is Coastal Breakwater. The port has capability to accommodate 3 vessels at a time. Port's cruising season runs between April and November. Cruise vessels usually arrive in Naples around noon (11 am, 1 pm) and depart from Naples in the evening (at 6 or 7 pm).

Port Naples has the following main terminals:

• 1 Containership terminal - with 70 mooring places, annual capacity of 0,5 million TEUs (containers)
• 4 Commercial cargo terminals (timber, cellulose, grain)
• 1 Automobile (Ro-Ro) terminal - length 850 m, land area 120,000 m2, capacity 8000 cars. Port's daily ferry traffic with Sicily Island is around 700 vehicles. In 2007, the car terminal handled around 475,000 units.
• 1 Passenger (cruise) terminal - 10 mooring places, 7 mobile gangways (passenger bridges), 12 check-in desks, annual capacity ~1,5 million.
• 1 Shipyard - with 3 dry-docks plus 4 floating docks for ship-repairs.

Port Naples runs several daily cruiseferry, hydrofoil and catamaran passenger shipping services. The port serves annually over 6 million ferry passengers, plus around 1 million international cruise passengers. The hydrofoil service (Metropolitana del Mare) runs in summer months (July through September).

Regularly scheduled ferries connect Naples with Sicily Island (Palermo - crossing time 10,5 hours, Salina - 5,5 hr, Trapani - 0,5 hr), Ischia Island (1-1,5 hours), Capri Island (1 hr), Lipari Island (6,5 hr), Panarea Island (5 hr), Ponza Island (3 hr), Stromboli Island (4,5 hr), Ventotene Island (2 hr), Vulcano Island (6 hr), Sardinia Island (Cagliari - 14 hours), Favignana Island (10 min), Ustica Island (1,5 hr), Sorrento (0,5 hr), Forio (Naples Metro - 1,5 hr). The ferry companies serving these routes include GNV, Tirrenia, SNAV (Societa Navigazione Alta Velocita), NLG (Navigazione Libera del Golfo), Liberty Lines Fast Ferries, Alilauro.

MSC Cruises (part of MSC Group) was founded and headquartered in Naples since 1960. The cruise port is opposite the Old Town - featuring tall houses, narrow streets and stepped lanes. In 2017, the seaport handled 8,988056 million passengers (ferry and cruise).

On July 11, 2011, MSC signed an agreement for sponsorship city's football club SSC Napoli SpA (aka Napoli). With this deal, MSC became Napoli's Official Sponsor and MSC Cruises' logo was displayed on team’s blue shirts during season 2011-2012. For the special event, company's CEO (Pierfrancesco Vago) and SSC Napoli's President (Aurelio De Laurentiis) met onboard MSC Splendida docked in Naples. The agreement included also special promo deals for the fans and football-themed cruises.

On April 12, 2015, at Grande Beach Resort was held the 30th MHA (Marine Hotel Association). The trade show was followed by a conference event.

In summer 2016, Naples was among the cruise ports included in Carnival Vista's inaugural season in Europe. Most of these itineraries were 10-day (Barcelona-Athens, Athens-Barcelona), also 8-days and 10-days (roundtrips from Barcelona).

Cruise itineraries to and from Naples Italy

Follows a list of destinations visited by cruise ships leaving out of Naples:

• The most common itineraries are week-long (7-days) roundtrip Western Mediterranean cruises. Turnarounds/roundtrips from Naples on Eastern Mediterranean itineraries (Greece-Greek islands-Turkey) and to the Canary Islands are not offered.
• Western Mediterranean itineraries visit ports in Spain, France (including on the French Riviera), Italy, also the islands of Corsica (Ajaccio), Sardinia (Cagliari, Olbia), Menorca, Majorca, Ibiza, Malta, Sicily (Palermo, Catania, Messina).

Naples cruise terminal