To the French traveller Charles de Brosses, writing in 1739, it was Naples, not Rome that had the aura of a capital : "To my mind, Naples is the only city in Italy that really feels like a capital. The traffic, the large population, the continuous noise and chaos of the very many carriages, a brilliant court, the magnificent bearing of the local nobility… everything conspires to give Naples the lively and animated aspect which is possessed by London and Paris but which is totally absent in Rome."

Like many other visitors, De Brosses was also captivated by the wealth of musical activity he found in the city, which he declared to be "the capital of the world’s music". Music had long played an integral part in the life of the city, not just at court and in its churches, but in taverns and streets that resounded to the sounds of singing and dancing. On major feast days the church itself came to the streets, bringing to them processions and musical entertainment.

It has indeed been justly observed that Naples itself was one huge theatre, its inhabitants the perpetual players on a stage on which ...

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