The Via Mezzocannone is a street in the historical centre of Naples. It connects the Piazza San Domenico Maggiore to the Piazzetto Nilo and the Corso Umberto I. Its length is slightly less than 500 metres. One side of the street is almost completely taken up by university buildings, some of which have small science museums.
Via Mezzocannone Naples
History and description
There are two different explanations for the name Mezzocannone. There used to be a 15th century fountain in the street, built by order of the the King of Napels Alfonso II, so he could have his horses’ thirst drenched. The pipe (cannone) the water flowed out of was shorter than usual, so it was called half (mezzo). The fountain was later destroyed.
The second explanation is less poetic. The unit for measuring water capacity at the time was the canna, and the fountain was supposed to have contained exactly half a canna.
Until the end of the 19th century the Via Mezzocannone had a bad reputation. There were several laundries and dyeworks in the street. The effluent water ended up directly in the street, which ended up being almost completely impracticable. Naples‘ Risanamento, a reorganization of parts of the city that was undertaken after an epidemic of the cholera, changed this. The dwellings on the right side of the street were replaced by University buildings. The other side of the Via Mezzocannone was widened and housing apartments were constructed.
One of the most famous and interesting buildings in the street is the Palazzo Salluzzo di Corigliano.
Tot de zogeheten Risanamento (eind 19e eeuw) stond de Via Mezzocannone slecht bekend. Het was de straat van de stoffenververijen en het afvalwater werd naar de straat zelf afgevoerd, zodat deze vrijwel onbegaanbaar was. De Risanamento, waarbij hele wijken platgegooid en opnieuw opgebouwd werden, was de reactie op een cholera-epidemie.
The Via Mezzocannone runs through the Porto and San Giuseppe districts.
Public transport
The beginning of the Via Mezzocannone is only a 10 minute walk from the central station and the Piazza Garibaldi.