HISTORICAL AND ARTISTIC PLACES

All the Villas and Buildings along Corso San Giovanni date back to the XVIII century. However, changes regarding the external fronts of these buildings, with superimposition of new decorative elements, date back to the XIX century. During the 1840s there was a progressive transformation in San Giovanni from a residential community to an industrial one, which led to a complete shift in population as well as the departure of the Nobility.From the harbour of San Giovanni, along the sea, the famous "Miglio d'oro" can be seen. It is an architectural itinerary from Naples to Torre del Greco and gives witness to the eighteenth and nineteenth century architecture of the Vesuvian area.

Villa Cristina is situated on Corso San Giovanni number 879. It can also be found on the Map of the Duke of Noja in 1775. This villa is considered to be far more ancient, due to its particular characteristics. There are stucco decorations around the windows, three seventeenth century openings on the left hand side; a stairway situated on the right of the entrance and characteristic arches which surround the courtyard. There is a very nice terrace in the courtyard, which opens towards the garden overlooking the sea. Even if the building appears altered, it preserves intact its traditional planimetrical layout which is clearly that of a double "C" linked at the entrance.

Villa Faraone can be found at n° 1076 Corso San Giovanni. It is a neoclassical masterpiece. Dating back to 1855, it is characterised by its two- storey façade: 
a) on the ground floor the main door is currently cast in iron and is framed by four Doric columns with stucco decorated bricks. These columns are surmounted by a massive "trabeation". This front part of the building is very impressive, due to its projection away from the main façade. It is covered with a rustic finish with a light on dark effect. You can admire the fine stucco decorations.

b) a long balcony marks the division between the two floors. Over the main entrance two double columnades, corresponding to the ones of the ground floor, support the magnificent lobby. If we pass into the entrance hall we will admire the magnificent double staircase providing access to the beautiful garden. 

Villa Papa is on Corso San Giovanni number 889. It shows clear features of eighteenth century buildings  (rampant cross-vault staircases and a very wide lobby). During the nineteenth century many changes were made on the external front and therefore it has a ruined aspect. It was also used as a private home.

Villa Paudice is situated on Corso San Giovanni number 893. This Villa has interesting architectonic elements. The stucco decorations on the vault and the small elliptical arch in the atrium appear of great value. The main staircase is based on four pillars. Suggestive are the arches of the courtyard and the beautiful portal, which is made of vesuvian rock.

Villa Cozzolino (now Percuoco) lies on Corso San Giovanni number 901. It is a typical nineteenth century building with a quadrilateral plan and archaic forms. Its roadside frontage is similar to a blockhouse, with a very simple portal, dominated by a main balcony.

Palazzo Procaccini is situated on Corso San Giovanni number 711, overlooking the sea. It is important for its historical value more than its architectonic value because it represents, together with the opposite building, one of the most ancient topographic and toponymic junctions.

Villa Raiola Scarinzi is situated on Corso San Giovanni number 732. This villa represents a typical Neapolitan building for the position of its staircase. The quadrilateral building has an elegant staircase with an only eighteenth century stucco arcade, which shows a particular play of arches. This Villa has two storeys and a ground floor with a garden visible from each window. Unfortunately the façade has been altered by the addition of two floors superimposed on the original ones.

Villa Vignola lies on Via Lieto number 14, between San Giovanni and Barra. This building is characterised by few elements that define its simple and bare architecture. It is interesting for its portal, made of Piperno stone and the crowning of hanging arches, that appear as typical sixteenth century Neapolitan architecture.

Villa Maria Vittoria ex Di Biase lies on Corso San Giovanni number 752. There is a beautiful, large and deep doorway at the main entrance, which leads to a rectangular courtyard with moderate dimensions. An interesting element of the late eighteenth century building (rustic design) is the presence of a beautiful staircase, which ennobles considerably the building.

Ville dei Volpicelli. The Volpicelli family owned two villas, one situated at number 827, the other at number 835 of Corso San Giovanni. The first villa is made up of two storeys plus a  mezzanine. The villa was built on the remains of a sixteenth century villa, as one can see from the presence of a sixteenth-century balcony. The second villa lays on a two-floor-building, with a small courtyard, at the end of which there is a small area bordered by columns overlooking the sea.

Fort Vigliena was built in 1702 under Filippo V of Borbone, by the marquis Fernandez Villena, from whom the Fort takes its name. Its strategic position protected, together with other Neapolitan forts (Sant'Elmo, Castel Nuovo, Castel dell'Ovo), the entrance of the city.

During the Partenopean Republic in 1799, Cardinale Ruffo's troops, who wanted to take Naples, found a brave resistance thanks to the 150 republicans under Antonio Toscano, who took the command of the Fort. During the fight the Sanfedisti opened some passages in the wall and stormed into the Fort. In the end, he decided to set the Fort on fire in order to prevent the enemies from taking it. Today, because of road levels rising throughout the years, only a few remains of Fort Vigliena exist. Its pentagonal structure in tufo can still be seen. It is a historical monument. The Town Council of Naples has planned the building of a museum in the fort in order to celebrate and remember the characters and the events of 1799.