Marano di Napoli

The Maranese territory shows anthropological traces dating back to the Neolithic age which tells us how this area has been inhabited since ancient ages: in fact settlements dating back approximately 8,000 years ago (along the Marano-San Rocco route) have been found. Of the Osco-Samnite period we find traces especially in the area of Masseria Spinosa, Vallesana and Monteleone; however most of them have been destroyed leaving today only three still viable roads, namely Cupa dei Cani, Pendine and Cupa Orlando. With the Roman period we have a real flowering area which has become a crossroads of economic, recreational and religious activities, as it is located along the Consularis Campana which connected Pozzuoli (an important commercial port in the imperial period) to Capua (connected to Rome with the Appian Way). Evidence from the Roman period are the Mausoleo del Ciaurro (the most important funerary architectural work in Campania) and five statues preserved in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples depicting a freedman named Dama, his wife Terzia (both belonged to Emperor Tiberius), Hercules and two fauns.

After the Romans, the Byzantines, Normans, Swabians and Angevins took turns. In these centuries the original nucleuses of the city arose: a village called Balisano (or Vallesana), another that was the real is its hamlet of Marano (and therefore identifiable in the historical center) and the hamlet of Turris Marano (or Marano delle Torri) near Monteleone. Just in the area of Monteleone the emperor Frederick II had a castle built as a hunting lodge, which, on his death, was set on fire due to a popular uprising; was rebuilt by King Charles I of Anjou in 1275, which forced sixty families to reside in the vicinity of the same, founding the fraction called San Rocco. With the coming of the Spaniards to Naples, Marano turned into a building site, changing his face. In 1630, in addition to understanding its historic territory, the city included Quarto and the territory of the current Monterusciello. Moreover, up to this date Marano was part of the state-owned farms of Naples; however the governing bodies, due to the financial difficulties of the State, decided to alienate the farmhouse, together with others, to swell the coffers. The farmhouse was therefore sold to Antonio Manriquez, Marquis of Cirella, who was succeeded by his son Diego in 1631. Diego was succeeded by his sister Caterina (in 1637) and his death in 1690, to Eufrasia Serbellone (daughter of Caterina Manriquez). From 1704 Marano passed to the noble Caracciolo.

In 1806, following the administrative reform under the Neapolitan reign of Giuseppe Bonaparte, the feud was abolished to make room for the nascent Maranese municipal administration. Later Marano will follow the fortunes first of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and then of Italy. From 1948 the quarter of Quarto achieved independence by forming an autonomous municipality.