Secondigliano is a relatively modern suburb in the north of Naples

Naples

Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...

, in southern Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

.

History

The name may derive from a contraction of "secondo" (second) and "miglio" (mile) since the area was at the second milestone on the old road to Capua

Capua

Capua is a city and comune in the province of Caserta, Campania, southern Italy, situated 25 km north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. Ancient Capua was situated where Santa Maria Capua Vetere is now...

. Alternatively, the name may derive from the Roman family name "Secondili." The area was a feudal holding in the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

 and not incorporated into the city of Naples until the Fascist period.

Secondigliano is relatively modern, the result of extensive building in the 1970s and 1980s, yet has enormous social problems similar to those in adjacent communities: high unemployment, truancy and drop-out rate from school, drugs and the pervasiveness of organized crime, the Camorra

Camorra

The Camorra is a Mafia-type criminal organization, or secret society, originating in the region of Campania and its capital Naples in Italy. It is one of the oldest and largest criminal organizations in Italy, dating to the 18th century.-Background:...

. Secondigliano is the site of one of the most important maximum security prisons in Italy.

External links

Story of Secondigliano