I Quartieri Spagnoli sono una frazione centrale di Napoli. Fu costruito nel diciassettesimo secolo durante il dominio Spagnolo. Le vie piccole hanno dei murales che mostrano la ricca cultura neapolitana. Ci sono murales di personaggi  famosi per esempio Sophia Loren, Pino Daniele, e Diego Mardona. Ci sono anche murales per celebrare il lavoro di  Antonio Griffo Focas Flavio Angelo Ducas Comneno Porfirogenito Gagliardi de Curtis di Bisanzi, piu conosciuto come Totò. Totò fu un attore, poeta, famoso attore, sceneggiatore, poeta, drammaturgo, comico e cantante, e forse il più popolare interprete italiano di tutti i tempi. Nel 2019, venti artisti hanno creato murales nuovi nei Quartieri Spagnoli per rendere omaggio a Totò.

Crowded and colorful, bustling, energetic, and animated, gritty, and crumbling. No display of words can truly describe Naples’ Quartieri Spagnoli. 

The street network of the Spanish District was developed in the 17th century during the Spanish rule of the Kingdom of Naples. The troops were quartered in this area bordered by one of the main streets of Naples, Via Toledo, named for a 16th century viceroy of Toledo, Spain.

In the crowded, narrow streets of Naples’ quartieri spagnoli, murals of all kinds portray the wonderful culture here. Seaside landscapes brighten crumbling walls. Beloved napoletani theatrical portraits add color to cracked and crumbling walls. Adored Argentinian soccer champion, Diego Maradona, who brought Naples to glory in two major championships, reigns as do Neapolitan actress Sophia Loren and Neapolitan jazz and blues singer Pino Daniele.

Actor and playwright of extraordinary versatility, Peppino DeFilippo (1903-1980), brother of actor Edoardo and actress Titina, beams from a wall painted in orange. 

Born in 1898, Antonio Griffo Focas Flavio Angelo Ducas Comneno Porfirogenito Gagliardi de Curtis di Bisanzio is known to all by his stage name “Toto,” the Italian nickname for Antonio. Dubbed il Principe della Risata (the Prince of Laughter), Toto was born of noble origins, the illegitimate son of a marquis who did not recognize his son for years. Certamente a principe for the Italians, Toto (who died in 1976) was a famous actor, screenwriter, poet, dramatist, comedian, and singer, and perhaps the most popular Italian performer of all time. 

In August and September 2019, 20 artists, gathered by the non-profit cultural association Onlus Viva Napoli, invaded the Quartieri Spagnoli to create murals as a homage to Toto. One mural depicts one of Toto’s aphorisms, “la cultura e’ unica salvezza.” “Culture is our only salvation.”

The murals of the Quartieri Spagnoli in Naples underscore precisely that, emulating beloved and esteemed Neapolitan personages of grandissima cultura.