Fuorigrotta (Forerotta in Neapolitan language, meaning Outside the grotto in Italian) is a western suburb of Naples, southern Italy. Covering an area of 6,2 km2, it is the most populated suburb of the city (76.521 people).
Geography
It lies beyond the Posillipo hill and has been joined to the main body of Naples by two traffic tunnels through that hill since the early 20th century.
It is the site of the Stadio San Paolo, home to the Serie A team S.S.C. Napoli. It is also the site of the new Monte Sant'Angelo campus of the University of Naples.
Etimology and History
It owes its name to its position "outside the grotto". Since Roman times, one or more tunnels connected it with the district of Mergellina. The oldest tunnel is a Roman one, the Crypta Neapolitana, connecting Fuorigrotta with Piedigrotta. In Roman times, it connected Naples to the road that led to Pozzuoli and to area of the Campi Flegrei.
Fuorigrotta has been a rural district until the Fascist era. The urban asset of the area was radically changed by the Fascist government since 1936, first by building the viale Augusto and by locating in the area the Mostra d'Oltremare (one of the most important Italian fair ground) and then by the construction of the Santa Maria Immacolata church. During this period many streets changed their names into Roman inspired ones: viale Augusto, via Giulio Cesare, via Caio Duilio etc.
After World War II, Fuorigrotta underwent intense urban expansion and became the most densely populated area of the city.
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