Eurovision Song Contest 1965 - Location

Location

Naples is the capital of Campania and the third-largest city in Italy, after Rome and Milan. Naples is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Greek settlements were established on the island of Megaride in the Gulf of Naples as early as the 9th century BC. A larger mainland colony – initially known as Parthenope – developed around the 7th century BC, and was refounded as Neápolis in the 5th century BC. Naples became a lynchpin of Magna Graecia and played a key role in the merging of Greek culture into Roman society, eventually becoming a cultural centre of the Roman Republic. Naples remained influential after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, serving as the capital city of the Kingdom of Naples between 1282 and 1816. Thereafter, in union with Sicily, it became the capital of the Two Sicilies until the unification of Italy in 1861. During the Neapolitan War of 1815, Naples strongly promoted Italian unification.

Naples' historic city centre is the largest in Europe, covering 1,700 hectares (4,200 acres), and is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Over the course of its long history, Naples has been the capital of duchies, kingdoms, and one Empire, and has consistently been a major cultural centre with a global sphere of influence, particularly during the Renaissance and Enlightenment eras. In the immediate vicinity of Naples are numerous sites of great cultural and historical significance, including the Palace of Caserta and the Roman ruins of Pompeii, and Herculaneum.

The venue for the 1965 contest was at the Sala di Concerto della RAI (RAI Production Centre of Naples). The building was founded in the late fifties and early sixties, and is located in Viale Marconi 9, in the district of Fuorigrotta, near the Stadio San Paolo. The structure has three TV studios for a total of 1227 m². and capacity of 370 persons, used for the filming of programs and fiction and an auditorium . The Neapolitan song archives, are also housed here.