Neapolitans have always considered their city to be feminine and now a new tour guide has been published which celebrates the city's many famous women, many of whom have been forgotten in the shadows of the more celebrated men.
The guide is dedicated to Saint Patricia who is the co-patron saint of Naples along with San Gennaro, who draws worldwide attention twice a year when his dried blood liquified.
However, St. Patricia's blood also liquifies, although this miracle takes place only once a year on August 25.
The new guide leads the traveler through the city tracing the steps of outstanding noblewomen, writers, painters, revolutionaries and mothers superior. People like Isabella d'Aragona, Maria d'Avalos, Emilia Guibitosi, Artemisia Gentileschi and the heroine of the 1799 revolution Eleonora Pimentel Fonseca.
Also included in the guide are the popular 20th century actresses Tina Pica and Titina De Filippo, along with the most popular singer from the 1920s, Elvira Donnarumma.
The book opens and closes with the myth of the Parthenope, one of the Sirens who failed to enchant Ulysses with her song and committed suicide by throwing herself into the sea, her hair becoming the Bay of Naples.
