Naples
Overview
Naples was one of the two hot spots of Italy (the other being Milan) at the beginning of our period. The French kings had a very old claim to the kingdom that had not been pressed for a long time. Charles VIII (1470-1498) decided it was time for the French to take back what was theirs, precipitating what became known in later times as the Italian Wars. Naples suffered severely during these wars, at the end of which the kingdom found itself ruled by the Spanish.
Spanish rule turned out to be good for the city, bad for the countryside. The Spanish improved the city of Naples, turning it into a real showcase. Naples grew and prospered, with a population of over a quarter million, and was one of the main cultural centers of Europe. This was done, however, at the expense of the rural areas. Taxes drove upward relentlessly while at the same time almost all government in the countryside was given over to the rural nobility. Peasants in the kingdom were ground down by a poverty from which there was no escape.
The golden age of Naples lasted until the middle of the 17th century. The Neapolitan idyll was broken first by a vicious popular revolt that went on for two years (1647-1649), and then by a terrible outbreak of the plague in 1657 that reduced the population by half. It never recovered. After 1660 Naples attracted increased attention from the northern powers and the Austrian Hapsburgs took over rule of Naples from the Spanish Hapsburgs.
Sicily, by contrast, was already a backwater in 1500. The proud city of Palermo, once a capital of the Empire, was just another Italian town. The island was its own kingdom, ruled by the Spanish since 1479. Unlike the kingdom of Naples, little of general historical interest developed in Sicily.
The Italian Wars and Naples
I narrate the course of the Italian wars elsewhere. It's indicative that little of significance in these wars actually happened in the kingdom of Naples. It provided a pretext for war. It formed the objective of Charles VIII's campaign. Thereafter, though, it was merely a participant in leagues and one more line item in the claims by Habsburg and Valois rulers.