The Irpinia earthquake of 1980 damaged part of the historical center and brought to light structural and social problems (even ancient ones) to which was decided to remedy also urbanistic with the enactment of the law n. 219 1981, laying down provisions for the planning and control of building activity, sanctioning, recovery and rehabilitation of illegal construction.

An agreement signed between the Campania region, the municipality and the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, meant that the European Union allocated 100 million euros in June 2012 to carry out restoration work[4] on the monuments of the historic center most at risk.

A particularly high number of cultural and artistic resources are on this site: obelisks, monasteries, cloisters, museums, the famous streets of the crib, catacombs, outdoor and underground archaeological excavations with Roman and Greek remains, including the Roman theater, statues and bas-reliefs, monumental friezes, as well as medieval columns supporting ancient historic buildings and much more.Only the ancient center, which incorporates the districts of San Giuseppe, Porto, Pendino, Mercato, San Lorenzo and Vicarìa which, more specifically, correspond almost to the area of the decumans of Naples, sees the existence of more than 200 historic churches[7] to which the activity of famous exponents of Italian art are linked.

Among the main artists there are: Giotto, Caravaggio, Donatello, Giuseppe Sanmartino, Luca Giordano, Cosimo Fanzago, Luigi Vanvitelli, Jusepe de Ribera, Domenichino, Guido Reni, Tino di Camaino, Marco dal Pino, Simone Martini, Mattia Preti and many others.

The royal palace, specifically, was the reason for a real hoarding by the Neapolitan and foreign aristocrats of the empty spaces rising along the road that went directly to the residence of the viceroy, ie via Toledo.These reforms determined in the city the "reconquest" of the sea which, since the advent of Partenope and until then, was no longer used.

With the passage from the Spanish viceroyalty to the Bourbon kingdom, there was the definitive cultural leap in the city, which became the extreme destination of the European Grand Tour.