The Introduction sets out the case for the study of contemporary Naples and its relationship with the Italian nation state. It provides a brief overview of the changing fortunes of Naples in the Second Republic and of the centrality of the city to the image of Italy. It makes the case for the ongoing relevance of the nation in the context of the transnational turn in Italian Studies and highlights the role played by cultural production as a privileged medium for the production, articulation, exchange and circulation of new knowledges and identities. Finally, the introduction provides a brief outline of the theoretical underpinnings of the book and an account of the content and arguments addressed in each chapter.