Dracula in Naples

Dracula is one of the most iconic characters in gothic literature, created by author Bram Stoker in 1897. Since its publication, the novel has fascinated millions of readers worldwide, and the figure of the vampire count has become an unforgettable image in pop culture.

Recently, scholars have discovered new details about the origin of Dracula, revealing that the character may have been inspired by a fifteenth-century Transylvanian prince, Vlad III of Wallachia, also known as Vlad the Impaler. This discovery has led to renewed interest in the figure of Vlad, who may have played an important role in the creation of the Dracula character.

For centuries considered by authoritative opinion to be a simple translation from Greek, the text of the epigraph, as has now been discovered, is actually written in a language that is still unknown. The only element that has been deciphered is precisely the name «Vlad» (Vlad), which recurs several times. The examination was carried out at the end of a delicate restoration that began last February.

The research by engineer Falcucci has reached a precise conclusion: the inscription does not date back to the late 1800s, as had been hypothesised until now, but probably to three hundred years earlier. The restoration process itself made it possible to verify how some letters of the inscription had been repainted several times over the centuries, always without being altered in any way.

«L'idea inziale era che questi interventi fossero stati realizzati a cavallo tra il XIX e XX secolo» (The initial idea was that these interventions had been carried out between the 19th and 20th centuries) explained Falcucci «Lo svolgimento di analisi basate sulla fluorescenza indotta da radiazioni ultraviolette, su riprese all'infrarosso e su prelievi di pigmenti ha invece rivelato che questi interventi sarebbero iniziati molto prima e che la datazione dell'iscrizione potrebbe risalire anche al XVI sec.» (Analysis based on ultraviolet-induced fluorescence, infrared imaging and pigment sampling instead revealed that these interventions began much earlier, and that the inscription's dating could go back as far as the 16th century).

The results of the investigation therefore confirm that the inscription found at S. Maria la Nova dates back to a period consistent with the hypothetical Neapolitan sojourn of Count Vlad-Dracula, who at the time was in close contact with the Aragonese court, and, above all, with the period of his death.

The results of the diagnostic research and, more generally, the fascinating and hypothetical theory of Vlad III's burial at Santa Maria la Nova will be presented during the conference «Ortodossia/Eterodossia: lo spazio slavo di fronte alle divisioni della cristianità dal Medioevo ad oggi» (Orthodoxy/Heterodoxy: the Slavic world facing the divisions of Christianity from the Middle Ages to today), scheduled for 22 and 23 November 2018 at the University of Naples L'Orientale; Professor Giuseppe Reale will speak on the subject on that occasion.

But what does all this have to do with Naples? In fact, the Neapolitan city has a history of links with vampire folklore. In the 19th century, the people of Naples firmly believed in the existence of "vampiri napoletani" (Neapolitan vampires), creatures said to feed on human blood, which could allegedly only be destroyed by decapitation or the scattering of their ashes.

These tales became part of Neapolitan popular culture, so much so that they were often revisited in literary and cinematic works. This does not mean there is a direct connection between Dracula and Naples, but rather it highlights the city's historical and cultural interest in vampire folklore.