Сан-Джорджо-а-Кремано: Везувийдің баурайындағы қала

San Giorgio a Cremano is located on the foothills to the west of the Vesuvius. With a total area of , it is a fairly small, cramped comune which runs in a narrow corridor from the slopes of the volcano down toward the Bay of Naples. The highest point in the comune is 107 metres above sea level, and the lowest point is eight metres above sea level, giving an altimetric difference of 97 metres from the coastward side of the comune (west) to the inland side (east). The average height within the comune is 56 metres above sea level. San Giorgio is also geographically surrounded by major roads on all sides. The coastal road of Corso San Giovanni follows the shoreline to the west of San Giorgio, and the Autostrada (motorway) Napoli Salerno (E45, which also becomes the A3) runs to the north east of San Giorgio.

To the east, San Giorgio a Cremano faces Vesuvius, which dominates the view in that direction. As the commune climbs uphill from west to east, many houses within San Giorgio have views over the Bay of Naples to the west. The main centre of Naples is located 6 kilometres to the north west of San Giorgio. The town is bordered by Barra to the north, San Giovanni a Teduccio to the north west, the Bay of Naples to the west, Ercolano and Portici to the south, and San Sebastiano al Vesuvio to the east. Nearby to the south is Ercolano, which is home to the famous archaeological site of Herculaneum, Pompeii's neighbouring Roman town, that was also destroyed by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79CE.

San Giorgio a Cremano, as with the rest of Naples is located at 40°N facing the Bay of Naples on the west side of the Italian peninsula. This location gives the region a typical Mediterranean climate with mild, wet winters caused by the outer edges of polar fronts, and warm to hot, dry summers, due to the domination of the subtropical high pressure systems, according to the Köppen classification (Csa/Csb). The west coast tends to be slightly wetter than the east coast, with the southern 'Sirocco' wind bringing higher humidity and precipitation. The proximity of the Bay of Naples sometimes moderates high summer temperatures with off shore breezes, although temperatures in excess of 30°C are common in summer months, and July tends on average, to be the hottest month of the year. The warm temperatures and moderate to low precipitation led to the area's popularity as a tourist resort during the Renaissance and in early modern times. Whilst Mount Vesuvius is susceptible to snow covers in winter that cause the temperature in the commune to drop into the low single digit figures, winters do tend to be quite mild, with sunny days commonly experienced.

The name "San Giorgio a Cremano" (literally "Saint George of the Cremated"), is a reference to the reverence with which the residents of the area in the 10th century held for the Vesuvius. The superstitious and devoutly religious locals saw an analogy between the eruptions of Vesuvius, and a dragon breathing fire, and quickly adopted Saint George as their patron saint, due to the legend of Saint George and the Dragon in which he slays the Dragon. The residents believed by adopting Saint George as their patron saint he would protect them from the 'dragon' or the eruptions of Vesuvius. The term "Cremano" is an ancient name for a strip of land between Portici and San Giorgio (the site is referred to as the Cupa di Cremano and Pozzo di Cremano). It derives directly from the Latin word crematum which refers to the earth having been cremated by the lava flows of Vesuvius. Others believe though, that the name actually refers to Cambrano, a shortening of Cambarus who was a Roman landowner of the area in ancient times. It is believed there was also a monastery, however no trace remains if this was the case. Very soon a cemetery was also consecrated next to the church, and it is from around this time that records indicate the name San Giorgio a Capitiniano was first used to refer to the area. The statue of a saint was carried in procession for many reasons, such as to fertilise the ground for crops and harvests, to protect from natural disasters such as the risks of drought, floods and further eruptions, and to defend the commune from fatal dangers such as enemies, wars, and plagues. The original route of the procession is not known, but is believed to have begun near the Capitiniano, with the trip not clearly defined, and amended according to the demands and needs of devotees participating. Over the course of the next few hundred years, houses were increasingly being built down the gentle slope of the hill towards the seaside Cambrano, and the growing town was often being referred to as San Giorgio a Cambrano by the 14th century, which is confirmed in references from 1334, during the reign of Charles of Anjou. In this time, a better road, connecting San Giorgio with Naples in the northwest was completed. By the late 14th century San Giorgio had grown into a town, and had two main residential zones, above and below the church. These were referred to as di sopra (above), and di bascio (below). At the same time, San Giorgio grew large enough to absorb the nearby town of San Aniello a Cambrano, and the centre of the new larger town remained the hilltop church venerated to Saint George. By the 15th century, this church had once again been renovated, this time in high Gothic architecture, and incorporated three new naves. Despite the improvements to the hilltop church, in 1570 the religious centre of San Giorgio was moved further downhill with the opening of the newly built church of Santa Maria del Principio, around which a prosperous new town centre soon grew. Following the opening of the new church, the procession route was altered to begin at Santa Maria del Principio and run a more regular course through the streets to the hills and back down to the lower end of the commune, giving greater access to the residents to the processional route. The Habsburg Spanish King Ferdinand II of Aragon gained control of the Kingdom of Naples in 1559 under the terms of the Treaty of Cateau Cambrésis, and Spanish migrants began to arrive in the south of Italy. During his rule in the late 16th century, the Camorra first made their presence felt in the Campania region. Originally members primarily consisted of strong family clans that were closely related to Spanish Garduna criminals. Under the Bourbon rulers that the Camorra truly started to flourish throughout Campania. By the 19th century the Bourbon monarchy were using Camorra clans as police, as soldiers in the army, and as members of the civil service throughout Naples, including in San Giorgio a Cremano. Despite efforts by some revolutionary thinkers, there was not much support for the French Revolution amongst the residents of San Giorgio a Cremano, as even the poorest families, such as the Lazzaroni lived comparatively comfortable lives by the standards of the time. The Bourbon monarchy was popular, and received little opposition. Despite this, the fall of the French monarchy, the successes of the revolution in other parts of Europe, and the absence of King Ferdinand led to the creation of the Parthenopaean Republic in 1799, which incorporated San Giorgio a Cremano. After the fall of Napoleon, King Ferdinand IV of Naples resumed control of the Province of Naples and soon after the Congress of Vienna allowed him to re unify the Kingdom with that of the Kingdom of Sicily, and he became King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies. Although popular with artisans and merchants, most of the population of San Giorgio a Cremano were wealthier aristocrats, and welcomed the return of the King rather than siding with the Carbonari. In 1848 the revolutionary fervour within the kingdom became widespread, and soon the Sicilian revolution of independence of 1848 broke out, although this affected the residents of San Giorgio very little. Although unaffected by the revolutions of 1848, the area suffered badly from the Italian unification twelve years later. The creation of the Kingdom of Italy saw many of the area's wealthier residents moving north to be closer to the seat of national power, and although San Giorgio a Cremano remained a resort destination, the commune went into a long period of economic decline. With the northern Liberals in power, the north was increasingly developed in areas of industry and agriculture, with the south (Mezzogiorno) increasingly excluded from development and investment. Many of the fine houses and resorts of the region, some occupied for centuries, soon went without maintenance and fell into terminal decline. The later part of the 19th century saw San Giorgio a Cremano revert to a subsistence agriculture economy, with much of the commune's needs being supplied locally. Although many of the villas were abandoned, or even if still occupied, went un maintained, many of them did remain well looked after, and as a result survive to this day. Although on a much smaller scale than in the 18th century, the natural environment and climate of San Giorgio a Cremano were such that tourism persisted to a lesser degree, and some of the resorts survived. According to the Commerce Office of the Municipality of San Giorgio a Cremano, in 1970 there still existed 58 weavers within the commune but at the present time are all definitely closed. After having suffered for some months, San Giorgio a Cremano was one of the first communes of the Province of Naples to engage population in an extensive campaign of garbage differentiation. Traditional indifferentiate garbage collecting boxes were removed from the streets, and it was started up a new system, according to which different materials are collected door to door in different days. The new approach was so efficacious that San Giorgio was awarded a €480,000 prize by the Campania Region for being a benchmark for the whole area, with a differentiated garbage collection quota reaching a value of 65% in 2012, thus topping the ranking of the Province of Naples. In July 2008, San Giorgio a Cremano was selected by Poste Italiane to be one of several communes around Italy to participate in an experimental pilot scheme in which citizens are able to apply for official certificates and documents using a 'digital stamp' system.