Lazzaroni (Naples)

In the Age of Revolution, the Lazzaroni (or Lazzari) of Naples were the poorest of the lower class (Italian lazzaroni or lazzari, singular: lazzarone) in the city and Kingdom of Naples (in present-day Italy). Described as "street people under a chief", they were often depicted as "beggars"—which some actually were, while others subsisted partly by service as messengers, porters, etc. No precise census of them was ever conducted, but contemporaries estimated their total number at around 50,000, and they had a significant role in the social and political life of the city (and of the kingdom of which Naples was the capital). They were prone to act collectively as crowds and mobs and follow the lead of demagogues, often proving formidable in periods of civil unrest and revolution.