Neapolitan (autonym: ('o n)napulitano [(o n)napuliˈtɑːnə]; Italian: napoletano) is a Romance language of the Italo-Dalmatian group spoken across much of mainland Southern Italy (except for southern Calabria and southern Apulia), and spoken in a small part of Central Italy (the province of Ascoli Piceno in the Marche). It is named after the Kingdom of Naples that once covered most of the area, of which the city of Naples was the capital. On 14 October, 2008, a law by the Region of Campania stated that Neapolitan was to be protected.