Royal Palace (Naples)

Royal Palace of Naples
Palazzo Reale di Napoli
Royal Palace façade
General information
Type	Palace
Architectural style	Italian Baroque, Neo-Classical
Location	Naples, Italy
Address	Piazza del Plebiscito 1, 80132 Naples NA, Italy
Website
Royal Palace of Naples - Official website (Italian)
Invalid designation
Official name	Royal Palace of Naples
Type	Non-movable
Criteria	Monument
State Party	Italy

Royal Palace of Naples

Established	1919 (1919)
Location	Piazza del Plebiscito, Naples, Italy

The Royal Palace of Naples (Italian: Palazzo Reale di Napoli) is a palace, museum, and historical tourist destination located in central Naples, southern Italy.

It was one of the four residences near Naples used by the Bourbon Kings during their rule of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (1734-1860): the others were the palaces of Caserta, Capodimonte overlooking Naples, and the third Portici, on the slopes of Vesuvius.

The palace is on the site of an earlier residence, which had housed the former viceroy Don Pedro de Toledo, Marquis of Villafranca. Construction on the present building was begun in the 17th century by the architect Domenico Fontana. Intended to house the King Philip III of Spain on a visit never fulfilled to this part of his kingdom, instead it initially housed the Viceroy Fernando Ruiz de Castro, count of Lemos. By 1616, the facade had been completed, and by 1620, the interior was frescoed by Battistello Caracciolo, Giovanni Balducci and Belisario Corenzio. The decoration of the Royal Chapel of Assumption was not completed until 1644 by Antonio Picchiatti.

In 1734, with the arrival of Charles III of Spain to Naples, the palace became the royal residence of the Bourbons. On the occasion of his marriage to Maria Amalia of Saxony in 1738, Francesco De Mura and Domenico Antonio Vaccaro helped remodel the interior. It was Charles who build the other three palaces located more peripheral to the city center. Further modernization took place under Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies. In 1768, on the occasion of his marriage to Maria Carolina of Austria, under the direction of Ferdinando Fuga, the great hall was rebuilt and the court theater added. During the second half of the 18th century, a "new wing" was added, which in 1927 became the Vittorio Emanuele III National Library. By the 18th century, the royal residence was moved to Reggia of Caserta, as that inland town was more defensible from naval assault, as well as more distant from the often-rebellious populace of Naples.