The foundation of the Royal Palace of Naples dates back to the early 1600s, when the viceroy Fernando Ruiz de Castro, Count of Lemos, decided to build a residence suitable for the needs of a modern court, without the characteristics of a fortified residence that still exists. they could grasp in the adjacent Palazzo Vecchio, built in the mid-16th century.
The site identified for the construction of the Royal Palace of Naples , at the western end of the city, insisted precisely on the area of the large gardens of the old viceregal palace, on a raised esplanade above the port and close to the Pizzofalcone hill, a place of foundation of the ancient Greek colony called Parthenope. In charge of the construction of the building was Domenico Fontana , one of the most famous architects of the time, who inspired his project in late Renaissance canons, already tested in Rome for Pope Sixtus V.
The façade, characterized by the use of brick skilfully combined with piperno, is divided into three architectural orders: Tuscan, Ionic and Corinthian. The lower order, originally porticoed, was the subject of a consolidation intervention in the eighteenth century by Luigi Vanvitelli , who alternately walled the arches creating niches within which the Savoy in 1888 placed eight statues representing the most illustrious sovereigns of the various dynasties ascended to the throne of Naples, from Roger II of Sicily to Vittorio Emanuele II.
The construction of the Royal Palace of Naples lasted for centuries and was completed only in 1858 by Gaetano Genovese.
Since 1919 the Royal Apartment on the noble floor, which is accessed through the splendid Staircase of Honor , has been open to the public as a " Historic Apartment ": the itinerary includes the Court Theater, the Throne Room and the Palatine Chapel , with frescoes from the viceregal and Bourbon periods, precious furnishings, important paintings from the Farnese collection, a rich collection of tapestries, porcelain and clocks . On the south side extends the Hanging Garden , with a spectacular view of the Gulf of Naples and Vesuvius.
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