Royal Palace of Naples

History

At the end of the Aragonese domination, the Kingdom of Naples entered into the expansionist objectives of the French and the Spanish: both powers divided the territory with the signing of the Treaty of Granada (1500). In any case, the treaty was not respected and under the command of the Great Captain Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba the Spanish conquered the kingdom in 1503, thus beginning the Spanish viceroyalty. Although this period, which lasted more than two hundred years, has been considered a dark and devolutionary period, but in fact the city enjoyed a notable cultural ferment and a dynamic bourgeoisie, as well as a cutting-edge merchant fleet, capable of competing with those of Seville and Flanders.

Under the command of Pedro Álvarez de Toledo y Zúñiga, the construction of a viceregal palace was decided, designed by the architects Ferdinando Manlio and Giovanni Benincasa. The construction of the palace began in 1543 and was completed shortly afterwards. The new palace was born at a time when the viceroys dedicated their efforts to the urban reorganization of Italian cities: in Naples, the walls and forts were remodeled and the so-called Quartieri Spagnoli were built.

When Fernando Ruiz de Castro, count of Lemos, arrived in the city as viceroy Together with his wife, Catalina de Zúñiga, he decided to build a new palace. The official argument to justify its construction was to honor Philip III of Spain by hosting him solemnly in view of an imminent visit by the monarch that, in the end, never took place. However, contemporary analysis indicates that the viceroy knew that Philip III had never intended to move his court to Naples and that the palace was actually built to satisfy the viceroy's own wishes. …

Exterior

The main façade of the Royal Palace faces the Piazza del Plebiscito and was completed in 1616. It is one hundred and sixty-nine metres long and until 1843 was adjacent to that of the Viceregal Palace, which was demolished to make way for the Piazza Trieste e Trento. The façade is made of fired reddish clay bricks, piperno and volcanic stone from the Phlegraean Fields. The late Renaissance and Mannerist imprint can be seen in the superposition of several orders, typical of theatrical buildings of ancient Rome, such as the Coliseum or the Theatre of Marcellus; while the Mannerist can be appreciated in the modular design of the façade that could be repeated ad infinitum since it has no element that marks its beginning or its end, in the same way that, in the upper part, it does not find a conclusion due to the lack of a cornice. However, originally the cornice was crowned by obelisks, vases and three bell gables positioned vertically at each entrance. All of this was removed at the beginning of the 19th century, leaving only the central bell gable with the clock.

The architectural articulation follows the treatises of Vitruvius: the pilasters are arranged vertically and the three orders (at ground level we find the Tuscan order, followed by the Ionic and, finally, the Corinthian) are arranged horizontally. On the other hand, the two-tone use of materials stands out to highlight the architectural elements (in grey stone) on the walls (in reddish brick), a technique that would be very successful in Naples. …

The Royal Apartments

The Royal Apartments (Italian: Appartamento Reale) are the part currently open to visitors and is located on the piano nobile of the western core of the palace. Throughout its history it has undergone several changes of use and name: from 1616 to 1734 it was used as the apartments of the Spanish and Austrian viceroys and their consorts; from 1734 to 1806 it was the public and private apartment of the king and queen of Naples; from 1806 to 1815 it served as the "honorary" and "ordinary" apartment of Joseph Bonaparte and Joachim Murat; It was later called the "Grand Apartment of His Majesty the King" and Ferdinand I and Ferdinand II were the last to inhabit it. After the 1837–1844 renovation by Gaetano Genovese, it was called the "Etiquette Apartment of the King and Queen" and was used only for receptions, as the sovereigns moved to the second floor of the eastern wing. In the travel guides of the beginning of the century it was simply called the "Gala Apartment", and could be visited from Thursday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. upon request for a permit.

When the palace ceased to be property of the Crown and passed to the State in 1919, the Royal Apartment became one of the institutes of antiquities and art (now called Italian national museums). Its present museum appearance is due to the restoration carried out between 1950 and 1954 to alleviate the damage suffered during the Second World War, when several ceilings were damaged by Allied bombing and the silk hangings of twenty rooms were removed when the apartment was transformed into a Welfare Club (social club) for the occupying English troops.

Originally, to access the king's rooms, silver and gold keys were used, guarded by the gentlemen of the chamber, some of which are in the Museo Civico Filangieri donated by Neapolitan nobles. …

The Royal Chapel

The current Palatine Chapel (room XXX) is an interpretive recreation made after the bombings of World War II. The original chapel, already included in Fontana's project, was started in 1643 by the Duke of Medina de las Torres and finished and consecrated to the Assumption by the Admiral of Castile in 1646. The work was directed by Francesco Antonio Picchiatti, while the marbles were made by Giulio and Andrea Lazzari, the frescoes of the apse by Giovanni Lanfranco, those of the dome by Charles Mellin, the paintings of San Gennaro and San Paolino de Nola on the sides of the presbytery by Onofrio de Lione and the large altar painting with the Immaculate Conception was the work of José de Ribera. Decades later, the viceroy Pedro Antonio de Aragón ordered Ribera's painting to be sent to Spain and in its place a large statue of the Immaculate Conception sculpted in marble by Cosimo Fanzago to be placed in 1639.

Further modifications took place during the viceregal period: around 1656 the Count of Castrillo commissioned sumptuous paintings and stuccos for the walls from Giovan Battista Magno; while in 1688, after the dome collapsed due to an earthquake, Niccolò De’ Rossi and Giacomo del Pò painted the sacred stories on the cornice (partially preserved), finished only in 1705. …