The Royal Palace of Capodimonte ( it, Reggia di Capodimonte) is a large

palazzo A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, Italy. It was formerly the summer residence and hunting lodge of the

Bourbon Bourbon may refer to: Food and drink * Bourbon whiskey, an American whiskey made using a corn-based mash * Bourbon barrel aged beer, a type of beer aged in bourbon barrels * Bourbon biscuit, a chocolate sandwich biscuit * A beer produced by Bras ...

kings of the

Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies ( it, Regno delle Due Sicilie) was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1860. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by population and size in Italy before Italian unification, comprising Sicily and a ...

, one of the two royal palaces in Naples. Today, it comprises the

National Museum of Capodimonte Museo di Capodimonte is an art museum located in the Palace of Capodimonte, a grand Bourbon palazzo in Naples, Italy. The museum is the prime repository of Neapolitan painting and decorative art, with several important works from other Italia ...

and the Royal Forest ( it, Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte). The palace was constructed on its somewhat cooler hilltop location (''Capodimonte'' means "top of the hill") just outside the city, with urban Naples ultimately expanding around it.

History

In 1738, King Charles VII of

Naples and Sicily The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies ( it, Regno delle Due Sicilie) was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1860. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by population and size in Italy before Italian unification, comprising Sicily and all ...

(later

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

, king of

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

) decided to build a hunting lodge on the Capodimonte hill. He then decided that he would instead build a grand palace (a Royal Palace, as in Italian ''Reggia'' means Royal), partly because his existing residence, the

Palace of Portici The Royal Palace of Portici (''Reggia di Portici'' or ''Palazzo Reale di Portici''; nap, Reggia ‘e Puortece) is a former royal palace in Portici, Southeast of Naples along the coast, in the region of Campania, Italy. Today it is the home of t ...

, was too small to accommodate his court, and partly because he needed somewhere to house the fabulous Farnese art collection which he had inherited from his mother,

Elisabetta Farnese Elisabeth Farnese (Italian: ''Elisabetta Farnese'', Spanish: ''Isabel Farnesio''; 25 October 169211 July 1766) was Queen of Spain by marriage to King Philip V. She exerted great influence over Spain's foreign policy and was the ''de facto'' rule ...

, last descendant of the sovereign ducal family of

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...

. He commissioned

Angelo Carasale Angelo Carasale (died 1742) was an Italian architect, active mainly in Naples. He held the primary responsibility for designing the elaborate furnishings of the Teatro di San Carlo, which was the new opera house in Naples in 1737. Alexandre Dumas ...

Giovanni Antonio Medrano Giovanni Antonio Medrano (1703–1760) was a Sicilian born in Sciacca (rather than in Palermo) in 1703, and who had entered the service of Spain in 1719 as a Military Architect, although it is probable that he had already joined the army of t ...

and Antonio Canevari to build it. Work started in August 1738, but it was to take more than a century to complete, partly because of the difficulty of transporting ''piperno'', the volcanic rock used, from the quarries in

Pianura Pianura (Italian: "plain") is a western suburb of Naples, southern Italy. It is bounded on one side by the area of Soccavo 250px, Urban sprawl in Soccavo. Soccavo is a western quarter of Naples, with a population of about 45,000. Geography Soc ...

. In 1758, the first part of the palace was opened and the art collection was brought in. In 1759, Ferdinand I succeeded his father Charles and the following year he appointed the architect

Ferdinando Fuga Ferdinando Fuga (11 November 1699 – 7 February 1782) was an Italian architect who was born in Florence, and is known for his work in Rome and Naples. Much of his early work was in Rome, notably, the Palazzo della Consulta (1732–7) at the Qui ...

to oversee work on the palace and the grounds. In 1787, on the advice of

Jacob Philipp Hackert Jacob Philipp Hackert (15 September 1737 – 28 April 1807) was a landscape painter from Brandenburg, who did most of his work in Italy. Biography Hackert was born in 1737 in Prenzlau in the Margraviate of Brandenburg (now in Germany). He t ...

, a laboratory for the restoration of paintings was created. When the

Parthenopaean Republic The Parthenopean Republic ( it, Repubblica Partenopea, french: République Parthénopéenne) or Neapolitan Republic (''Repubblica Napoletana'') was a short-lived, semi-autonomous republic located within the Kingdom of Naples and supported by th ...

was declared in 1799, Ferdinand fled to Palermo on board

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

's ''Vanguard'', taking the most valuable items from the palace with him. What remained was looted by the French troops of General Championnet who were billeted there. During the 10 years of French occupation (1806-1815), the palace was the residence of

Joseph Bonaparte it, Giuseppe-Napoleone Buonaparte es, José Napoleón Bonaparte , house = Bonaparte , father = Carlo Buonaparte , mother = Letizia Ramolino , birth_date = 7 January 1768 , birth_place = Corte, Corsica, Republic of ...

and then of

Joachim Murat Joachim Murat ( , also , ; it, Gioacchino Murati; 25 March 1767 – 13 October 1815) was a French military commander and statesman who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars. Under the French Empire he received the ...

. The art collection was transferred to the

Naples National Archaeological Museum The National Archaeological Museum of Naples ( it, Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli, italic=no, sometimes abbreviated to MANN) is an important Italian archaeological museum, particularly for ancient Roman remains. Its collection includes wo ...

. When Ferdinand returned from Sicily in 1815, he employed many painters and sculptors to work on the decoration of the palace. Francesco I succeeded his father Ferdinand in 1825 and appointed the architect Antonio Niccolini to oversee work on the palace. Niccolini added monumental staircases, and new suites of rooms for the royal family, continuing work when Ferdinand II succeeded Francesco I in 1830. The palace was finally completed in 1840, and a gallery housing contemporary art was added. With

Italian Unification The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...

, the royal palace passed in 1861 to the

House of Savoy The House of Savoy ( it, Casa Savoia) was a royal dynasty that was established in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, the family grew in power from ruling a small Alpine county north-west of Italy to absolute rule of ...

who used it as a residence and also added to the art collections, appointing

Domenico Morelli Domenico Morelli (4 August 182313 August 1901) was an Italian painter, who mainly produced historical and religious works. Morelli was immensely influential in the arts of the second half of the 19th century, both as director of the Accademia di ...

as consultant for new acquisitions. They also added an extensive collection of historic firearms and other weapons. In 1866, the ''

boudoir A boudoir (; ) is a woman's private sitting room or salon in a furnished residence, usually between the dining room and the bedroom, but can also refer to a woman's private bedroom. The term derives from the French verb ''bouder'' (to sulk ...

'' of

Maria Amalia of Saxony es, María Amalia Cristina Francisca Javiera Flora Walburga , spouse = Charles III of Spain , issue = , issue-link = #Issue , house = Wettin , father = Augustus III of Poland , mother = Maria Josepha of ...

was transferred to Capodimonte from the

, and in 1877 a Roman era marble floor was brought in from a Roman villa on Capri. In the early 20th century, the palace became the residence of the

Dukes of Aosta Duke of Aosta ( it, Duca d'Aosta; french: Duc d'Aoste) was a title in the Italian nobility. It was established in the 13th century when Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, made the County of Aosta a duchy. The region was part of the Savoyard sta ...

. Then in 1920 it became the property of the Italian state. In 1950 it became a museum with many of the exhibits being returned from the National Museum.

Interior

The first and second floors house the National Gallery (''Galleria Nazionale''). Elsewhere in the palace the royal apartments are furnished with antique 18th century furniture and a collection of

porcelain Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises mainl ...

and

majolica In different periods of time and in different countries, the term ''majolica'' has been used for two distinct types of pottery. Firstly, from the mid-15th century onwards, was ''maiolica'', a type of pottery reaching Italy from Spain, Majorca a ...

from the various royal residences. The famous Capodimonte Porcelain Factory was just adjacent to the palace; it was started in 1743 by the Bourbon King Charles.

Gardens

The palace is situated in the ''Bosco di Capodimonte'' ('Hilltop Wood'), now a park, which served as a royal hunting preserve.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Museo Di Capodimonte Capodimonte Royal residences in the Kingdom of Naples Houses completed in 1742 Baroque palaces in Italy Italian Baroque gardens Neoclassical palaces Neoclassical architecture in Naples Baroque architecture in Naples 1742 establishments in Italy 1742 establishments in the Kingdom of Naples 18th century in Naples

History

Interior

Gardens

See also

References

External links