The Royal Palace of Capodimonte ( it, Reggia di Capodimonte) is a large
palazzo in
Naples, Italy. It was formerly the summer residence and
hunting lodge of the
Bourbon kings of the
Two Sicilies, one of the two royal palaces in Naples. Today, it comprises the
National Museum of Capodimonte 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 (later
Charles III, king of
Spain) 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, 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'' ...
, last descendant of the sovereign ducal family of
Parma.
He commissioned
Angelo Carasale,
Giovanni Antonio Medrano and
Antonio Canevari
Antonio Canevari (Rome, 1681– Naples, 1764) was an Italian architect of the Rococo and Neoclassical periods.
He trained with a poorly known architect by the name of Antonio Caleri, and began early work in Rome. Moved to Lisbon in 1725, and then ...
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. In 1758, the first part of the palace was opened and the art collection was brought in. In 1759,
Ferdinand I Ferdinand I or Fernando I may refer to:
People
* Ferdinand I of León, ''the Great'' (ca. 1000–1065, king from 1037)
* Ferdinand I of Portugal and the Algarve, ''the Handsome'' (1345–1383, king from 1367)
* Ferdinand I of Aragon and Sicily, '' ...
succeeded his father Charles and the following year he appointed the architect
Ferdinando Fuga to oversee work on the palace and the grounds. In 1787, on the advice of
Jacob Philipp Hackert, a laboratory for the restoration of paintings was created.
When the
Parthenopaean Republic was declared in 1799, Ferdinand fled to Palermo on board
Nelson'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 and then of
Joachim Murat. 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 wor ...
. 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 as consultant for new acquisitions. They also added an extensive collection of historic firearms and other weapons. In 1866, the ''
boudoir'' of
Maria Amalia of Saxony was transferred to Capodimonte from the
Palace of Portici, 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 and
majolica 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.
See also
*
List of Baroque residences
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