Royal Palace of Naples

At a glance

Royal Palace of Naples facts that matter

Names, makers, dates, and context before the story opens up.

Italian name	Palazzo Reale di Napoli
What it is	Palace
Where	Naples, Campania
Known for	Fontana’s façade, the Scalone d’Onore, the Appartamento di Etichetta and Teatro di Corte.
Period	Late Renaissance; Baroque and Neoclassical alterations, 1600
Maker	Domenico Fontana; Francesco Antonio Picchiatti; Gaetano Genovese

The story

What you're looking at

Founded in 1600 for Philip III of Habsburg and designed by Domenico Fontana, the Royal Palace was enlarged under the Bourbons and restored in the nineteenth century. Its historic rooms are now presented through the Appartamento di Etichetta museum.

A Habsburg viceregal foundation later expanded as a Bourbon royal residence; a state cultural institution since 1919.

Verified details

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The Royal Palace of Naples was founded in 1600 for Philip III of Habsburg, at the initiative of Viceroy Fernando Ruiz de Castro, Count of Lemos, and Vicereine Catarina Zuñiga y Sandoval. Domenico Fontana designed the residence in late-Renaissance forms.¹

When Charles III of Bourbon made Naples the capital of an independent kingdom in 1734, the palace was expanded. After a fire, Gaetano Genovese directed a general neoclassical restoration between 1838 and 1858.¹

In 1919 the palace passed to state ownership. Much of it became the National Library, while the oldest wing became the museum of the Appartamento di Etichetta.¹

The Royal Palace is within the UNESCO World Heritage property Historic Centre of Naples, inscribed in 1995 under criteria (ii) and (iv). It is not separately inscribed.²

Sources and citations (2)