Il Royal Palace of Naples was founded as the Palace of the King of Spain Philip III of Habsburg in the year 1600, at the initiative of the viceroy Fernando Ruiz de Castro Count of Lemos and the vicereine Caterina Zunica e Sandoval.
Its urban location next to the Old Viceroyal Palace, later demolished, and in the gardens of Castel Nuovo continues the traditional position of the royal residence in Naples at the southern edge of the ancient city, with the facade facing west, where the large square of the Largo di Palazzo opens.
The architect Domenico Fontana designed a late Renaissance style civil residence with columns and classical ornaments on the facade, a square central courtyard with a ground floor portico and on the first floor an internal loggia on all four sides.
The Royal Apartment includes the Chapel and the Viceroys’ Hall on the east side, the Royal Hall and the Audience Rooms on the square side, and the private apartments facing the sea side. It was decorated by Battistello Caracciolo and Belisario Corenzio with Stories of the House of Spain titled with inscriptions in Spanish. Subsequent Viceroys completed and expanded the building with the belvedere of the Hanging Garden and the honor staircase.
When Naples became the capital of an autonomous kingdom with Charles of Bourbon in 1734, the Palace was expanded on the sea side, with the Apartment of the Major Steward, then toward Mount Vesuvius with the Apartment for the Royal Princes. Hence two other courtyards formed in addition to the honor courtyard. The interiors were set up in late Baroque style with precious marbles and celebratory frescoes, among which works by Francesco De Mura and Domenico Antonio Vaccaro.
The last transformations took place during the time of Ferdinand II of Bourbon, between 1838 and 1858: after a fire broke out in the rooms of the Queen Mother, architect Gaetano Genovese was commissioned for a general restoration in the neoclassical style.
Seat of the Princes of Piedmont after the Unification of Italy, it was transferred to the State Treasury by Victor Emmanuel III of Savoy in 1919 and largely intended as the National Library, while the older wing on the honor courtyard, rich in historical and artistic testimonies from the 17th to 19th centuries, is preserved as a museum.
Information about the Royal Palace of Naples
Piazza del Plebiscito, 1 80132 Naples – Telephone: 081.58083289/5808325
Entrance Tickets Royal Palace of Naples
- full admission € 6.00
- reduced admission € 3.00
only possible with ticket collection at the box office - free admission
only possible with ticket collection at the box office - reservation fee € 2.00
OTHER DISCOUNTS
- citizens aged between 18 and 24 years old of the European community according to law 28.09.1999 no. 275, and subsequent additions through ministerial letters. List below: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Hungary, Swiss Confederation (Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein, Iceland).
- teachers of the European community with permanent contracts in state schools
FREE
- citizens under 18 years old of the European community and non-EU citizens
- Italian teaching staff with permanent or fixed-term contract upon presentation of suitable certification issued by the educational institutions
- free admission on the first Sunday of every month.
- tourist guides of the European Union in the exercise of their professional activity;
- tourist interpreters of the European Union in the exercise of their professional activity;
- employees of the Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities;
- members of ICOM (International Council of Museums);
- members of ICCROM (International Organization for Conservation of Cultural Heritage);
- groups or parties of students from public and private schools of the European Union by reservation, accompanied by one teacher every 10 students;
- teachers and students of faculties of architecture, cultural heritage conservation, education sciences and degree courses in literature or literary subjects with archaeological or art-historical orientation of universities and academies of fine arts and enrolled in the respective schools of excellence, specialization and doctoral research in the aforementioned disciplines of all European Union member countries. Tickets are issued to students upon presentation of enrollment certificate for the current academic year;
- SOCRATES and ERASMUS students of the aforementioned disciplines;
- art history teachers of high schools;
- students of the schools of: Central Institute for Restoration, Workshop of Semi-Precious Stones, School for Mosaic Restoration; employees of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage;
- journalists registered with the national register and journalists from any other country, in the performance of their duties and upon presentation of a suitable document proving their professional activity;
- people with disabilities and a family member or companion belonging to social-health assistance services;
- operators of volunteer associations that carry out, based on current agreements with the ministry, pursuant to art. 112, paragraph 8, of the code, activities of promotion and dissemination of knowledge of cultural heritage.
How to reach the Royal Palace of Naples
- Bus: ANM R1 stop Via San Carlo
- Bus: ANM R3 stop Via San Carlo
- Bus: ANM C4 stop Piazza Trieste e Trento
Opening Hours of the Royal Palace of Naples
From 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. The ticket office closes one hour earlier. Closed on December 25 and January 1.
