Hotel
Olimpico
Litoranea
di Pontecagnano Salerno (Italy)
Tel: +39 089 203004 Fax: +39 089 203458
Amalfi Coast, Positano, Sorrento, Naples, Pompeii, Paestum, Capri, Ischia, Salerno, Ravello, Herculaneum, Mt. Vesuvius, Maiori, Minori, Vietri sul Mare, Furore
Royal Palace
This harmonious structure dominates Piazza del Plebiscito.
It was built to a design by the architect Domenico Fontana
and work was begun on the construction in 1600 to coincide with the
arrival in Naples of King Philip II.
The building work lasted for more than fifty years; during the final phase the
imposing staircase at the main entrance was completed.
The building, as it appears today to the tourist's admiring gaze, owes its
present form to a series of transformations, modifications and renovations
carried out over the centuries; these have left only the façade and the "cortile
d'onore" (courtyard of honour) unaltered in their original appearance.
the palace was renovated and extended in the first half of the 18th century,
and restored by Gaetano Genovese who bought about
some substantial neo-classical transformations to the building, following a fire
which had damaged it at the time of Ferdinand II (1837).
The last restoration work was carried out in 1994 when the palace hosted
the summit of the G7 (the seven most industrialized countries in the world).
The impressive façade above which stands a clock with a small ribbed campanile,
contains two mighty rows of windows, alternating with pilaster strips.
On the ground floor, the original portico was partly modified by Vanvitelli for reasons to do with the building's
stability.
There are three entrances on the ground floor.
On the outside, the niches built by Vanvitelli
contains statues of Naples' most important sovereigns: Roger the Norman, Frederick II, Charles of Anjou,, Alfonso
of Aragon, Charles V, Charles III of Bourbon, Joachim Murat and Vittorio
Emanuele II.
In the entrance-hall, near the beautiful 17th century grand staircase by Picchiatti, modified by
Genovese, is a bronze door transferred here from the Maschio Angioino; this artistically
magnificent work was carried out by Guglielmo Monaco
and Pietro di Martino.
Some of the palace wings now house various offices, while the National Library has been housed here since
1804, containing thousands of volumes and an important collection of papyri
from Herculaneum.
Of particular interest inside the palace is the Court
Theatre, a large hall on the first floor, built by Ferdinando Fuga in 1768. It was here that
the royal families gathered for plays, concerts and performances.
Other halls of importance include the Central Hall,
the Throne Room (containing the
Portrait of Pier Luigi Farnese
by Titian), and the
Hercules Hall, all of which, along with many others rooms of the
Royal Apartment, make up an authentic museum (The Royal
Palace Historic Apartment Museum).
The museum abounds in interesting period furniture, porcelain, tapestries,
gobelins and paintings from the 17th-18th centuries, mainly by local artists.
Note especially the works by Titian, Guercino, Andrea
Vaccaro, Mattia Preti (Prodigal Son), Spagnoletto, Massimo Stanzione and Luca Giordano.
The 17th century Chapel is also
worthy of note and clearly shows the interventions carried out by Genovese.