Palace of Capodimonte, Royal palace in Naples, Italy
The Palace of Capodimonte is a royal museum on a hilltop in Naples, Italy, spreading across three stories and combining gray marble with red plastered exterior walls. The building includes several wings around a central courtyard and shows both baroque and neoclassical forms in its facade design.
Charles of Bourbon began construction in 1738 to create a new royal center outside the narrow city walls. Twenty years later, the first rooms opened to select visitors, and in 1799 French troops left the building with parts of the collection.
The name Capodimonte means head of the mountain and describes its elevated position above the city. Visitors enter rooms where royal porcelain collections stand beside armories, experiencing the former connection between courtly craftsmanship and princely power.
The hilltop location requires a climb that can be done on foot or by bus and rewards visitors with views over the bay. The surrounding park remains open even on days when the museum rooms are closed and offers shade under old trees.
Part of the collection includes works originally intended for papal Rome but came to Naples when the Farnese line ended. The upper floors hold rooms that still preserve original 18th-century wallpaper and stucco work.
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