Palazzo Ricca, Naples, Historic palace in Naples, Italy

Palazzo Ricca stands on Via dei Tribunali 213 in central Naples and displays an ornate Baroque facade with interlacing staircases in its courtyard. The building has been adapted to serve as an archive and now holds extensive historical collections related to banking and finance.

Gaspare Ricca built the palace in the 16th century, perhaps over a smaller medieval structure. In 1616 the Monte e Banco dei Poveri, an institution founded in 1563, bought it for nearly 10,000 ducats and made it its seat. In 1819 Ferdinand I of Bourbon ordered the historical archives of the eight public banks placed here; these were later merged into the Banco di Napoli.

The palace houses the Historical Archive of Banco di Napoli Foundation, documenting the financial story of Southern Italy through its collections. Visitors can observe rooms filled with historical records that show how money and banking shaped the region's economy over time.

The building functions as a research center and visits typically require advance notice, as it is not a public museum open to general visitors. Those interested in viewing the space should contact the archive directly to arrange a suitable time.

The palace still holds the Banco di Napoli historical archive, which the sources describe as the largest in the world: more than three hundred rooms and about eighty kilometres of shelving. Ferdinando I of Bourbon ordered the archives of the eight public banks moved here in 1819.