Palazzo Reale

The original design by Domenico Fontana dates back to 1600; during the 18th century Luigi Vanvitelli solved problems of stability by blocking up alternate arches in the façade and reinforcing the load-bearing walls. The alcoves were subsequently filled, in 1888, with statues of the Kings of Naples, from Roger the Norman to Vittorio Emanuele II. Damaged by fire in 1837, the Palace was restored by Gaetano Genovese, who built the monumental staircase and redesigned the south-facing wing, with the Belvedere courtyard and hanging garden. The oldest rooms on the first floor, now the Museum of the Historical Apartments, conserve the furnishings of successive royal families: the Teatro di Corte, the splendid Hall of the Ambassadors, the Throne Room, the Hall of Hercules and the Palatine Chapel