National Museum and Gallery of Capodimonte (Museo e Gallerie Nazionali di Capodimonte) Naples' main museum is an art gallery. Capodimonte is a high hill located away from the historical center of the city. Charles III de Bourbon, king of Naples and Sicily, loved to hunt in these places. He ordered the construction of a royal summer residence on the top of the hill, in the park. The design of the palace was drawn up by Giovanni Antonio Madrano, and the landscaping of the park was entrusted to Ferdinando Sanfelice. The museum is the largest and most important repository of Neapolitan painting and decorative arts in all of Italy. There are more than a hundred halls here. There is a park of 120 hectares around the museum. The Capodimonte hill offers views of Naples.
Construction of the palace was completed in 1757. The king inherited valuable works of art from his mother, Elisabetta Farnese, which was started by Cardinal Alessandro Farnese (later to become Pope PaulIII). The collection was significantly expanded by his grandson (his name was also Alessandro Farnese and he was also a cardinal).
In 1738, Charles III de Bourbon married Princess Maria Amalia of Saxony, granddaughter of Augustus the Strong. During the reign of Augustus the Strong, the secret of porcelain was revealed and a famous porcelain manufactory was opened in the city of Meissen. In Naples, next to the Capodimonte Palace, a royal porcelain factory was also built. It was there that parts were made for the Royal Porcelain and Chinese Salon, one of the most amazing halls of the Capodimonte Palace. Its ceiling is covered with colored porcelain and painted with stucco. It is made in Chinese style.
The ground floor also houses the famous royal apartments, paintings, exquisite furniture, and precious household items. All this clearly shows the historical stages and development of expressive arts, starting with the Bourbons in Naples and Capodimonte, continuing with the Napoleonic luxury of Joachim Murat and Caroline Bonaparte and ending with the period of the Savoyard kings.
On the second floor are collections of the Neapolitan Gallery, tapestries created by local and visiting artists, and canvases. On the first two floors you will see works by Raphael, Michelangelo, Titian, Caravaggio, Masaccio, Botticelli, Correggio, Goya, El Greco, G. Bellini and others.
Contemporary art is presented in several rooms on the third floor. For example, the famous painting by Andy Warhol “Vesuvius”.
The museum also displays a large collection of firearms and other weapons, bronze and ivory objects, antique furniture, a collection of porcelain and majolica from various royal residences.
Under the palace, at the foot of the Capodimonte hill, are the catacombs of San Gennaro, where the body of Saint Januarius rests.
Capodimonte address: Via Miano, 2.
You can get there by bus №168, 178 - stop Porta Piccola, №C63 - stop Porta Grande, №604 - stop Viale Colli Aminei.
Open every day except Wednesday, 08:30-19:30; second floor - 09:30-17:00.
Ticket price: 14 euros, for youth 18-25 years old - 8 euros, under 18 years old - free. Admission is free on the first Sunday of every month.
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