The Royal Palace of Capodimonte, its gardens and views over the Bay of Naples

The Capodimonte Royal Palace in Naples, Italy

The Capodimonte Royal Palace The Capodimonte Palace and Museum in Naples was built at the request of King Charles III of Bourbon to serve as the new royal residence, replacing the Royal Palace of Naples.

It is a rather imposing palace, with a façade nearly two hundred metres long by one hundred metres wide, the construction of which, begun in 1738, took nearly a century.

At the time, palaces surrounded by gardens were in vogue in Europe, something the Royal Palace of Naples lacked.

It should be added that Charles III was a hunter and that he hoped to use the woods around the palace to turn them into a hunting reserve.

The reception hall at the Capodimonte Royal Palace in Naples, Italy

Reception Hall at the Capodimonte Royal Palace The wooded area on the hill covered, at that time, nearly seven square kilometres and was therefore more than sufficient to satisfy the royal hunter.

But the other reason, just as important, was the legacy received in 1734 by the king’s mother, Elisabetta Farnese, ofthe fabulous Farnese collection comprising hundreds of sculptures and paintings, which was then located in Rome and Parma.

However, the royal palace in Naples was not large enough to house them and, moreover, having never been designed to accommodate a collection of works of art, it lacked a proper gallery in which to display these works.

The royal apartments at Capodimonte Palace in Naples, Italy

The Royal Apartments at Capodimonte Palace Part of the Farnese collection was therefore moved to Capodimonte as early as 1754, whilst the new palace was still under construction.

The first works were initially placed on the second floor, where they are still on display, as well as in the other rooms and floors of the palace.

It is therefore thanks to King Charles III that you can now visit this magnificent royal palace situated on the hill of Capodimonte to admire its collections as well as the beautiful royal apartments, including the superb palace reception hall.

The Gardens of the Royal Palace of Capodimonte

The fountain at the Capodimonte Royal Palace’s belvedere and the view over the Bay of Naples

Fountain at the Royal Palace’s viewing point The gardens of the Capodimonte Palace now cover 124 hectares.

This large green and wooded area was designed in 1742 by the architect Ferdinando Sanfelice.

From a wide elliptical esplanade, five main avenues lead off through the woods, criss-crossed by footpaths.

The whole was designed by Sanfelice with the intention of creating an interplay of perspectives, and the result is particularly beautiful.

The gardens of the Capodimonte Royal Palace’s belvedere and the view over the Bay of Naples

Gardens of the Belvedere Capodimonte Palace Later, the botanist Federico Dehenardt redesigned part of the green spaces around the palace to turn them into English-style gardens.

To this end, he had rare and exotic trees planted and took advantage of the palace’s location on this high hill to create superb panoramic views from the viewing points.

These viewing points offer absolutely magnificent views of Naples and its bay.

From one of them, where the fountain known as the Belvedere Fountain is also located, one can see the entire Sorrento Peninsula as well as the island of Capri.

Reception Hall at the Capodimonte Royal Palace

The Royal Apartments at Capodimonte Palace

The gardens of the belvedere at the Capodimonte Royal Palace in Naples

Gardens of the Belvedere Capodimonte Palace