The Royal Palace of Naples is one of the four royal residences of the Bourbon of Naples used during their reign and it overlooks, in all its grandeur, the area of the Plebiscito Square and it is surrounded by other important buildings like the Church of San Francesco di Paola and the Prefecture building. During the ages, the palace became first the residence of the Spanish viceroys, then of the Austrian ones and later it was used as royal residence by Bourbon.
After the Unity of Italy it was chosen as Neapolitan residence by the kings of Savoia house. The Palace was built in the same place where 50 years before another residence, built by viceroy Pedro de Toledo, existed. In 1734, under the reign of Charles of Bourbon, the Palace become the royal dwelling of the Bourbon family and several great artists such as Francesco De Mura, Domenico Antonio Vaccaro, Ferdinando Fuga and many others were chosen to renovate it.
From 1806 to 1815 the Royal Palace was enriched by Gioacchino Murat and Carolina Bonaparte with decorations and neoclassical furnishings coming from the Palace of Tuileries.
Damaged by a fire in 1837, it was subsequently restored from 1838 to 1858 by Gaetano Genovese, who expanded and regularised the entire structure.
The niches on the façade contain the statues of the Kings of Naples: Ruggero the Norman, Frederick II of Svevia, Charles I of Anjou, Alfonso I of Aragon, Charles V of Habsburg, Charles III of Bourbon, Gioacchino Murat and Vittorio Emanuele II of Savoy. On the inside you can admire the courtyards and the monumental staircase which leads to the royal apartments where you can visit the richly decorated rooms by amazing painting masterpieces and the ancient furniture.
