Royal Palace

Stretching out in front of you is the Royal Palace, the seat of power in Naples for more than two and a half centuries. The architect Domenico Fontana began it in 1600 for the viceroy, the Count of Lemos, to host Philip III of Spain on a planned visit to the city. The king never came, but the palace stayed.

1Viceroys and Bourbons

Throughout the 17th century the Spanish viceroys lived here, governing the kingdom on behalf of Madrid. In 1734 Charles of Bourbon, the future Charles III of Spain, conquered Naples and made it once again the capital of an independent kingdom. It was he who had the Teatro San Carlo built next to the palace, opened in 1737. In 1753 Luigi Vanvitelli walled up every other arch of the facade's arcade to strengthen the building: that is why you see niches where there were once openings.

2The eight kings

In 1888 King Umberto I of Savoy had eight statues placed in those niches, representing rulers of the dynasties that had reigned in Naples.

From left to right: Roger the Norman, Frederick II, Charles I of Anjou, Alfonso V of Aragon, Charles V, Charles III of Bourbon, Joachim Murat and Victor Emmanuel II.

It is a history lesson in stone, and a message too: the last statue, Victor Emmanuel II, presents the House of Savoy as the heir to all the others after the unification of Italy.

3What to look for

• The eight statues: find Charles V in his armour.
• The arches walled up by Vanvitelli.
• The Teatro San Carlo, joined to the palace on its north side.