- Museo di Capodimonte
The Palace and Museum of Capodimonte in it|Museo di Capodimonte is a grand Bourbon
palazzo inNaples ,Italy , formerly the summer residence of the kings of theTwo Sicilies . It houses the mainmuseum andart gallery of the city.It was built at the command of Charles VII, king of Naples and
Sicily (later Charles III, king ofSpain ) and started in1738 after a design byGiovanni Antonio Medrano , who was also the architect of Naples' beautiful opera house, theTeatro San Carlo . King Charles built it expressly to house the fabulousFarnese art collection which he had inherited from his mother,Elisabetta Farnese , last descendant of the sovereign ducal family ofParma .It is the prime repository of Neapolitan and general Italian cultural heritage in the city. The first and second floors house the Galleria Nazionale (National Gallery), with paintings from the 13th to the 18th centuries including major works by
Simone Martini ,Raphael ,Titian ,Caravaggio ,El Greco and many others. The museum is by far the best place to see paintings of the Neapolitan School, often under-appreciated by the wider world, with large holdings ofJusepe de Ribera ,Luca Giordano , the NeapolitanCaravaggisti and many others (seelist of works in the Galleria Nazionale di Capodimonte ). Much of the ground floor is taken up by the magnificent Farnese collection of classical, mostly Roman, monumental sculpture, which survives here largely intact.Elsewhere in the palace the royal apartments are furnished with antique 18th century furniture and a collection of
porcelain andmajolica from the various royal residences. The famous Capodimonte Porcelain Factory was just adjacent to the palace; it was started in 1743 by the Bourbon King Charles. The palace is situated in the "Bosco di Capodimonte" ('Hilltop Wood'), which served as a royal hunting preserve. There is still a pleasant park around the palace.External links
* [http://capodimonte.spmn.remuna.org/ Museo di Capodimonte official website] it icon
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