Palazzo Reale di Portici
Portici (NA)
KnownHistory & archaeology
The story
Commissioned by the Bourbons at the foot of Vesuvius, the palace looks out on the sea on one side and the volcano on the other, set in a park that runs down to the coast.
The story
The Royal Palace of Portici was the first great royal residence of the Bourbons in Campania: Charles of Bourbon willed it with his wife Maria Amalia of Saxony, and it was built between 1738 and 1742 by Medrano, Canevari and, among others, Vanvitelli. Here the Herculanense Museum was born, with the antiquities of Herculaneum and Pompeii later transferred to the Archaeological Museum of Naples.
What to see
The palace facing the sea, with the great park divided in two by a monumental axis, among fountains, statues and woods. Today it houses the Faculty of Agriculture of the Federico II and the Botanical Garden, with greenhouses and plant collections: a union of Bourbon history and nature.
How to get there
- Circumvesuviana
Tips
The palace has university uses, and the park and the Botanical Garden have their own visiting arrangements and hours: check on the official channels (Royal Palace of Portici / Botanical Garden) what is accessible and how. You are at Portici, by the sea, handy by the Circumvesuviana.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Royal Palace of Portici?
The royal palace that Charles of Bourbon had built from 1738 at Portici, the first great Bourbon residence in Campania; it housed the Herculanense Museum with the antiquities of Herculaneum and Pompeii.
What can you see at the Royal Palace of Portici?
The palace by the sea, the great park with fountains and woods, and the Botanical Garden of the University Federico II, which today has its seat there with the Faculty of Agriculture.
Can you visit the Royal Palace of Portici?
The complex has university uses; the park and Botanical Garden have their own hours and arrangements, to be checked on the official channels.
More gems in Portici
◆ MuseumsMuseo Ferroviario di Pietrarsa
Portici (NA)
In the old Bourbon workshop where Italy's first railway was born, historic locomotives rest by the sea, with the Vesuvius closing the horizon.
- Nature
Orto Botanico di Portici
Portici (NA)
In the park of the Royal Palace of Portici, the botanical garden of the Federico II University holds over a thousand species, with an extraordinary collection of cacti and succulents.
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