The roof of Palazzo Reale reveals the privé Here the sea view getaways of kings and queens

Stsuspended between sky and sea, with a window from which you can touch Capri, the sovereign’s priv an unprecedented place and truly never seen. It can be reached by a narrow staircase, beyond the fourth floor, because Royal Palace of Naples, when you think you’ve seen it all, a new wonder opens up. the little tower of the Belvedere, an environment to which only his majesty had access and which, precisely because of its remote location, has always remained inaccessible. Yesterday the opening of the construction site – the eighth at the same time between the gardens and the Palace – for the total restoration expected in a short time: In six months the Belvedere will be open for visits for the first time ever – says the director Mario Epifani — since not even the court was admitted to it. The turret will be included in the tour of the historic apartment. the sea view icing on the palace cake.

A little gem

A small jewel – continues Epifani – which absolutely had to be returned to the Palazzo and its visitors and from which it can be admired a panorama of incomparable beauty and the design of the marbles and fountains of the Hanging Garden. From next summer, access will be possible directly from the museum but also in an exclusive itinerary through the attics to allow visitors to discover the king’s hidden places. The route is part of the hidden itineraries, such as those that we already offer for the kitchens, the restoration laboratory, the deposits and the garden itself. Thus the identity of the inhabited and lived-in Palace in all its functions slowly returns. We are also verifying the possibility of reopening the so-called Scala dei foreigneri. Not only the symbolic place of power, therefore, the dominant image so far, but also a labyrinth of private rooms for kings and queens. Some sources – explained the architect Almerinda Padricelli, director of the works – tell of the escapes of Queen Maria Jos who retired to this turret to paint. The bibliographic research on this place has just begun. It was certainly added during the works commissioned by Ferdinand II of Bourbon after 1837 to the architect Gaetano Genovese, who over the course of twenty years restructured the entire building after a fire. And the sky for the king was getting closer and closer because from here there is the possibility of still climbing. A spiral staircase, in fact, leads to the roof terrace, a belvedere on the Belvedere.