Palace sights in Naples
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A
Palazzo Donn’Anna
Few buildings fire up the local gossipmongers like Posillipo’s seaside Palazzo Donn’Anna. Incomplete, semiderelict yet strangely beautiful, it takes its name from Anna Carafa, for whom it was built as a wedding present from her husband, Ramiro Guzman, the Spanish viceroy of Naples. When Guzman hotfooted it back to Spain in 1644 he left his wife heartbroken in Naples. She died shortly afterwards and architectural whiz-kid Cosimo Fanzago gave up the project. The grand yet forlorn heap sits on the site of an older villa, La Sirena (The Mermaid), reputed setting for Queen Joan’s scandalous sex orgies and crimes of passion (rumour has it that fickle Joan dumped her lovers …
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B
Parco Archeologico di Baia
In Roman times, these 1st-century BC ruins were part of a sprawling palace and spa complex. Emperors would entertain themselves and their guests in a series of lavishly decorated thermal baths that descended to the sea. Among the surviving salubrious snippets are exquisite floor mosaics, a beautifully stuccoed balneum (bathroom), an outdoor theatre and the impressive Tempio di Mercurio, its domed swimming pool filled with giant goldfish. In the summer months, the outdoor theatre is sometimes used for opera performances by the Teatro San Carlo.
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C
Palazzo Spinelli di Laurino
Dodge past the porter patrolling the entrance to this Renaissance palazzo and you'll find an unusual oval-shaped courtyard. This, together with the imposing double staircase, was the work of architect Ferdinando Sanfelice, whose hallmark staircase design was a must-have for 18th-century Neapolitan nobility.
On the first floor, Parisian Natalie de Saint Phalle exhibits the cutting-edge work of her artists-in-residence in one week exhibitions commencing 23 March, 23 June and 23 September.
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D
Palazzo Cellamare
The most famous kid on the block is the 16th-century Palazzo Cellamare. Built as a summer residence for Giovan Francesco Carafa, close friend of the Spanish viceroy Don Pedro de Toledo, it later housed Bourbon monarchy guests, including Goethe and Casanova.
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E
Museo di Capodimonte
The Museo di Capodimonte is spread over three floors and 160 rooms. You’ll never see the whole place in one day, but a morning should be enough for an abridged best-of tour.
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