Reggia Di Capodimonte

I've been trying to understand where to begin explaining the beautiful palace of Capodimonte.

 You see, Italy as it is known today, used to be different countries with various cultures, histories and languages.

As you can see, or try to see, the north of Italy belonged on one side to Austria and on the other side it belonged to France. Oi oi! Central Italy belonged mostly to the Papal Empire (The Roman Catholic Church) and the south belonged to the people of Naples. Naples has always belonged to it's people more than to its rulers.

 One of these countries was the south of Italy which was they Kingdom of Naples and the Two Sicilies. As you can see it was half of what we know as Italy today. You can physically see a difference in Italy as you cross from old Papal territory to the old Kingdom of Naples. There are less monasteries, less castles and more palaces.

Reggia di Capodimonte: Palace on top of the hill

The palaces came from a very complicated royal lineage (which I'm just beginning to learn of) called the Bourbonic Kingdom. Many people in Naples still feel that the Bourbonic Royal family is are the true leaders of Naples.

Someone carrying the Bourbonic Royal flag in Naples

The House of Bourbon was ruled by Spain and one day the king of Spain was thinking thoughtfully of his many royal palaces and decided, "This is not enough! I must take over the Kingdom of Naples and build lavish palaces along the beautiful Gulf of Napoli!"

So down came the Spaniards floating in their giant majestic boats, settled into Naples and decided that the pizza and panzerotti were so delicious and the water so crystal sea-green-blue that they absolutely couldn't possibly return to Spain. The people of Naples had been "colonized" by so many different kingdoms that this new Spanish invasion didn't change much.

In 1734 King Charles III of Spain and Duke of Parma (sidenote: how can one be King and Duke simultaneously?) conquered the Kingdom of Naples, or reconquered it (I'm still trying to understand this timeline) and then King Charles III decided that it was high time he impress his visitors with splendid palaces. He searched high. He searched low. He decided he would build one beautiful palace on the top of a hill right between Pozzuoli and the Vesuvius volcano. Just close enough to see the sea but far enough from the loud crowds. Close enough to enjoy mineral baths heated by the volcano but far enough from its path of destruction if it erupted. King Charles III was Aquarius, and being such he was naturally gifted at wanting to be liked for his brilliance and love for all things technologically modern. Out set the most advanced architects building his hunting lodge with just the right angle towards the sun, just the right amount of light entering his 12 libraries filled with books and the best movers then carefully packed his incredibly old and beautiful art collection and shipped it down as the royal hunting lodge (palace) came into being.

We visited the Reggia di Capodimonte and as soon as I entered the gate and saw this splendid palace with the view of the Mediterranean Sea and of the City of Naples I knew then and there that I had been a Bourbonic Queen in a previous life. At least a Bourbonic horse if not queen. But yes, I had lived a life of splendor.

The King and Queen's seats to be carried by people around town.

The exhibition we saw was mostly the royal apartment, my favorite part was seeing that the King and I have similar bedside tables. I loved walking in each of the ballrooms and marveling at the walls, the painted ceilings depicting epic battles and mythic stories. The life as a Bourbonic Royal was fantastic: sea air, sea food, palaces, lush grand gardens, pizza, mineral baths, the best weather in most of the world and your walls painted Neapolitan pink! I could definitely see myself living here.

All of my people would have to have curly hair to start with.

Hired!

 My gallery of art would be vast:

The hallways would lead to very mysterious and romantic looking rooms.

The royal bathroom would have a great view.

 And then there would be my many ballrooms.

One for cat play time. This would be excellent for Fatty and Bentley to slide along the floor chasing the red electric toy.

A blue room for rainy days.

 Yes, as a a Leo we would have to have these too:

For informal occasions.

I would have the best china makers from the area make my Royal Bourbonic plates

All couches would be pink.

 And in my guest quarters I would have the following paintings of vices so they wouldn't get any funny ideas.

Envy eating her heart.

Presumption

Gluttony. Don't eat too much pie!

Sloth getting his things stolen.

Lust ignoring what is important around him.

Not a vice but a Saint. 

 Some of my other favorite paintings would be life sized ones of the market so I could see the market without smelling it nor hearing the loud noises which would cause my Royal head a Royal Migraine.

 And the ceilings of every room would be delicately painted with frescos.

The piano room

Every window would be deep with heavy drapes making it a perfect kissing spot. 

 And just on a whim, I would have one room entirely made out of ceramics. Hand painted, delicate ceramics. (Charles III did this!)

Even the roof would be ceramic

 I would have one Caravaggio painting and have the rest hidden in my bedroom.

In conclusion, my visit to Capodimonte peaked my interest in the history and contribution of the Bourbonic kingdom to Naples. You can really feel that Naples was a different country and most of it is due to the grandness of its most recent kings of Naples who grew the Neapolitan culture, art and music. I look forward to continuing to share my Bourbonic experience.