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Saturday, September 3, 2022
The Royal Palace of Naples was founded in 1600 by the Viceroy, Fernando di Castro, Count of Lemos as a palace for the King of Spain. It was subsequently used by French rulers during the Bourbon and Napoleonic periods. When Italy was unified it reverted to the Savoais family who ruled at that time. Victor Emanuele III, Prince of Naples, and future king of Italy, was born in this palace. The family lived there until 1946. Today the building houses the National Library and is a museum. Cost of entry is €10.00. Credit cards are accepted.
There is a large open courtyard in the middle of the palace. It is open to the public with free access. We walked around it the other day. Other than a very pretty fountain, there is little there to see. We entered the palace through a very grand double staircase. The entryway is huge and takes up one whole side of the four sided palace. It is made entirely of marble and richly carved and decorated.
Upstairs we were lead through a series of rooms where the royal family lived and worked. We passed through several antechambers, each one more richly decorated that the previous one, and entered the throne room. The walls were adorned with portraits of members of the Savoais family. Along the top of the room were silhouettes of 14 women clad in gold who depicted the 14 provinces of Italy that existed at that time.
Several rooms later, in the Hall of the Great Captain, we found a familiar painting. It was The Tax Collectors by Marinus Van Roymerwaele from 1465. We had seen this painting before in Warsaw. I compared the two versions and found that the details varied in very subtle ways. Throughout the ages artists have frequently made multiple versions of their works. It was a very amusing find.
When we finished with the royal apartments we entered into a series of rooms that had depictions of the book Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. Starting in 1757 a series of paintings and tapestries were produced on that subject. It seems that both the Spanish and French rulers were very fond of this book. In total 46 tapestries of scenes from the novel were produced. In some cases, where the museum held a painting and a tapestry depicting the same scene, they were hung next to one another. They also had on display several early copies of the book with elaborate illustrations and a handwritten score by Giovanni Paisiello from his opera of the same name. It was a very nice exhibition.
Next we saw the Royal Chapel. It looked very grand but because it was being restored we were not allowed in. The sign said that it had also been used as a music school. Past directors included Scarlatti and Pergolesi.
On our way back to our apartment we stopped for some gelato. Deborah had lemon/lime and banana. I had the Nutella and amarena. They were not disappointing. We had dinner at home. Here’s an example of a typical meal for us these days: fresh bread, good olive oil, fresh ricotta, several kinds of cheese, prosciutto di parma, pesto alla Genovese, sale di mare (sea salt) and pepe nero (black pepper). It doesn’t get any better than that.
Sunday, September 4, 2022
Happy Birthday Deborah! I’m sure I’m not allowed to tell how old she is but take my word for it she looks half that.
In many European countries the museums are free on the first Sunday of the month (or some such similar nonsense). It’s that way all over Italy. We used our good fortune to visit the Naples National Archaeological Museum where tickets normally cost €15.00. The museum has a number of collections including the Farnese Collection (mostly marble statues), Bronzes from the Villa of the Papyri, Mosaics from Pompei, a collection of Egyptian artifacts, and a so-called secret room.
We started off with the Farnese collection. The short version of the story is this: when Alessandro Farnese became Pope Paul III he stole just about every interesting ancient Roman artifact he could get his hands on. These included a number of larger than lifelike statues from the then recently excavated Baths of Caracalla. We’ve been to those baths. They were built on a grand scale. Those statues would have fit right in. There was also a huge collection of busts. Many emperors and well known people from history are represented. The Farnese collection is also supposed to contain jewelry. We didn’t see any. In our experience many parts of the museum that are normally open are closed on free days.
The second floor started with displays from the Bronze Age in Sardinia. There were some interesting pieces. The adjoining rooms had artifacts from Pompei, Herculaneum, and other cities destroyed by Vesuvius in 79 AD, that included bronzes, marble sculptures, and frescos. Another room had a display Greek statuary.
Walking down to the first floor we found a huge display of mosaics taken mostly from Pompei. There was also a sign to a numismatic section but that portion of the museum was closed. The basement level is where the Egyptian collection is housed. It too was closed.
This was another museum without any air conditioning or climate control whatsoever. The air inside was hot a stuffy. We may consider going back to see some of what we missed but we will certainly wait for a cooler day to do so.
Monday, September 5, 2022
Today’s main activity was our tour of Castel Nuovo. Literally translated the name means new castle. It was named so because there were already two castles in the area and this was the newest (but it wasn’t the last one). This castle is located along the waters edge and has a long history. About 2,500 years ago it was the site of a Greek home. Afterwards the Romans constructed a bath there. After the fall of Rome the site was used as a graveyard. The first castle on the site was built in 1259. The present day structure dates primarily from 1443 when Alfonso V of Aragon conquered Naples, rebuilt and expanded the castle, and established his court there.
Touring the castle requires reservations be made in advance. When we got there we were advised that there were two options: the basic tour and the all inclusive tour which included the art gallery, the underground areas, and a visit to the topmost level. The basic tour cost of €6.00 per person was paid at the ticket office. Credit cards were required. The all inclusive tour cost an additional €10.00 per person and it was paid at a completely different office where only cash was accepted. That’s pretty weird even by Italian standards.
The castle is made primarily from dark stone but the entryway pops out at you because it was constructed of white marble. It was built to resemble the Triumphal Arches that Roman Emperors built in the Forum to commemorate their great victories. Alfonso marked his hard won victory for Naples over The House of Anjou with an ancient idea.
Given that the tour started at 10:00 am we were there about 20 minutes early. When the tour was scheduled to start we queued up for the ticket office to pay our entrance fees. Then we were told we should be back in the courtyard at 10:20 am when the tour actually started and in the meantime we could see the art gallery.
Alfonso V of Aragon was an avid art collector. He brought a number of artists to Naples and commissioned them to create works for his court. The gallery has about 30 paintings, a number of sculptures, and several reliquaries that date from that period. Many of the works were very nice but dark and faded and in need of restoration. The original giant-sized bronze doors that were built for the castle are also in the gallery. They are made of thick bronze and engraved with scenes of the victory over The House of Anjou. They were very impressive. We were back in the courtyard at 10:20 am and waited another ten minutes for the tour to start.
Our guide was a very enthusiastic woman who liked to tell stories, which is great, because we love to hear stories. She told us how Alfonso V of Aragon liked to think of himself as a superior person because he was educated. Apparently he had little regard for lesser humans. To illustrate his intellect the castle is replete with symbolism. She also told a story of how Alfonso thought of himself as Sir Galahad from the tales of King Arthur and how he’d found the Holy Grail (there were many “authentic” Grails in Europe at that time). In order to pay for the construction of the castle he sold the Grail to a religious order in Valencia, Spain.
Our guide took us up 33 stairs to see, what was then, the Throne Room. The number 33 corresponds to the number of bones in the human vertebrae. This symbolized the idea that at the bottom of the stairs you were just a mere man but at the top you have been elevated to another level. In addition to other symbolism there was a window that was aligned with the summer Solstice that would project the image of a book on the back wall once a year. The room is now used as a council chamber for civic functions.
Next to the Throne room there was an ornate chapel. We were only able to see it through the glass as it was undergoing restoration. Next we walked down to the lower levels. There we could see the remains of the Roman baths that once occupied this space. Further down a narrow set of stairs we came to the dungeon where two pits were evident. Prisoners were thrown into these pits and were usually left to stave to death. Legend has it that at one time a crocodile got in through the water lines and ate several prisoners. Finally we ascended MANY stairs to get to the roof level. This was the highest point in the castle where there was a 360 degree view of Naples and the harbor.
Walking around the castle gave us a good appetite so we visited a nearby cafe. Our lunch consist consisted of a pizza Margherita, insalata caprese (tomato, mozzarella, and basil), and two very refreshing bibita lemoni (lemon sodas).