Our original plan that day had been to visit Vesuvius, but as we were literally denied entry to the train, it dawned on us that we’d actually been sold the wrong ticket and would therefore never make it. How very awkward. We realised we’d have to rethink our plans slightly. It was time to head on down to the Royal Palace of Naples, aka the Palazzo Reale di Napoli. It wasn’t the active day of hiking that we’d planned for (and in all honesty, my boyfriend took some convincing that a relaxed stroll around a royal palace was a great alternative), but I loved exploring the historic halls of this Neopolitan royal residence.
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Where is the Royal Palace of Naples?
Public transport in Naples is really, really great, and easy to use. The closest Metro stop to the Royal Palace of Naples is Municipio, on Line 1.
There are several sites located near to the Palazzo Reale, so it’s easy to make the most of your time in the area and visit several spots in a day. The Opera House, Galleria Umberto I, Castel Nuovo and the Quartieri Spagnoli are all within easy walking distance. (Book a walking tour of Naples to make sure you don’t miss anything. Or even better, a walking tour with food. It is Italy, after all.)
How to visit
When we arrived at the Royal Palace, there was no queue whatsoever, despite the fact that there was an event happening in the courtyard (presumably making it busier than normal). Tickets on the door are €10. (2024)
However if you feel safer, you can book a skip-the-line ticket here.
The palace is currently open from 9am-8pm daily, except Wednesdays, and you’ll need about an hour to an hour and a half for your visit.
The Piazza del Plebiscito
Welcome to the beating heart of Naples, pals! The Piazza del Plebiscito is a rather gargantuan pedestrianised square, and one of the main landmarks of this weathered but beautiful city. It’s also the home of the Renaissance-style Royal Palace of Naples, whose orange and grey facade runs along one side of it, resplendent with the marble statues of past kings of Naples.
Italy is actually a fairly new country, and before it was unified it was a collection of independent states and kingdoms. ‘Plebiscite’ actually means ‘referendum,’ and the referendum that this piazza was named after happened in 1860; it resulted in Naples becoming part of the newly-formed Kingdom of Italy.
A very brief history of the Royal Palace of Naples
Long long ago, Naples and the surrounding area was ruled by the Spanish, and when they moved in they naturally wanted to set up a fancy place of residence. The medieval Castel Nuovo, right next to the port, didn’t quite cut it- perhaps its stone halls were a bit too breezy- so in the 1600s they set to work constructing the Royal Palace of Naples, which would be a far more majestic and modern affair.
Each time that Naples was conquered by someone else, they set up shop in the palace, making their own adjustments to it as they went. It’s only natural to want to put your own stamp on your new digs, isn’t it? After the Spanish viceroys came the Spanish House of Bourbon (nothing to do with Bourbon biscuits, in case you were wondering), and then for a while the Bonaparte family, and eventually after the Kingdom of Italy was formed, the Savoy family handed the palace over to the state, to become a public building.
In the second world war part of the building was used as a social club for Allied troops who had occupied the city, which is when items from within the palace began to disappear. Sneaky. Luckily since then, the lavish old palace has been restored to its former glory, and it’s an ideal place to visit when you’r in Naples.
From outside, it might seem like the palace is nothing overly extravagant; its red brick and volcanic stone facade is imposing but not glittering with gold. Inside is a different story- this is one opulent building, filled with jewel-toned chambers, beautiful courtyards, and one of the most stunning marble staircases you ever laid eyes on. Tucked away and not accessible to all visitors are the Hanging Gardens, which overlook the Gulf of Naples and the green silhouette of Vesuvius; it’s a true hidden gem in this chaotic old city.
Lava and Ash in the ‘Land of Fires’
Is the palace still a Royal Residence?
Well actually, no. In fact, officially, Italy doesn’t even have a royal family; since 1946 this beautiful country has been a Republic, and not a Kingdom. After Mussolini (you know, the fascist dictator?) was overthrown, and the Second World War had ended, Italians voted to abolish the monarchy and the royal family was exiled. The last King of Italy, Umberto II, had only ruled the country for 34 days before he was thrown out, and no male member of the House of Savoy was allowed back into the country until 2002.
The family remained super-duper wealthy, and still mixed in the fanciest of circles, mingling with other royals (both real and exiled) and the Hollywood elite long after they left Italy. Umberto’s son, Vittorio Emanuele, was cut off by his father and then led a downright scandalous life. Public opinion was that he was a generally awful sort of a person. I’ll leave that up to you to decide, but not only did he make a vast fortune as an arms dealer, he was also somehow acquitted for shooting (and killing) a German teenager in Corsica, was arrested for racketeering, taking bribes and acquiring prostitutes for a casino, and in a darkly comedic twist he got into a fight during the wedding of the Prince Felipe of Spain, punching his own cousin squarely in the face in a dispute over which of them laid claim to the Italian throne.
Because, despite the fact that the royals haven’t been officially recognised as ‘royal’ for almost eighty years, the members of the House of Savoy have clung on to their titles (if only in a sort of make-believe way.) The direct descendants of King Umberto II are locked in a continuous squabble over who is entitled to the imaginary crown of Italy- if not leading the country, leading the family. When Vittorio Emanuele declared on his granddaughter’s 16th birthday that he was shaking things up and allowing women to be at the helm (meaning ‘Princess Vittoria’ would one day become ‘Queen Vittoria’), things really kicked off.
Princess Vittoria is the first female heir to the Italian throne in over 1000 years; despite the fact that it no longer actually exist. It’s all very Shakespearian, isn’t it?
Is it worth a visit to the Royal Palace of Naples?
The question of whether it’s worth a visit to the Palazzo Reale depends on your stance on historic buildings. As a child raised on a diet of story books, the royal family and National Trust properties, I always love visiting old palaces. Not just to marvel at the beauty of these places, but also to discover the stories behind them.
I’ll be honest, at the Royal Palace of Naples it was much easier to discover architectural details rather than the stories of the families and people who once walked these halls, which was a shame. But there’s no denying the grandeur of this place, and I still enjoyed walking through each room and photographing the sheer opulence all around.
If you’ve got time and this is the kind of thing that floats your boat, I’d still say a visit to the Royal Palace is worth it; it’s an important cultural and historic spot in the city, and a big contrast to the rough-and-ready streets that surround it.
More from Bella Italia:
Inside Venice’s Palazzo Ducale
How to get from Naples to Pompeii