Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ive, multimedia displays allowing you to relive the theatre's music and stage design. To
delve deeper into the archive, hit the computers upstairs. Admission includes Palazzo
Reale ticket holders.
Piazza del Plebiscito
( Piazza del Plebiscito; R2 to Piazza Trieste e Trento)
For Continental grandeur, it's
hard to beat Piazza del Plebiscito. Whichever way you look, the view is impressive. To
the northwest, vine-covered slopes lead up to Castel Sant'Elmo and the Certosa di San
Martino; to the east, the pink-hued Palazzo Reale shows off its oldest facade. And to the
west stands Pietro Banchini's neoclassical facsimile of Rome's Pantheon, the
Chiesa di
PIAZZA
081 74 51 33; Piazza del Plebis-
cito; 8.30am-noon & 4-7pm)
.
A later addition to the columned colonnade of Joachim Murat's original 1809 piazza
design, the church was commissioned by Ferdinand I in 1817 to celebrate the restoration
of his kingdom after the Napoleonic interlude. Standing guard outside are Antonio Can-
ova's statue of a galloping King Charles VII of the Bourbons and Antonio Calí's render-
ing of Charles' son Ferdinand I.
At its northern end, Piazza Plebiscito spills onto Piazza Trieste e Trento , the city's
buzzing heart and home to its most glamorous cafe, Caffé Gambrinus (
Click here
)
- a
fabulous spot to slip on those shades, join the poseurs and eye up the passing parade.
Castel Nuovo
( 081 795 58 77; Piazza Municipio; admission €5; 9am-7pm Mon-Sat, last entry
6pm)
Known as the Maschio Angioino (Angevin Keep) by the locals, this hulking 13th-
century castle is one of Naples' most striking icons. It's also home to the
Museo Civico
(Civic Museum), whose collection include frescoes, paintings and sculptures spanning the
14th to the 20th centuries.
The castle's bio stretches back to Charles I of Anjou, who upon taking over Naples and
the Swabians' Sicilian kingdom, found himself in control not only of his new southern
Italian acquisitions, but also of possessions in Tuscany, northern Italy and Provence
(France). It made sense to base the new dynasty in Naples, rather than Palermo in Sicily,
and Charles launched an ambitious construction program to expand the port and city
walls. His plans included converting a Franciscan convent into the castle that still stands
in Piazza Municipio.
CASTLE, MUSEUM
