Palace of Portici

The Royal Palace of Portici (Reggia di Portici or Palazzo Reale di Portici; Neapolitan: Reggia ‘e Puortece) is a former royal palace in Portici, Southeast of Naples along the coast, in the region of Campania, Italy. It now contains a museum complex (Musei della Reggia di Portici) which includes the royal apartments, the Herculanense Museum, the frescoed antechambers, the Chinese Room, the historical library, and the Orto Botanico di Portici, a botanical garden operated by the University of Naples Federico II. These gardens were once part of the large royal estate that included an English garden, a zoo and formal parterres.

It is located just a few hundred metres from the Roman ruins of Herculaneum and was the seat of the Accademia Ercolanese, established in 1758 by Charles VII of Naples (Charles III of Spain), which originally contained a collection of objects from the archaeological excavations at Herculaneum, Pompeii, and Stabiae, and housed restoration activities. The modern Herculanense Museum is a multimedia interpretation into the original museum.

Text adapted from “Royal Palace of Portici” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Palace of Portici ranks #1,157 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #89 of the 452 mapped in Italy. Founded 1742, it is older than 19% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 525 atlas entries founded in the 18th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 3,772 times in the last 60 days, more than 79% of the atlas. 25 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Naples, 8 km away. See how Italy compares in the castle statistics.

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