Real Bosco di Capodimonte, Naples

Real Bosco di Capodimonte is a public park surrounding the Palace of Capodimonte in Naples. Its story begins as a royal hunting ground: Charles III of Spain used the area for hunting from 1735, and architect Ferdinando Sanfelice directed the park’s construction from 1742 to 1743 across 124 hectares. The design combined dramatic viewpoints with carefully staged landscape, including views towards Posillipo, San Martino and Vesuvius.

The park’s grand entrance to the woodland is Porta di Mezzo, whose wrought-iron gate was completed in 1736. Antonio Canevari designed the adjoining guard buildings and residence, later completed by Ferdinando Fuga. Beyond the gate, an elliptical clearing sends out five avenues in a fan.

The 125-metre Viale di Mezzo is enclosed by pruned holm oaks that create a leafy gallery. There is much more than woodland here. The grounds include the Church of San Gennaro, a former porcelain factory, the Hermitage of the Capuchins and the Casino della Regina.

More than four hundred varieties of old trees grow across the park. At the end of the main avenue, the restored Torre garden still preserves citrus and other fruit cultivation, recalling the productive gardens that once surrounded many of the park’s buildings.