Palazzo Reale di Capodimonte (Naples)
Also known as: Capodimonte, Capo di Monte, Capo-di-Monte, palais de Capo di Monte, Palais de Capodimonte
Overview
Capodimonte is the Bourbon royal palace, with its large wooded park, on the hill above Naples. Per Wikipedia, «Museo di Capodimonte», it was begun in 1738 for Charles of Bourbon, King of Naples, to house the Farnese art collection and as a hunting lodge; after 1860 it passed to the House of Savoy and is today a museum. The porcelain made in the royal factory there (Capodimonte ware) is a separate matter; see below.
Relevance to Marie
On 16 April 1876 Marie, in Naples with her mother, Walitsky, Altamura and Chocolat, drives out to the palace: «Nous avons visité le palais de Capo di Monte. Le parc est quelque chose d'admirable, j'en suis charmée» (058.0088). Her verdict on the building, in the comparison with Rome: «grand et magnifique, mais assez barbare… un peu caserne» (058.0089).
References in Diary
- 1876-04-16 (058.0088, 058.0089): the visit above (the footnote on 058.0088 reads Walitsky's «lait du roi» as milk from the royal dairy there).
- Not this entry: 069.0033 (1877-02-26): «Les anciennes porcelaines de Capo-di-Monte» shown by monks in a monastery (the «fra Buonaventura» passage): the porcelain, not the palace. That paragraph carries the people/mentioned stub CAPO_DI_MONTE, which is a misfiled and empty entry.
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