CAPODIMONTE

The Capodimonte penthouse, on two levels, is located in the Greek-Roman historical center of Naples. It is located on the top floor, with a terrace and hanging garden, in a beautiful and restored 18th-century building with an elegant elevator. Extra costs in case of check-in or check-out on holidays and during the hours (5:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m.) - (6:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.) an extra €70.00 will be charged. The space I am a Milanese architect, in love with art, and I wanted to fulfill my childhood dream of having a house in Naples. I did it for my 50th birthday! The restoration lasted a full 5 years. The company that helped me carry out this work was qualified to tackle a very complex renovation. We had to lower the ceilings of the 4th floor to create the 5th floor. The load-bearing wall was reinforced with very sophisticated techniques in order to put a large diagonal beam that was embedded in the already fortified wall to support a staircase made with suspended steps with a steel core and welded with chemical fisher to the beam and these steps had to support the very heavy double crystal slab that acts as a balustrade to the staircase. In addition, in the Capodimonte there is a glass floor supported by a series of more or less hidden beams. The real feature of this apartment is the load-bearing wall that is entirely covered with stone slabs, to hide all the technology that had to be used to make the spectacular staircase and its glass slab. Making a continuous glass slab of about 11 meters was an extremely difficult undertaking. Just think, they had to throw away 2 identical plates because they were not perfect when checked with a very powerful magnifying glass. A tiny micro-bubble is enough to make the slab fragile. The one that has been assembled is perfect and comes from the union of two thick slabs, in adhesion, with a special film in the middle that removes the "green" effect that is created when the crystal is thick. Bringing that slab to the 5th floor was an equally epic undertaking. After considering placing a crane in the courtyard, inside a wooden formwork, this hypothesis was discarded. In the end, the decision was made by the "master" glassmaker who opted to carry it by hand from the entrance of the building where it arrived on a special truck for transporting glass. No fewer than 9 physically very strong men, commanded by the voice of the Master Glassmaker, in a religious silence carried this very long slab up the stairs, at a very slow pace, having to lift it and even raise it obliquely when they turned the steps of the staircase. I timed it at 4 hours and 40 minutes. After that, these men worked another 5/6 hours for the assembly. The next day they continued to perfect the assembly inside the steps. The next day they transported the glass floor by hand and the time taken was 3 hours. You can appreciate the value of this apartment and the care, respect, and attention that every guest must have when using the house. Redoing such a staircase today would entail costs that are not even conceivable!! Also from this apartment, from the two terraces, you can see the splendid work that is the gigantic horse of the master Mimmo Palladino, who is the greatest living Italian sculptor and is also one of the founders of the Artistic Movement of "INSTALLATIONISM" that has been placed on the roof of the M.A.D.R.E. Museum of Contemporary Art and that is located in front of my building. This initiative by the Director of the Museum has increased the value of my home! From the highest terrace of Capodimonte you can also admire the Certosa di San Martino (Museum of San Martino) and Castel Sant'Elmo, which is the highest part of Naples. It is easy to admire the entire hill of Capodimonte from this terrace, with the Astronomical Observatory and the Faculty of Astronomy. From the two terraces you can enjoy the view of the most beautiful domes in Naples, including that of the Duomo of Naples and the dome of the Chapel of San Gennaro, which are located a short walk from my apartment. In addition, you can almost touch the dome of the Church of Donna Regina Vecchia (now the Diocesan Museum) and the dome of San Giovanni in Carbonara, which are always a short walk from my building. I tried to choose hand-painted tiles made in Naples. On the first terrace of the Capodimonte, a fountain was built with handmade majolica and painted manually according to the Neapolitan tradition. The dining table under the terrace pergola was made of lava stone. The hanging garden has been designed in such a way that it is always in bloom in all four seasons. My mother was an authentic Neapolitan and I was able to enter the heart of Naples as a child and I can tell you that it is an exciting city in many ways. Just think that within a radius of 200 meters around my apartment, at least 10/15% of the Italian artistic/cultural heritage is collected. I suggest you absolutely do not miss three artistic monuments to visit: the chapel of the Caracciolo Family, which is located above the staircase of the Church of San Giovanni in Carbonara, is the most beautiful example of a Gothic funerary chapel in the world. The largest and most important work of Caravaggio in the world, "The Seven Works of Mercy," is located 300 meters from Capodimonte and is in Via dei Tribunali at the Archconfraternity of the "Pio Monte della Misericordia." The third extraordinary place is the Church of "Regina Vecchia", a Gothic church from the 1300s with frescoes from the school of Giotto. The entrance is located in the church of Donna Regina Nuova, which dates back to the 1600s, and the ticket can be purchased directly at the ticket office of the aforementioned church. I hope you can have time to enjoy at least this Greco-Roman neighborhood so rich in works of art. I wish all my guests an exciting stay made up of culture and extraordinary food that Neapolitan cuisine can offer and is famous all over the world. Other things to note Extra costs in case of check-in or check-out on holidays and during the hours (5:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m.) - (6:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.) an extra €70.00 will be charged. Registration Details IT063049C2M5A226ZR