One of the most impressive
examples of Renaissance architecture in Naples is the
Palazzo Orsini di
Gravina, located 100 yards north of the main
post-office and directly across the street from the
statue of the last Hapsburg King of Spain, Charles II
(known as "Il Reuccio" —the
Little King). The original building was
erected between 1513 and 1549 by Gabriele d’Angelo
along lines dictated by the Florentine Renaissance. It
was commissioned by and named for Ferdinando Orsini,
Duke of Gravina. Much of the external decorative
masonry was destroyed in a fire in 1848. Restoration,
however, respected the original Renaissance ideas of
the designer. There are niches in the facade, each
containing a bust of a member of the Orsini family.
They are 19th century copies of the original 16th
century works of Vittorio Ghiberti. Since 1936 Palazzo
Gravina has housed the Architecture Department of the
University of Naples (click here).
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