Municipal Villa of Naples

The Municipal Villa of Naples, formerly Villa Reale or Real Passaggio di Chiaia, is a historic garden overlooking the Caracciolo seafront.

A walk in the greenery among sculptures, historic fountains, architectural monuments overlooking the sea

The entrance to the Municipal Villa in Naples is located in Piazza Vittoria, and you can get there from Piazza Garibaldi by taking the L2 metro or bus 151, both of which stop in Piazza Amedeo.

From here you have to walk about ten minutes towards the sea.

The Municipal Villa in Naples dates back to the late 1600s, when the viceroy Duke of Medinacoeli had two rows of trees planted that designed a walk from Chiaia to Posillipo.

The most important transformation occurred in the late 1700s, when Ferdinand IV of Bourbon commissioned Vanvitelli to create an urban garden worthy of royal walks, inspired by those in Paris.

Subsequently, the villa was further expanded with tree-lined walks, paths and flowerbeds, chalets and lighting systems.

The main entrances to the Municipal Villa in Naples are located in Piazza Vittoria and Piazza della Repubblica; another 12 entrances are in Via Riviera di Chiaia and 6 entrances in Via Caracciolo.

During the walk in the villa you will find a lot of greenery including hedges, holm oaks, palm trees and eucalyptus trees, and several historic fountains including the Tazza di Porfido fountain, the Santa Lucia fountain, the Rape of the Sabine Women and that of Proserpina.

There are also neoclassical sculptures, statues, busts and monuments including the temples of Tasso and Virgil, the Pompeian house, the Errico Alvino sound box in cast iron and yellow and cerulean two-tone glass.

At the center of the villa is the Anton Dohrn zoological station (19th century naturalist and zoologist), where oceanographic, biological, cellular and ecological research is carried out. In addition, here is also the Naples aquarium, the second oldest in Europe.

The villa has play areas for the little ones, bathrooms, a skating rink and a cycle path, and even refreshment points called “chalets”.