The First Antechamber of Palazzo Reale has reopened to the public, one of the most important and ambitious restorations under the direction of Mario Epifani. Another piece that is added to the redevelopment project of the Palace, which plans to “crystallize” the splendor of the palace through a philological layout that takes into account the latest inventories drawn up in 1874 and 1907 at the time of the Savoy thanks to in-depth research work . During the visit to the Etichetta Apartment, after the Court Theatre, one enters the first of the three antechambers preceding the Throne Room, where the entourage of the diplomatic delegations visiting the king were welcomed. The vault is enriched by the painting by Francesco De Mura which it depicts The Royal Genius and the Virtues of Charles of Bourbon and Maria Amalia of Saxonyrare evidence of the eighteenth-century decoration of the Palace. The layout and most of the furnishings date back to the period of the Kingdom of Italy, after 1861.
«From the moment I took office as director of the museum, my objective was to restore its identity to the Royal Palace, that is, an appearance suited to the residence of a sovereign – he declared Mario Epifani – The reopening of the First Antechamber represents the beginning of a long process of restoring the historical layout of the Etichetta Apartment through careful documentation and restoration work, which can restore to the visitor both the splendor of the court and a correct perception of the function of these spaces”. As part of the relaunch project of the Royal Palace of Naples with funding from the 2022 “Major Cultural Heritage Projects” Strategic Plan, a program was created that included restoration, recovery and rearrangement interventions.
The First Antechamber is a real “number zero”, a pilot construction site, in which work was done to restore the identity of one of the most sumptuous rooms of the apartment. «Restoration interventions will follow in the immediate future of the Throne Room, the Gallery and the Hall of Hercules, the most representative rooms of the Palace, but also those in which the signs of time are most evident – states the architect of the Royal Palace Almerinda Padricelliproject manager – The restoration to date has taken 280 days of work, thanks to the commitment of over 60 people, including researchers, restorers, exhibitors and artisans, for a total cost of 660 thousand euros”.
The works, which lasted less than a year, began on July 20th and involved the two large chandeliers, the appliques, the wooden furnishings, one of the five overdoors and the first of the two tapestries. Finally, the silks of the wallpapers were replaced, the curtains restored and a new marble lambris was installed, which recalls the one that existed until the Second World War.
The reconstruction was carried out on the basis of careful research and inventory verification integrated, where possible, with the study of period paintings and photos as the registers indicate the objects contained in the rooms but not their exact position. The photographic documentation found in the Alinari Archive and in that of the Superintendency of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the Municipality of Naples was fundamental. «The research and cataloging work lasted almost a year and made it possible to collect the data necessary to start the restorations. – says the art historian Alessandra Cosmi – It was exciting to see how the room gradually began to shine with a new light thanks to the interweaving of historical data and the care and passion of the professionals who worked on such a complex construction site, alternating like the perfect chords of a symphony ».
The final objective of this ambitious project is to rearrange all the rooms of the Etichetta Apartment and to restore (with multiple intervention campaigns) the works of art and furnishings arranged along the route, so as to return Palazzo Reale to its splendor of the Bourbon and Savoy periods, recalling the splendor of the last sovereigns who lived there.
The furnishings have undergone structural consolidation and a review of previous restorations. They were dusted and restored starting with the two large mirrors, the six consoles, the two flower boxes, the zinefres that surmount the windows overlooking Piazza del Plebiscito and the frames that separate the lambris from the silk tapestries and frame the doors, preserved in the warehouses and integrated the missing parts reconstructed with a pantograph. The works were directed by Ugo Varrialerestorer of Palazzo Reale with the collaboration of Francesca Di Martino following careful research by the art historian Alessandra Cosmi, Antonella Delli Paoli and Stefano Gei.
