The foundation of the Palazzo Reale di Napoli dates back to the early 17th century, when the Viceroy Fernando Ruiz de Castro, Count of Lemos, decided to build a residence suitable for the needs of a modern court, no longer having the characteristics of a fortified dwelling that could still be seen in the adjacent Palazzo Vecchio, built in the mid-16th century.

The site chosen for the construction of the Palazzo Reale di Napoli, at the western end of the city, was precisely on the area of the large gardens of the old viceregal palace, on a raised platform above the port and close to the hill of Pizzofalcone, the founding place of the ancient Greek colony called Parthenope. In charge of the building's construction was Domenico Fontana, one of the most famous architects of the time, who based his project on late Renaissance canons, already experimented in Rome for Pope Sixtus V.

The facade, characterized by the use of brick skillfully combined with piperno stone, is divided into three architectural orders: Tuscan, Ionic, and Corinthian. The lower order, originally a portico, underwent a consolidation intervention in the 18th century by Luigi Vanvitelli, who alternately walled up the arches creating niches in which the Savoy family in 1888 placed eight statues representing the most illustrious sovereigns of the various dynasties that ascended to the throne of Naples, from Roger II of Sicily to Victor Emmanuel II.

The construction of the Palazzo Reale di Napoli lasted for centuries and was only completed in 1858 by Gaetano Genovese.

Since 1919, the Appartamento Reale on the noble floor, accessed through the splendid Scalone d’Onore, has been open to the public as the Appartamento Storico: the tour includes the Teatro di Corte, the Sala del Trono, and the Cappella Palatina, with frescoes from the Viceroy and Bourbon ages, precious furnishings, important paintings from the Farnese collection, a rich collection of tapestries, porcelain, and clocks. On the southern side extends the Giardino Pensile, with a spectacular view of the Gulf of Naples and Mount Vesuvius.