Palazzo Reale

September 26, 2006

A landmark here in the neighborhood is the Palazzo Reale, the city residence of the kings of Naples.

This building was originally constructed by the Spanish in the 16th century and was expanded ... and expanded ... and expanded ... by its various royal inhabitants during later times.

The facade is decorated with huge statues, each one depicting a founder of one of the dynasties that ruled over the city.

In order of appearance:

Roger of Hauteville, Frederick of Swabia, Charles of Anjou, Alfonso of Aragon, Charles of Austria , Charles of Bourbon, Joaquim Murat and, finally, Vittorio Emanuele, the first King of Italy.

From the 12th century to the time of Vittorio Emanuele in the 19th, Naples was ruled by foreign kings who had a colonial or exploitation-minded approach to governing the city.

Historians attribute the intractable social problems of Naples -- the poverty, the crime, the corruption and the general chaos -- to a long-entrenched attitude, developed over the last thousand years, of resistance to the foreign powers that tried to control it.

I don't know whether anything is that simple, but this would explain a lot of things about the local culture.