A Critical Redrawing of the Tables Signed by Carlo Vanvitelli for the Construction of Villa Comunale in Naples

Abstract

At the end of the seventeenth century, the city of Naples grew to the west of the gulf, extending in urbanization terms. Due to both aesthetic and urban aspects, dictated by the availability of new areas to occupy for the development of the city, it was known as the «Real Passeggio» called so later, it would exploit the extraordinary landscape collocation as well as the previous arrangement of the beach, commissioned by the viceroy Medinaceli, a century earlier, even if it was closed off along the narrow Riviera. That viceroy of Medinaceli was the first act of the modification of the sea, with a long series of significant transformations that characterized the Riviera di Chiaia for about three centuries. In addition to the duke of Medinaceli, there are many names associated with Chiaia, including the duke of Noja, who described it in his map of Naples and its surroundings to its current state in 1750, among other things, the map is testimony to the State just before from of the reign’s end. The architect responsible for the Riviera di Chiaia was Carlo Vanvitelli, commissioned by Ferdinando IV di Borbone, with the project being developed through a series of drawings housed in the Archivio Storico Municipale of Naples.