The Astronomical Observatory of Capodimonte () is the Neapolitan department of

Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica The National Institute for Astrophysics (, or INAF) is an Italian research institute in astronomy and astrophysics, founded in 1999. INAF funds and operates twenty separate research facilities, which in turn employ scientists, engineers and techn ...

(National Institute for Astrophysics, INAF), the most important Italian institution promoting, developing and conducting scientific research in the fields of astronomy, astrophysics, and space science. The

Astronomical Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest include ...

Observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysics, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. Th ...

is located in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, Italy, on Capodimonte hill, where the splendid panorama of the city and

bay of Naples A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

from

Vesuvius Mount Vesuvius ( ) is a Somma volcano, somma–stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of several volcanoes forming the Campanian volcanic arc. Vesuv ...

to Castel Sant'Elmo passing through

Sorrento Sorrento ( , ; ; ) is a City status in Italy, city and overlooking the Gulf of Naples, Bay of Naples in Southern Italy. A popular tourist destination, Sorrento is located on the Sorrentine Peninsula at the southern terminus of a main branch o ...

and

Capri Capri ( , ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. A popular resort destination since the time of the Roman Republic, its natural beauty ...

can be admired. The Observatory is engaged in several relevant international projects and researches, such as Solar Orbiter and

ExoMars ExoMars (Exobiology on Mars) is an astrobiology programme of the European Space Agency (ESA). The goals of ExoMars are to search for signs of past life on Mars, investigate how the Martian water and geochemical environment varies, investigate ...

missions, gravitational waves studies, and observational instruments development for E-ELT, the next generation huge telescope. The Astronomical Observatory is the oldest scientific institution in Naples, and plays also an important role to promote and disseminate the scientific culture and the astronomical knowledge in the society. For this purpose it houses some outreach facilities like a

planetarium A planetarium (: planetariums or planetaria) is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation. A dominant feature of most planetariums is ...

and a 40-cm telescope, and owns an important collection of ancient astronomical instruments exhibited in the MuSA-Museum of Astronomical Instruments, and a rare and valuable old books preserved in the Ancient library. The Astronomical Observatory of Naples was established by

Joseph Bonaparte Joseph Bonaparte (born Giuseppe di Buonaparte, ; ; ; 7 January 176828 July 1844) was a French statesman, lawyer, diplomat and older brother of Napoleon Bonaparte. During the Napoleonic Wars, the latter made him King of Naples (1806–1808), an ...

with a decree dated 29 January 1807 in the ancient monastery of San Gaudioso on the Caponapoli hill. The astronomer Giuseppe Cassella was the first director of the Neapolitan specola. When

Joachim Murat Joachim Murat ( , also ; ; ; 25 March 1767 – 13 October 1815) was a French Army officer and statesman who served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Under the French Empire he received the military titles of Marshal of the ...

was appointed king of Naples, he approved 8 March 1812 the foundation of a new Observatory on the Miradois hill, a site not far from the royal palace of Capodimonte. The astronomer Federigo Zuccari and the architect Stefano Gasse conceived a monumental building in the neoclassical style, the first to be designed in the capital of the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples (; ; ), officially the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was established by the War of the Sicilian Vespers (1282–1302). Until ...

. On 4 November 1812 the foundation stone of the new observatory was laid with a solemn ceremony presided over by Interior Minister Giuseppe Zurlo. Defined by the astronomer

Franz Xaver von Zach Baron Franz Xaver von Zach (''Franz Xaver Freiherr von Zach''; 4 June 1754 – 2 September 1832) was an Austrian astronomer born at Pest, Hungary (now Budapest in Hungary). Biography Zach studied physics at the Royal University of Pest, and ...

"''The Vesuvius of Astronomy erupting gold''", the new observatory was equipped with a most advanced collection of new telescopes, like the Fraunhofer equatorial

telescope A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorption, or Reflection (physics), reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally, it was an optical instrument using len ...

with an objective of 17.5 cm, the biggest one ever made until that time, and two repeating circle realised by the Reichenbach & Utzschneider Company in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. In 1812 Zuccari established also an astronomical library in the san Gaudioso observatory. In four years the collection grew from 195 to 620 books. Zuccari acquired some of these books from the

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

astronomer Johann Elert Bode, the secretary of Neapolitan embassy in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Severo Gargani, and the Paris booksellers of the King of the Two Sicilies, Borel and Pichard. In the middle of 1815, Ferdinand I of Bourbon was back to being the king of Naples and he called in the capital the astronomer

Giuseppe Piazzi Giuseppe Piazzi ( , ; 16 July 1746 – 22 July 1826) was an Italian Catholic Church, Catholic priest of the Theatines, Theatine order, mathematician, and astronomer. He established an observatory at Palermo, now the ''Palermo Astronomical Ob ...

to supervise the conclusion of building works with the help of , the architect of Basilica of San francesco di Paola. The new observatory was completed in the autumn of 1819. The astronomer Carlo Brioschi made the first observation from the Observatory est dome in the night of 17 December 1819 observing the star α Cassiopeia.

Directors

* Giuseppe Cassella (1791-1808) * Ferdinando Messia de Prado (1809-1810) * Federigo Zuccari (1811-1817) * Carlo Brioschi (1817-1833) * Ernesto Capocci (1833-1850) * Leopoldo Del Re (1850-1855) ''interim'' * Leopoldo Del Re (1855-1860) * Ernesto Capocci (1860-1864) * Annibale de Gasparis (1864-1889) * Emanuele Fergola (1889-1909) * Francesco Contarino (1910-1912) * Azeglio Bemporad (1912-1932) * Luigi Carnera (1932-1948) * Attilio Colacevich (1948-1953) * Tito Nicolini (1953-1955) ''appointee'' * Massimo Cimino (1955-1957) * Tito Nicolini (1957-1969) * Mario Rigutti (1969-1992) * Massimo Capaccioli (1993-2005) * Luigi Colangeli (2005-2010) * Massimo Della Valle (2010-2017) * Marcella Marconi (2018-2023) * Pietro Schipani (2024- )

References

External links

Observatory home pageThe Capodimonte Astronomical Observatory Historical Archive: A Multipurpose Tool
{{Authority control Capodimonte 1812 establishments in Italy Buildings and structures completed in 1819 Joachim Murat 19th-century architecture in Italy Joseph Bonaparte

Directors

See also

References

External links