Villa Favorita, also known as Real Villa della Favorita, was a royal rural palace (villa) in

Ercolano Ercolano () is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Campania of Southern Italy. It lies at the western foot of Mount Vesuvius, on the Bay of Naples, just southeast of the city of Naples. The medieval town of Resina () was bui ...

, Italy.

History

A small villa previously stood at the site. Prince Giuseppe Beretta, Duke of Simari and Marquis of Mesagne, commissioned designs for a new building from the architect

Ferdinando Fuga Ferdinando Fuga (11 November 1699 – 7 February 1782) was an Italian architect who was born in Florence, and is known for his work in Rome and Naples. Much of his early work was in Rome, notably, the Palazzo della Consulta (1732–7) at the Quir ...

, and in 1762 the villa was completed. In 1768, the prince gave a sumptuous party in honour of the King

Ferdinand IV of Naples Ferdinand I ( Italian: ''Ferdinando I''; 12 January 1751 – 4 January 1825) was King of the Two Sicilies from 1816 until his death. Before that he had been, since 1759, King of Naples as Ferdinand IV and King of Sicily as Ferdinand III. He was ...

and his new wife, the Habsburg

Maria Carolina of Austria Maria Carolina of Austria (Maria Carolina Louise Josepha Johanna Antonia; 13 August 1752 – 8 September 1814) was Queen of Naples and Sicily as the wife of King Ferdinand IV and III, who later became King of the Two Sicilies. As ''de facto' ...

, just arrived from Vienna. The Queen liked the villa that reminded her of Vienna's

Schönbrunn palace Schönbrunn Palace (Austrian German, German: Schloss Schönbrunn ) was the main summer residence of the House of Habsburg, Habsburg rulers, located in Hietzing, the 13th district of Vienna. The name ''Schönbrunn'' (meaning "beautiful spring") ha ...

and since then was called “Favorita” (favoured). In 1792, the King acquired and expanded the villa, and obtained access to the sea through a great park from the main building on the street to the sea and a pier for the access by boat. It was frequently used by the royal couple and their children. The second son of the King, Prince

Leopold, Prince of Salerno Leopoldo Giovanni Giuseppe Michele of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Prince of Salerno (2 July 1790 – 10 March 1851) was a member of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies and a Prince of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. He married Archduchess Clementina of Austr ...

, while living there enlarged the palace and built some pavillons for entertainment, such as the Casino of mosaics (so called after its interior decoration with mother-of-pearl and porcelain scraps). He created an amusement park in the grounds. From 1879 and 1885 Villa Favorita hosted the exiled

Isma'il Pasha Isma'il Pasha ( ; 25 November 1830 or 31 December 1830 – 2 March 1895), also known as Ismail the Magnificent, was the Khedive of Egypt and ruler of Sudan from 1863 to 1879, when he was removed at the behest of Great Britain and France. Shari ...

, former

Khedive Khedive ( ; ; ) was an honorific title of Classical Persian origin used for the sultans and grand viziers of the Ottoman Empire, but most famously for the Khedive of Egypt, viceroy of Egypt from 1805 to 1914.Adam Mestyan"Khedive" ''Encyclopaedi ...

of Egypt who had presided over the inauguration of Suez Canal. He decorated the interiors of some of his apartments with a Moorish style. With a facade overlooking an urban street, the much dilapidated palace is a prime examples of the villas in the Miglio d'Oro or Golden Mile of Villas that occupied the eastern slopes of

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 ...

. The interiors were decorated and frescoed by Andrea Giusti, Domenico Ascione and Filippo De Pascale. The interiors were highly decorated in a florid

Rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

style, with stucco, woodwork, mirrors and glasswork. Rooms and halls were painted in various themes and styles, including Etruscan decorations, a stanza of ''Bacchus'' and ''Story of Abraham'', and a room (c. 1765) in

chinoiserie (, ; loanword from French '' chinoiserie'', from '' chinois'', "Chinese"; ) is the European interpretation and imitation of Chinese and other Sinosphere artistic traditions, especially in the decorative arts, garden design, architecture, lite ...

style. Much of this decoration has been lost. Some stanza retain their fresco decoration including ones by Crescenzo Gamba.InCampania
entry on villa.

References

{{Authority control 1792 establishments in Italy Houses completed in 1792 Favorita Ercolano Royal residences in the Kingdom of Naples Baroque architecture in Campania Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies