Astronomical Observatory of Capodimonte

The oldest scientific institution in Naples, the Astronomical Observatory of Capodimonte (Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte) occupies a monumental neoclassical building on Capodimonte hill, the first in that style designed in the capital of the Kingdom of Naples. The astronomer Franz Xaver von Zach called it "the Vesuvius of Astronomy erupting gold."

Joseph Bonaparte established the observatory in 1807 in the former monastery of San Gaudioso. Under Joachim Murat, a new building was founded in 1812, designed by astronomer Federigo Zuccari and architect Stefano Gasse and completed in 1819 under Giuseppe Piazzi's supervision. Its early equipment included a Fraunhofer equatorial telescope with a 17.5-centimetre objective, the largest made up to that time.

The observatory is now the Naples department of Italy's National Institute for Astrophysics and works on projects such as the Solar Orbiter and ExoMars missions. Its collection of ancient astronomical instruments is displayed in MuSA, the Museum of Astronomical Instruments, and an ancient library preserves rare old books. A planetarium and a 40-centimetre telescope serve public outreach, making the site well suited to anyone curious about astronomy and its history.