This is a unique example of architecture for its dimensions and capacity. It is known for its large rooms, which have changed throughout history and it symbolizes the splendour of the 16th century.
It was Carlo III of Borbone who ordered the building of the "Royal Home for the Poor", and to carry out the task he called to Naples Ferdinando Fuga, an architect of recognized renown and ability.
The building hosted, educated and liberated all the poor people of the kingdom. The ambitious project started in 1751, but it was never completed; the building is unfinished, because only three fifths of the building plan was carried out, and only two fifths of the volume of the plan. The "Royal Home for the Poor" was been an educational centre for 250 years (school, music, handicrafts....) and a service centre too (religious, social, medical...). The Commune of Naples acquired the building after the earthquake in 1980 which caused it great damage. The aim of the present restoration is to consolidate its structures, to conserve the building and to reorganize the spaces for use.
At present several projects are beng carried out in the building. In 2004, 39 million euro from the BOC have been all allocated over a period of six months. The works have been divided into four large interventions. For the restoration of the new flooring and the documentation centr 3 million euro were itulized. Work on the central court is about to be completed. There is a tender for the most important renovation, that of the central body of the palazzo, for about 21 million euro.
The project for the renovation of the volume of the corner between Piazza Carlo III and Via Tanucci has been approved for an amount of 14 million euro. At present, the renovation of the front of the building and its collapsed vaults are financed by a loan. In spite of its great deficiencies, an extensive collapse and deterioration that were identified between 1980 and 1990, the "Royal Home for the Poor" was able to rediscover its splendour.