Capodimonte Palace and Wood

Naples · Italy · Palace

Queen Maria Carolina is said to hold her balls still in the empty state rooms — light, music and dancing, silent only at dawn.

The Bourbon hunting palace above the city sits in a wood of a hundred and twenty hectares, and both halves have their ghost. Legend holds that Maria Carolina of Habsburg, consort of Ferdinand IV and sister of Marie Antoinette, never left the house. She is said to hold her receptions every night exactly as before: candles come up in the empty state rooms, figures move to the sound of old instruments, and everything dissolves at first light. Out in the wood, people walking at night hear distant singing and dance music from the palace. A second queen keeps to the park. Maria Cristina of Savoy, first wife of Ferdinand II, spent her nights praying in a grotto among the trees and was called by Neapolitans la reginella santa, the little holy queen; her figure is said to return there.

FAQ

Where is Capodimonte Palace and Wood located?

Capodimonte Palace and Wood is in Neapel, Italy.

More haunted places in Neapel

Accounts are drawn from local folklore and visitor reports.