Ospedale L'Albergo Reale dei Poveri, Naples
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The Albergo Reale dei Poveri is a former public hospital/almshouse in Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...

, southern Italy. It was designed by the architect Ferdinando Fuga
Ferdinando Fuga
Ferdinando Fuga was an Italian architect, whose main works were realized in Rome and Naples in the Baroque style.-Biography:Born in Florence, he began to work in that city as a pupil of Giovanni Battista Foggini. In 1717 he moved to Rome, to continue his apprentice studies...

, and construction was started in 1751. It is five storeys tall and about 300 m (984.3 ft) long. It was popularly known as "Palazzo Fuga". King Charles III of the House of Bourbon meant the facility to house the destitute and ill, as well as to provide a self-sufficient community where the poor would live and work. The building was originally designed with five courtyards and a church in the centre, but only the three innermost courtyards were built, and plans to complete the building according to the original design were finally abandoned in 1819. The building is the centre of Naples, which is included in UNESCO World Heritage List.

It is no longer a hospital, and has suffered much from neglect and earthquakes. The centre behind the entrance is used for exhibitions, conferences, and concerts. Recently (2006) the façade has undergone restoration as part of an as yet ill-defined plan to incorporate the facility into the working infrastructure of public buildings in Naples.


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