La decorazione della Cappella del Palazzo Reale di Napoli nell’Ottocento dai Borbone ai Savoia

The article focuses on the pictorial decoration of the Palatine Chapel in Naples in the second half of the 19th century through the documentation, partly already known to scholars and partly unpublished, kept in the National Archive in Naples. Included in the institutional programme of artistic renovation promoted by Ferdinando II of Borbone, the most important sacred room in the Palace was completely renovated from 1854 onwards by architects Pietro Persico and Gaetano Genovese, who supervised the work, the restoration and the artistic team until the completion of the Chapel (with the installation of Domenico Morelli Assun-ta in 1870) and through the delicate transition from Borbone to Savoia patronage. The Christological decorative cycle, which is perfectly preserved today in the naves in cornu epistolae and cornu evangelii, dis-plays masterful pieces of “historical painting”.