PhD Program in Historical studies
The move to Naples
The settlement of the Ruffo di Bagnara in the capital of the Kingdom was rather late in the second half of the seventeenth century, as well as their entry to the Parliament of the city of NaplesThe Neapolitan nobility was divided into the five squares of quarters or seats in the civil parliament during the early modern age: Capuana, Montagna, Nido, Portanova and Porto. The representatives of the five squares together with a representative of the people, formed the Tribunale di San Lorenzo (Tribunal of St. Lawrence), which ruled the city.. However, their presence in the city became more and more frequent, as well as critical to their social affirmation as well as political, thanks to their purchase and refurbishment of prestigious buildings – in the center of Naples and Portici – intended to become a real status symbol.
The Ruffo di Bagnara palace is located in number 89 of Piazza Dante. The building was constructed between 1629 and 1631, under Giovan Battista De Angelis, a well-known lawyer and notary. At his death, which occurred after a fall from his horse, the property passed to his son Antonio. Elected the representative of the people in the Neapolitan parliament and a royal counselor, he was considered one of those responsible for the increase of taxes the city during the Masaniello uprising (1647-1648) and the building was looted and set on fire by the popular fury. The palace was inherited by the sons of Antonio and sold to the Duke of Bagnara, Francesco Ruffo. Under the Ruffo, the building was deeply modified in line with the dominant Baroque style. Francis invested part of the rich booty which he had set aside as Naval Captain of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem. The work, carried out in 1660, was entrusted to the architect Carlo FontanaThe architect and sculptor Carlo Fontana (1638-1714) was a native of Italian Switzerland, but tied his fortunes especially to the city of Rome. An associate of Bernini, Fontana has left his mark in Rome in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century. Among his works were the Montecitorio Palace, the Basilica of the Twelve Holy Apostles and, in the Basilica of Saint Peter’s, the baptismal font and the tombs of Queen Christina of Sweden and Popes Clement XI and Innocent XII., a pupil of Bernini. Remarkable was the intervention on the facade: on a base of bossage stone, two storeys of Ionic columns and an attic, with brick, columns and cornices in trachytic rock. The portal, however, made of granite, consisted of a large rectangular ashlar arch supported by pilasters, ending with Ionic capitals. Here there is a shelf with three lions which sustain the balcony of the main floor, in turn framed by pilasters and surmounted by a tympanum with a stone mask in the center. The building became the property of the heirs of the family until Vincenzo Ruffo, who, in 1842, entrusted the work of renovation of the building to the architect Vincenzo Salomone. Outside only the railings were redone, while inside the building was equipped with an opulent dining room full of crystal, another living room decorated with a stucco ceiling and a covered terrace in which allegorical statues by Carlo Finelli, Pietro Tenerani, Pierre-Théodore Bienaimé and Lorenzo Bartolini were placed. Later, the building passed to Vincenzo Ruffo, who gave all the collections of paintings, furniture and valuables to the state, and which are now preserved in the Museo di San Martino.
To the left of the entrance is the door through which we can access the private chapel of the family Ruffo di Bagnara. The place of worship was the private place of prayer, created exclusively for the family. The exterior is preceded by the stairs in trachytic rock and a portal built with the same material, also dominated by an opening with a bell tower. The chapel is significant evidence of Baroque architecture in the city. Moreover, on the main altar there is a painting by Francesco SolimenaFrancesco Solimena, called l’Abate Ciccio (1657-1747) was a painter and architect, one of the leading exponents of the late Baroque in Italy. Trained in his father’s workshop, he showed initially proximity to Luca Giordano and Mattia Preti. His adherence to Baroque style became evident after 1680. His most famous work is probably the Expulsion of Heliodorus from the Temple (1725). While working for the major European courts he rarely left Naples. Ferdinando Sanfelice and Domenico Antonio Vaccaro were among his pupils..