Academy of Fine Arts in Naples

The Academy of Fine Arts in Naples, whose headquarters are located in the San Lorenzo district, is a university institution for high artistic education. Born as "Royal Academy of Design", it is one of the oldest European academies that saw the passage of many painters, thus becoming a point of reference for Neapolitan painting of the nineteenth century. In 1752, Charles III of Bourbon instituted the real academies of Design and nude, at regio laboratories [4]. The academy was the monastery complex of the church of Saint John the Baptist of the Nuns founded and erected in 1597 with the money of the noble Francis of the Balzo following the daughter's monasticization. [5 One of the two lions that characterizes the entrance to the Academy In 1864 they were first transferred to the Regio Palazzo degli Studi (which became the 21st century national archaeological museum) and then to its current venue of Via Santa Maria di Costantinopoli, following the transformation of the former monastery complex designed by Errico Alvino. Following these works, the cloister of the convent, said of St. John the Baptist, was separated from the church of St. John the Baptist of the Nuns with the construction of street count of Ruvo [6] and embedded on the western side in the new building; This intervention reduced its size. [7] The work that took place in order to host the Academy included a plan of urban planning aimed at reorganizing the area of ​​the Archaeological Museum, the Principe di Napoli and Via Port'Alba. In addition, along with the Conservatory of San Pietro a Majella, the already mentioned Museum and the Bellini Theater, the area was destined to become even more a "pole of the arts". The complex was severely hit by bombings during World War II and the Academy closed its doors until 1942. When it was re-opened, its organization was anchored to the rewards of Gentile Reform, and this was strongly influenced by the renewal of Italian society. Following the events of the "Sixty-eight", the Academy's activity was again interrupted. In the 1980s the Academy was reorganized with the aim of making it the protagonist of the cultural life of the city and of Southern Italy, starting with a profound restoration.