PALAZZO SAN FELICE

Palazzo San Felice, the “Casa del Genio” or “House of the Genius”

At the back of a main courtyard on the threshold of a busy and crowded street, stands the imposing facade of Palazzo San Felice. Its monumental staircase ad ali di falco “in falcon wings”, from which the light coming from the garden gushes in transparency, is the work of the virtuoso architect Ferdinando San Felice in the early 18th century. “Creating vertiginous and solemn spaces” in a city with streets so narrow that they can barely filter the sun's radiance, reveals a dimension of infinity. The poetic power of the stairs gives all its lightness to the monument. Black and white, rare colors in Neapolitan architecture, contribute to the majestic originality of the Palazzo erected by San Felice for his beloved wife.

When, at the beginning of the 20th century, the fashion for seaside residences prompted the aristocracy to escape to the shores of the Bay of Naples, the abandoned palaces were the prey of the poorest population who broke up the great volumes into tiny dwellings. Thus the Palazzo San Felice was split in two parts: one was divided into several small apartments and the other transformed into a school.

This school was acquired by the American artist Ryan Mendoza twenty years ago. With a sure eye and infinite patience he restored the place admirably before relinquishing it in 2017 to settle in Berlin.

Galerie

Exterieur

Galerie

Interieur