Palazzo Donn'Anna

Naples

LoginSave

Incomplete, semiderelict yet hauntingly beautiful, this seaside Posillipo villa takes its name from Anna Carafa, for whom it was built as a wedding present from her husband, Ramiro Núñez de Guzmán, the Spanish viceroy of Naples. When Núñez de Guzmán hotfooted it back to Spain in 1644 he left his wife heartbroken in Naples. She died shortly afterwards and architectural whiz-kid Cosimo Fanzago gave up the project.

The grand yet forlorn heap sits on the site of an older villa, La Sirena (The Mermaid), reputed setting for Queen Joan’s scandalous sex orgies and crimes of passion (rumour has it that fickle Joan dumped her lovers straight into the sea). Exactly which Queen Joan is up for debate. Some believe her royal nastiness was Joan I (1326–82), daughter of Charles, Duke of Calabria. Her list of alleged wicked deeds includes knocking off her husband. Others place their bets on Joan II (1373–1435), sister of King Ladislas, her appetite for men remains the stuff of licentious legend.

Palazzo Donn’Anna is usually not open to the public.

Transportation

  • bus: 140 to Via Posillipo

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • Amalfi, Italy - April 11, 2013: Amalfi cathedral, known as Cattedrale di Sant'Andrea, and Duomo di Amalfi, in Italian, in the town of Amalfi, Italy 1885714297 amalfi, architecture, building, campania, cathedral, cattedrale di sant'andrea, church, duomo di amalfi, europe, heritage, historic, holiday, italy, landmark, mediterranean, old, religion, tourism, travel

    Cattedrale di Sant’Andrea

    24.09 MILES

    Once the very symbol of Amalfi’s power, Cattedrale di Sant’Andrea (also known as Duomo di Amalfi) is the town’s most iconic monument.

  • View of the Villa Cimbrone with garden, Amalfi coast, Italy. 1189177206

    Villa Cimbrone

    24.1 MILES

    If you could bottle up a take-away image of the Amalfi, it might be the view from the Belvedere of Infinity, classical busts in the foreground, craggy…

  • Water carriers from Herculaneum, Museo Archeologico Nazionale.

    Museo Archeologico Nazionale

    2.99 MILES

    Naples' National Archaeological Museum serves up one of the world’s finest collections of Graeco-Roman artefacts. Originally a cavalry barracks and later…

  • Scenic picture view of the city of Naples Napoli with famous Mount Vesuvius in the background from Certosa di San Martino monastery, Campania, Italy; Shutterstock ID 2105276987; purchase_order: 65050; job: poi; client: ; other: 2105276987

    Certosa e Museo di San Martino

    2.14 MILES

    The high point (quite literally) of the Neapolitan baroque, this charterhouse-turned-museum was built as a Carthusian monastery between 1325 and 1368…

  • Burial chamber at the San Gennaro Catacombs

    Catacombe di San Gennaro

    3.51 MILES

    Naples' oldest and most sacred catacombs became a Christian pilgrimage site when San Gennaro's body was interred here in the 5th century. The carefully…

  • Royal Palace of Capodimonte, Naples

    Museo di Capodimonte

    3.74 MILES

    Originally designed as a hunting lodge for Charles VII of Bourbon, the monumental Palazzo di Capodimonte was begun in 1738 and took more than a century to…

  • View of Castello Aragonese

    Castello Aragonese

    14.42 MILES

    There are castles and then there’s Ischia’s Castello Aragonese, a veritable fort-city set on its own craggy islet, looking like a cross between Harry…

  • NAPLES, ITALY - JUNE 11: The Modesty of Antonio Corradini in the Sansevero Chapel during the reopening to the public on June 11, 2020 in Naples, Italy. The Sansevero Chapel Museum can be visited again after the closure imposed by the lockdown for the covid-19 emergency, exactly thirty years after the reopening to the public after the restoration works which in 1990 returned to the fruition the baroque masterpieces of the chapel commissioned by Raimondo di Sangro and the Veiled Christ by Giuseppe Sanmartino sculpted in 1753, today a symbol of the Neapolitan Baroque. (Photo by Ivan Romano/Getty Images) 1249041534

    Cappella Sansevero

    2.94 MILES

    It's in this Masonic-inspired baroque chapel that you'll find Giuseppe Sanmartino's incredible sculpture, Cristo velato (Veiled Christ), its marble veil…

View more attractions

Nearby Naples attractions

1. Porto di Mergellina

0.53 MILES

Once home to the area's fishing fleet, Mergellina's marina is now a crowd-pulling combo of anchored yachts and kitsch Neapolitan chalets, neon-lit seaside…

2. Molo Luise

0.63 MILES

Nicknamed the 'Moletto', this hulking pier protects the Porto di Mergellina from the open sea. It's a popular place for locals (both human and feline),…

3. Piazzetta del Leone

0.63 MILES

This semi-circular piazzetta (small square) is named for its somewhat battered-looking protagonist, a marble lion whose origins remain unknown (in spite…

4. Parco Vergiliano

0.74 MILES

Head up the steep steps at this off-the-radar park and you'll find yourself peering into the world's longest Roman tunnel. Designed by the architect…

5. La Torretta di Mergellina

1.01 MILES

Mergellina's broad boulevards seem a world away from La Torretta di Mergellina, a warren of earthy streets where the neighbourhood's fishermen once lived…

6. Thomas Dane Gallery

1.37 MILES

London's Thomas Dane Gallery has injected added buzz to the Naples' art scene with the opening of its first Italian branch. The gallery sits inside 19th…

7. Museo Pignatelli

1.45 MILES

When Ferdinand Acton, a minister at the court of King Ferdinand IV (1759–1825), asked Pietro Valente to design Villa Pignatelli in 1826, Valente whipped…

8. Villa Rosebery

1.49 MILES

In an area famed for its blue-ribbon real estate, Villa Rosebery is a star resident. Built in the 18th century, it has a history both romantic and epic…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting: 
    {
  "url": "italy/campania/naples/attractions/palazzo-donn-anna/a/poi-sig/422635/359879",
  "destination": "Naples",
  "continent": "Europe",
  "country": "Italy",
  "city": "Naples",
  "position": "superzone"
}