GALLERIA UMBERTO I, San Carlo Theater

Right in front of the entrance to the Umberto I Gallery, you can see one of the most significant monuments of Naples, the great Mediterranean capital of arts and culture: the San Carlo Theater, one of the world's most famous stages for opera.

The theater bears the name and impression of Charles III of Bourbon, King of Naples and then of Spain, who was a great promoter of architectural and cultural initiatives in both kingdoms. Inaugurated in 1737, the theater was designed to hold a huge number of people, over 3,000, thanks to its innovative horseshoe-shaped orchestra with five tiers of boxes and a large gallery. San Carlo Theater immediately became one of the temples of opera in Europe thanks to the presence of the greatest international musicians of the 18th century and the work of the composers of the so-called "Neapolitan school".

Although its interior structure is still that of the 1700s, the façade you are facing is from the early 1800s, when Napoleon's brother-in-law Joachim Murat had it renovated in a Neoclassical style.

The base is in robust rusticated stone with the laying of overlapping and staggered stones, while a delightful colonnade opens up at the top. The sculptural group you see at the top of the façade depicts the siren Partenope, the city's mythical founder....