Through this monumental marble staircase, which occupies an entire side of the Courtyard of Honor, one accesses the Apartment of Etiquette.
The majestic entrance hall retains the original layout designed in the mid-17th century, modeled after the staircase of the Alcázar of Toledo. Today, this space presents itself in the neoclassical decorative style conceived in the mid-19th century by architect Gaetano Genovese. The intervention was part of the renovation works of the Palace, undertaken to make the spaces of the building more functional and to eliminate all the architectural irregularities that characterized it, as well as to remedy the significant damage caused by a fire in 1837. The most notable change concerned the wall on which the staircase develops. Originally, this wall was adjacent to the old Viceroyal Palace, and therefore in the 17th century it had no openings. The room received light only from the series of arches overlooking the Courtyard of Honor. In place of the Old Palace, demolished in 1839, a portico with a green area was established, later called Giardino Italia, visible from the glass door between the two flights of stairs. This intervention made it possible to create large windows behind the staircase, transforming the environment into a space of extraordinary brightness, also diffused by the glossy marbles of the walls.
The walls of the room we are in are covered to full height with slabs of marble from quarries in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, while the bas-reliefs that decorate the walls are carved from white Carrara marble. On the long walls, the panels with military trophies, created by sculptor Gennaro De Crescenzo, stand out, while on the short sides, turning their backs to the glass door, two allegorical reliefs decorate the side access openings: on the left, Glory among the symbols of Justice, War, Art, and Industry; on the right, Victory between the Genius of Fame and Valor.
On either side of the staircase, above, four niches open up that house plaster statues topped by stucco bas-reliefs. They represent the Royal Virtues: on the right, Fortitude and Justice; on the left, Clemency and Prudence.
Among the decorative elements of the ceiling, in white stucco, stand out, on the right, the rearing horse, symbol of the city of Naples, and on the left, the trinacria, a head with three legs, emblem of Sicily. The crossed shield of the Savoy, kings of Italy, which dominates the center of the ceiling, replaced the Bourbon coat of arms after 1860, the year of Naples' annexation to the new kingdom.
The staircase was illuminated by eight large cast-iron candelabra in Second Empire style, placed on the balustrade: following the damage sustained during World War II, only two remain.
The journey through the Apartment begins at the Court Theatre, located at the top of the staircase on the right.