The oldest furnishings preserved at Palazzo Reale date back to the reign of Carlo III, the first Bourbon sovereign. In the Throne Room, a finely crafted armchair from 1759 is on display, temporarily replacing the throne, which is currently under restoration.
During the French Decade (1806-1815), the palace was enhanced and refined according to the aesthetic principles of the Empire style. The gilded wooden furniture features simple yet elegant forms, decorated with naturalistic motifs (stylized leaves with rosettes, typical of the period), symbols of power (lion and goat feet), and elements recalling Napoleon’s campaigns (sphinxes). Such furnishings are found in the ceremonial rooms, the Guards’ Hall—where the stools with crossed-sword motifs reflect a military style—the Emilian Painters’ Hall, featuring furniture adorned with Murat’s emblem of bees among laurel leaves, and most notably, in the King’s Study. The latter is furnished with three exceptional pieces brought to Naples by Murat: a bonheur du jour, a commode, and a bureau plat en suite, crafted in thuja wood with gilded bronze appliqués, signed by the cabinetmaker Weisweiler. The French period also left behind high-quality Empire-style furnishings, such as the gilded bronze and mirror centerpiece by P.P. Thomire (circa 1810-1820) and the mahogany veneer mirror with gilded bronze finishes, once owned by Carolina Murat.
During the Restoration, the Empire-style influence left by Murat in the royal palaces was embraced by Ferdinand I, who did not replace the French furnishings, allowing them to continue embellishing the ceremonial rooms, while he chose simpler furniture for his private apartments. In the third and fourth decades of the 19th century, most of the palace’s furnishings retained the defining elements of the Empire style but were reinterpreted according to local tastes, as seen in the furniture in the rooms facing south.
By the mid-19th century, the palace’s furnishings, in line with other European courts, reflected the growing influence of Neo-Rococo style. This trend, characterized by lively yet refined decorations, can be seen in some of the salons designed by architect Gaetano Genovese in the 19th century.
The establishment of the Kingdom of Italy did not bring significant changes to the furnishings of Palazzo Reale, as the House of Savoy used the palace only for official occasions. From the post-unification period, notable pieces include the furnishings of the first and third Antechamber and the Reading Room, all in Neo-Baroque style, which reinterprets the distinctive elements of Baroque furniture. Among the valuable mid-19th-century tables, a particularly remarkable one features an inlaid View of Naples at its center, gifted to Ferdinand II of Bourbon upon his ascension to the throne in 1830.
