Piazza del Plebiscito
Napoleon's brother-in-law planned this square as imperial tribute — the Bourbons reclaimed it and built a Pantheon-shaped church instead.
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One of Italy's largest pedestrianized squares, flanked by the Royal Palace to the east and the sweeping twin colonnades of San Francesco di Paola to the west. It was a parking lot from 1963 until 1994, when the G7 summit prompted the city to replace asphalt with paving stones and close the whole space to traffic.
What to look for
- Twin colonnades of San Francesco di Paola extending outward from each side of the church facade
- The church's portico — six columns and two Ionic pillars fronting a circular interior under a 53-metre dome
- The Royal Palace anchoring the entire eastern edge of the square
The square is fully pedestrianized and free to enter; it occasionally hosts large open-air concerts.
Piazza del Plebiscito is one of 36 sights worth the detour in Naples, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Naples pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Naples
- HerculaneumWhere Pompeii draws the crowds, Herculaneum kept the wooden doors, carbonized food, and 300 skeletons still in the boat houses.
- Stadio Diego Armando MaradonaThe city officially renamed this 54,726-seat ground for Maradona on 4 December 2020 — locals still argue over what to call it.
- Teatro di San CarloThe world's oldest continuously running opera house opened here in 1737 — decades before Milan's La Scala existed.
- Naples National Archaeological MuseumA cavalry barracks in 1585, a university for 160 years, now the building where the largest single sculpture ever recovered from antiquity lives.
- Museo di CapodimonteA Bourbon king built this palazzo to hold art he inherited — then it got looted, evacuated, and reassembled across three centuries.
- Castel Nuovo (Maschio Angioino)Built in three years flat from 1279, this waterfront castle was the seat of kings of Naples, Aragon, and Spain for over five centuries.