The construction of the palace began in 1600 prosecuted by Domenico Fontana, chief engineer of the kingdom of Spain. The chosen area was near the port, convenient to approach by sea and for a possible escape route. It looks out over a large square (now Piazza del Plebiscito) suitable for military parades and the gathering of a celebrating nation and it confirmed the choice of the viceroy for the urban expansion northward of the city.

In 1888 the statues of the kings of Naples were placed in the alcoves along the front of the palace, with the evident intention of representing the continuity of the Savoy Dynasty in Neapolitan History.

The great staircase entrance is a product of the eighteen hundreds by G.Genovesi in the neoclassic style. On the first floor the court theatre, set up for the wedding of Ferdinand VI with Maria Carolina of Hapsburg was constructed by Ferdinando Fuga in 1768. The visit to the royal apartment allows us to appreciate the style and dimension of a palace that held the court in one of the most important kingdoms of the Mediterranean.