INAF Capodimonte Astronomical Observatory — Attraction in Naples

The observatory is one of the oldest and most prestigious of astronomical institutions in Italy. It is situated in an extensive park which is itself an area of great natural beauty. Though the reality of light pollution in a modern city places severe limitations on observation in the visual part of the spectrum, the observatory makes a great effort to involve local schools and the public of Naples in its activities to popularize astronomy. Visitors should be aware, however, that this is a working observatory with significant technological investment in computer technology within its structure, and so access to the museum and to the wider grounds is only possible on days, indeed evenings, in which public events are organized. Such events are fortunately organized frequently on many evenings during the year, thanks to the scientific and cultural commitment of the observatory's director. Talks are given in Italian (resources do not yet permit translation) and recent events have included a history of the exploration of Mars, the use of 'gravitational lensing' to understand the universe, the discoveries of planets beyond our solar system, and the frontiers of our knowledge regarding 'dark matter' and 'dark energy'. Every effort is made to pitch the level of talks between that of a beginner and those who have more knowledge of the subject. All talks are followed by the practical possibility to observe the night sky above Naples, courtesy of the telescopes and commentary of the volunteers of the UAN, or Union of 'Astrophiles' of Naples. Details of events can be found on the Facebook and web pages OACN and UAN. Visitors should be aware that the bus service C63 is not as frequent as other bus services in the centre of the city, though improvements have been made. Taxis can be taken for an affordable cost (around 10 euros one-way) from the centre of the city) and many buses go to the Capodimonte Park, from which the Observatory can be reached after a 5-10 minute walk. Car parking is also available within the grounds, though places are limited so those interested should...

The Museum of the Observatory is everything tourists hate about museums in Italy. The information on the website about visiting the museum is not accurate. The bus line listed to the observatory has a typo. The line is c63 from Piazza Dante, not the r63 given on the website. When you get to the stop in front of the Museo di Capodimonte there are road signs to the observatory, but not the museum. When you get to the entry gate, there are still no signs about the museum. The gate guard only speaks Italian and knows nothing about the museum. After he made a few futile phone calls he tells me the museum is closed, even though the website says it is supposed to be open. And so he sends me away and I never got in. I went to the Museo di Capodimonte instead. If you try this visit yourself, be prepared to be turned away, but you can go to the other museum instead so your time is not totally wasted. However, the Museo di Capodimonte is an art museum and not a science museum so you may not be interested in that one, but there is a nice view of the city and the bay of Naples from the grounds. The bus ride from piazza Dante was about 20 minutes. You get to the piazza on metro line 1. I had to wait 40 minutes for a bus to return...

Last June I attended an event at the Osservatorio about Dark Matter and Dark Energy in the Universe with my 3 sons. I was positively surprised to see that the parking was well organized. After entering the park in the observatory I noticed a statue of Gagarin and wondered what was the connection between an astronomical observatory and the first man in space. In any event, the presentation was, using my 17 years old son, underwhelming. We also asked if we could tour the annexed museum, and were willing to come at a different time; a nice lady try to talk with the professor responsible for the observatory, but he claimed that the observatory was a research center and not a museum. The whole purpose of our visit was the tour of the observatory as claimed on the ticket that we purchased. Never mind! The only positive aspect was the capability of looking, through small telescopes, at Jupiter and its moons. For the rest, una...