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€11.00
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Best for children and people with disabilities. The Bourbon Tunnel represents the bourbon civil engineering's pride of the underground; thanks to the “Standard” Tour you can visit and admire it.
What to expect
The Bourbon Tunnel represents the bourbon civil engineering's pride of the underground; thanks to the “Standard” Tour you can visit and admire it.
The tour will show you the fabulous project of the architect Enrico Alvino and the technical problems he met, while he was working.
You will walk through the “Bolla” Renaissance aqueduct system, admiring the bridges built by the Bourbon to bypass the cisterns.You will have the chance to visit a World War II air bomb shelter, built in these underground spaces, where a lot of authentic objects of the time have been found.
During the whole guided tour you will be surrounded by statues' fragments, vintage cars and motorbikes found buried under tons of debris, illegally dumped into the underground – from the end of the World War II until the '70s-, when the Bourbon Tunnel was used as a police car pound.
With this ticket you will enter to our site from the Morelli Car Parking. Even children and people with disabilities can access using this entrance. Disabled people can take part to the 60% of the guided tour.
Galleria Borbonica
The Bourbon Gallery: A Journey into the Heart of Naples
Discover the Bourbon Gallery, an extraordinary engineering feat and a silent witness to the history of Naples, hidden beneath the city. This fascinating underground passage will lead you through a journey back in time, revealing millennia-old secrets and stories.
The King's Idea: A Hidden Escape Route
The history of the Bourbon Gallery began in the mid-19th century at the behest of King Ferdinand II of Bourbon. In a period of strong political tensions, the King desired a secret passage connecting the Royal Palace to the sea. This tunnel was intended to serve as a rapid escape route for the royal family and troops in case of revolts or invasions, ensuring security and discretion.
The Engineering Challenge: Building Beneath Naples
The project was entrusted to the architect Errico Alvino, who faced a monumental challenge.
The construction of the gallery involved overcoming natural and artificial obstacles in the subsoil of Naples. Workers and engineers had to cross the ancient Bolla aqueduct network, a complex system of cisterns and conduits, and deal with the stability of the terrain, composed of tuff and volcanic deposits.
To overcome these difficulties, advanced engineering solutions for the time were implemented: imposing bridges and vaults were built to span cavities and pre-existing cisterns, showcasing the construction expertise of the era.
The Gallery's Destinies: From Unfinished Project to Refuge
Despite the immense work, the Bourbon Gallery was never completed for its original purpose. The fall of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies interrupted the works, leaving the project unfinished for decades.
Its fate drastically changed during World War II. The gallery was transformed into a gigantic air-raid shelter, offering protection to thousands of Neapolitans from devastating bombings. Its wide vaults became a symbol of salvation for the population.
After the war, for many years, the gallery was used as a judicial deposit, a place where seized vehicles and artifacts were stored, accumulating objects that today bear witness to a more recent past.
The Structure: An Underground Museum
Today, the Bourbon Gallery reveals itself as an underground museum of inestimable historical and architectural value. It extends for over 530 meters, with majestic sections varying in width and height, testifying to the different phases of construction and use.
During the visit, you can closely admire:
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Ancient masonry bridges: true engineering masterpieces spanning the vast cisterns of the Bolla aqueduct.
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Mighty vaults and arches: structures highlighting the robustness and construction ingenuity of the 19th century.
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Ventilation shafts: conduits connecting the depths of the subsoil with the city above.
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Large and evocative spaces: environments that once served as shelters for the population or as storage, and which today display collections of vintage cars and motorcycles, unique artifacts from Neapolitan history.
The structure of the Bourbon Gallery is a journey through centuries of history and engineering, an experience that reveals the complexity and resilience of Naples' underground.
Are you ready to explore this incredible hidden heritage? Discover the magic of underground Naples!
Features


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How to reach the property
Galleria Borbonica - Morelli
Via Domenico Morelli, 61 c/o Parcheggio Morelli - 80121 Napoli
Pinch and drag for more details
Walk 1.5 km, 20 minutes
Walk 1.4 km, 19 minutes
Walk 1.8 km, 24 minutes
Walk 1.1 km, 14 minutes
The opening hours of the structure
Online ticket office contacts
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