* The beginning of the Capodimonte Museum, like many museums in Italy, is a private collection. This explains the variety of collections: from paintings to sculptures, drawings, weapons, applied art — a variety of samples of rare sophistication — the result of intelligent and sensitive collecting by the Farnese family, and then by the Bourbons. Subsequent acquisitions, often of entire collections, expanded the original collection of works. The Capodimonte Palace was a rich royal residence of the ruling dynasties from the 18th century to the first half of the 19th century. The idea of building a new residence on a hill in the northern part of Naples belongs to Charles Bourbon, who took the throne of the kingdom in 1734. Construction work lasted almost 100 years. The most valuable exhibits of the museum are paintings by European and Italian artists, representing mainly the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Various collections include works by Masaccio, Simone Martini, Andrea Mantegna, Giovanni Bellini, Michelangelo, Raphael, Correggio, Titian, Parmigianino, El Greco, and Annibale Carracci. Capodimonte's pride can be called the Neapolitan section — the works of both local artists and visitors who have left a significant mark on the cultural life of the city. A special place here is occupied by Caravaggio and his followers — Carlo Sellitto, Battistello Caracciolo, Artemisia Gentileschi. In accordance with international exhibition traditions, in 1978, after the exhibition of Alberto Burri, some of the artist's works were donated to the museum, marking the beginning of the collection of modern art. Today, the Capodimonte Museum is the only museum of ancient art in Italy that boasts such a collection. The last comprehensive reorganization of the museum was carried out in 1995.