In Campania, the program of the 12th edition of the FAI Autumn Days, which will take place on the weekend of Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th October, includes over 30 places to visit, offering different routes through history, art and nature that will lead to the discovery of usually inaccessible or simply little-known sites, which will be exceptionally open to be admired in all their beauty: historical villas and palaces, archaeological and naturalistic areas, castles, libraries, art collections and exhibitions, museums and churches of great architectural or historical-artistic value. It will also be possible to visit university campuses and scientific laboratories, military establishments, and there will be routes to discover small villages, lesser-known gems of the Italian landscape, where hidden treasures are preserved and ancient traditions are passed down, as well as visits to historic parks and gardens that have been created through the efforts of the Foundation to spread a wider "culture of nature".
PROGRAM OF OPENINGS IN NAPLES AND PROVINCE
In Naples and the province, there will be several openings that will guide visitors to historical palaces, naturalistic routes and prestigious places in the worlds of art, study and science.
Exceptionally open to the public for the FAI Autumn Days will be the Royal Hospice of the Poor, one of the largest palaces in Europe. Started, on the commission of Carlo III of Bourbon, by the architect Ferdinando Fuga in 1751, it was the major public intervention carried out in those years: a hospice intended to welcome the poor from the entire kingdom. The project building, which extends over a length of over 600 meters, saw the succession of architects such as Mario Gioffredo, Carlo Vanvitelli and Francesco Maresca. For the enhancement, urban regeneration and recovery of the complex, the Ministry of Culture has allocated over 100 million euros in funding to the Municipality of Naples, with resources from the National Plan for Complementary Investments to the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR).
The FAI Autumn Days route in Campania dedicates two extraordinary openings to the University of Naples Federico II, in view of the celebration of the University's 800th anniversary in 2024, to discover its precious heritage. Visitors will have the opportunity to explore the San Giovanni Campus, located in the eastern area of Naples, home to Federico II and the Apple Developer Academy, inaugurated in 2016 and the first in Europe. The route will guide visitors inside the complex to admire the innovative architecture and state-of-the-art laboratories, some of which specialize in measuring environmental pollution, water quality, or cold technology. Visitors will also discover laboratories on virtual reality and sports engineering, as well as those for testing large aeronautical, wind, construction and hydraulic equipment structures, as well as composite materials mechanics and more. Students from Federico II will guide the public to discover the Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, located in the former Franciscan convent of S. Maria degli Angeli alle Croci, at the foot of the hill on which the Astronomical Observatory stands and near the Botanical Garden. The complex, which houses a wonderful frescoed cloister, the Veterinary Anatomy Museum, and laboratories, was established in the second half of the 18th century, by the will of Ferdinando IV of Bourbon. It will be an opportunity to visit a splendid place of the University and to learn about the activities carried out by researchers and the University Veterinary Hospital (OVUD), welcomed by young FAI volunteers, teachers and students from the Department.
With the FAI Autumn Days, the extraordinary visits to Villa Rosebery also return (entrance reserved for FAI members with the possibility of joining on site) on the Posillipo hill, which has been owned by the Presidency of the Republic since 1957.
