Palazzo Sanfelice

Palazzo Sanfelice in Naples's Sanità district was built in 1724 by its own architect, Ferdinando Sanfelice, a painter-trained outsider chasing commissions in a city crowded with better-connected rivals. The guide follows why he turned his own home into both a rental block and a walk-in advertisement, centered on a staircase in the right-hand courtyard that splits into two spiraling flights. You'll hear what Neapolitans nicknamed the design and why it briefly stopped foot traffic on via Sanità. Stand at the base of that staircase and look straight up.