The Main Staircase of Palazzo Spinelli di Laurino in Naples. Function, Shape, Geometry.

This contribution is part of a large study conducted on the architectural type of the residential staircase and on the staircases of the eighteenth century in Naples (Italy) and is limited to an analysis on the design theme of the noble staircase. Since ancient times, the power buildings have placed many symbolic connotations in the main staircase (or staircase of honor) aimed at attributing magnificence and representativeness to the building through the built architecture. In the Neapolitan eighteenth century, the residential main staircase finds its reference in that of the Royal Palace. The case study of the main staircase of Palazzo Spinelli di Laurino, located in the ancient center of Naples and which has a peculiar ovate-shaped plan as well as the internal courtyard. For the first time in local literature, the survey of the staircase is compared with that of an underlying environment, equally ovate, little known and never detected, to verify a possible and previous spatial configuration of the staircase, and to put it typologically in relation with European experimentation.