When in 1738 the Queen Maria Amalia of Saxony married Charles of Bourbon, who reigned on Naples throne for four years, led her husband to choose Portici for the construction of a new royal residence. At the same time the excavation of Herculaneum started and, ten years later, that one of Pompeii. From that moment, all the Neapolitan noble followed the example of the Bourbon court, building their summer villas along the coast at the foot of the Vesuvius. This route between the volcano and the sea, later called "Golden Mile", witnessed an unprecedented flowering of art and architecture, expression of one of the most prosperous periods of the Neapolitan society.
The Vesuvian villas, designed by famous architects, such as Vanvitelli, Sanfelice, Vaccaro and Fuga, have the same features: scenographic effect and mix of different architectural orders. Inside the frescoes and the perspective of the colonnades made the visitor in contact with nature; outside, the location of both the road and trees, led to see the Vesuvius, on one side, and the sea, on the other side.
The owners of the villas, heirs of the Bourbon aristocracy, was no longer able to guarantee the conservation of those properties, already affected by looting, bombing of the Second World War and speculation. For this reason, in 1971 the Italian Parliament established the Vesuvian Villas Agency "in order to ensure the conservation, restoration and enhancement of the Vesuvian Villas".
The 122 monumental buildings are located in the cities of Naples (San Giovanni a Teduccio and Barra neighborhoods), San Giorgio a Cremano, Portici, Ercolano and Torre del Greco.
SAN GIOVANNI A TEDUCCIO
1. Villa Cristina
2.Villa Faraone
3.Villa Papa
4. Villa Paudice
5. Villa Percuoco
6. Palazzo Procaccini
7. Villa Raiola Scarinzi
8. Villa Vignola
9. Villa Vittoria
10. Villa I Volpicelli
11. Villa II Volpicelli
BARRA
12. Villa Amalia
13. Palazzo Bisignano
14. Villa Filomena
15. Villa Giulia o Degregorio
16. Villa Nasti ora Letizia
17. Villa Pignatelli di Monteleone
18. Villa Salvetti
19. Villa Sant'Anna
20. Villa Spinelli di Scalea
SAN GIORGIO A CREMANO
21. Villa Avallone ora Tufarelli
22. Villa Bonocore
23. Villa Borrelli
24. Villa Bruno
25. Villa Caracciolo di Forino
26. Villa Carafa Percuoco
27. Villa Carsana
28. Villa Cerbone
29. Villa Cosenza
30. Villa Galante, via Buozzi
31. Villa Galante, via Pessina
32. Villa Giarrusso e Maria
33. Villa Giulia o De Marchi
34. Villa Jesu
35. Villa Leone 36. Villa Lignola
37. Villa Marulli
38. Villa Marullier
39. Villa Menale
40. Villa Olimpia
41. Villa Pignatelli di Montecalvo
42. Villa Pizzicato
43. Villa Righi
44. Villa Salvetella
45. Villa Sinicopri
46. Villa Tanucci
47. Villa Tufarelli di Sotto
48. Villa Ummario
49. Villa Vanucchi
50. Villa Zampiglione
PORTICI
51. Palazzo Amoretti
52. Villa Aversa
53. Esedra ex Villa Buono
54. Palazzo Capuano
55. Villa d'Amore
56. Villa d'Elboeuf
57. Palazzo di Fiore
58. Villa Emilia
59. Palazzo Evidente
60. Villa Gallo
61. Colleggio Landriani
62. Palazzo Lauro Lancellotti
63. Villa Maltese
64. Palazzo Mascabruno
65. Villa Mascolo
66. Villa Menna
67. Villa Meola
68. Villa Nava
69. Villa Ragozzino
70. Palazzo Reale
71. Palazzo Ruffo di Bagnara
72. Palazzo Serra di Cassano
73. Villa Sorvillo
74. Villa Starita
75. Palazzo Valle
76. Villa Zelo
77. Palazzo Corso Garibaldi,28
78. Palazzo Corso Garibaldi,40
79. Palazzo Corso Garibaldi, 100
80. Palazzo Corso Garibaldi,101/111
81. Rudere Corso Garibaldi, 316
ERCOLANO
82. Villa Aprile
83. Villa Arena
84. Villa Campolieto
85. Palazzo Capracotta
86. Villa Consiglio
87. Palazzo Correale
88. Villa De Bisogno Casaluce
89. Villa De Liguoro
90. Villa Durante
91. Villa Favorita
92. Villa Giulio de la Ville
93. Villa Lucia
94. Villa Mannes Rossi
95. Villa Principe di Migliano
96. Palazzo Municipale
97. Villa Passaro
98. Villa Ruggiero
99. Villa Signorini, Corso Resina
100. Villa Signorini, Via Roma
101. Palazzo Tarascone
102. Villa Tosti di Valminuta
103. Villa Vargas Macchucca
TORRE DEL GRECO
104. Villa Bruno Prota
105. Villa Caramiello
106. Villa Cardinale
107. Palazzo Cicchella
108. Masseria di Donna Chiara
109. Villa Ercole
110. Villa Fienga (ex Guglielmina)
111. Villa Ginestre
112. Villa Guerra
113. Villa Macrina
114. Villa Maria
115. Villa Mennella
116. Palazzo Petrella
117. Villa Prota
118. Palazzo del Salvatore
119. Villa San Gennariello
120. Villa Solimena
121. Palazzo Vallelonga
122. Villa delle Ginestre 93. Villa Lucia