Astronomical Observatory of Capodimonte

The Astronomical Observatory of Capodimonte (Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte) is the Neapolitan department of Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (National Institute for Astrophysics, INAF), the most important Italian institution promoting, developing and conducting scientific research in the fields of astronomy, astrophysics, and space science. The Astronomical Observatory is located in Naples, Italy, on Capodimonte hill. The Observatory is engaged in several international projects, such as Solar Orbiter and ExoMars missions, gravitational waves studies, and observational instruments development for E-ELT, the next generation huge telescope. The Astronomical Observatory is the oldest scientific institution in Naples, and plays also an important role to promote and disseminate the scientific culture and the astronomical knowledge in the society. For this purpose it houses some outreach facilities like a planetarium and a 40-cm telescope, and owns an important collection of ancient astronomical instruments exhibited in the MuSA-Museum of Astronomical Instruments, and a rare and valuable old books preserved in the Ancient library. The Astronomical Observatory of Naples was established by Joseph Bonaparte with a decree dated 29 January 1807 in the ancient monastery of San Gaudioso on the Caponapoli hill. The astronomer Giuseppe Cassella was the first director of the

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