Fodor's Expert Review Palazzo dello Spagnolo

Built in 1738 for the Neapolitan aristocrat Marchese Moscati, this palazzo is famed for its external "hawk-winged staircase," believed to follow the design of star architect Ferdinando Sanfelice and decorated with sumptuous stucco and a bust and panel at the top of each flight. The palace was at one point owned by a Spanish nobleman, Don Tommaso Atienza, thus the name "dello Spagnolo." In the left corner of the courtyard in the back, a nondescript metal door leads to a tunnel running all the way to Piazza Carlo III—another example of the Neapolitan underground. The palace was immortalized in Passione, John Turturro's excellent film about Naples and music.