Besides to be a military training institution, the Nunziatella is a place of great cultural and civil heritage. Here the whole history of our country is summarized. I believe that the Republic of Italy has to treasure all its great military and civil traditions which originated in the country even when it had not still reached political unity. Therefore, my presence at Nunziatella is intended to pay homage to Italy and its whole history. (President of the Italian Republic Francesco Cossiga

Francesco Cossiga

Francesco Cossiga was an Italian politician, the 43rd Prime Minister and the eighth President of the Italian Republic. He was also a professor of constitutional law at the University of Sassari....

, Naples

Naples

Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...

, november 18, 1989)
Nunziatella is a military academy in Naples

Naples

Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. It sits prominently on the Chiatamone cliff directly over the bay, facing the parts of the city known as Chiaia

Chiaia

Chiaia is a neighbourhood on the seaside in Naples, bounded by Piazza Vittoria on the east and Mergellina on the west. The most prominent landmark in the area is the large public park known as the Villa Comunale...

, Mergellina

Mergellina

.Mergellina is a section of the city of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. It is at the west end of the seaside road, via Caracciolo, one mile away from the main port of Naples.-Overview:...

 and Posillipo

Posillipo

Posillipo is a residential quarter of Naples, southern Italy, located along the northern coast of the Gulf of Naples; it is called Pusilleco in the Neapolitan language.-Geography:...

. Due to its position and bright red color (which originates the nickname "Rosso Maniero", e.g. "Red Manor"), it is very visible from the sea and the western part of the city.

The name is a diminutive in Italian and refers to the chapel annex on the premises of the academy—literally, "Little Church of the Annunciation". The chapel had been expanded into a church for the Jesuits, and decorated with frescoes by Francesco De Mura

Francesco de Mura

Francesco de Mura was an Italian painter of the late-Baroque period, active mainly in Naples and Turin. His late work reflects the style of neoclassicism....

, the altar by Giuseppe Sammartino, the floor drawn by Ferdinando Sanfelice

Ferdinando Sanfelice

Ferdinando Sanfelice was an Italian late Baroque architect and painter.Sanfelice was born in Naples and died there. He was one of the principal architects in Naples in the first half of the 18th century. He was a student of Francesco Solimena.Sanfelice was known primarily for temporary displays...

 and paintings by Paolo De Matteis

Paolo de Matteis

Paolo de Matteis was an Italian painter.He was born in Cilento near Salerno, and died in Naples. He trained with Francesco di Maria in Naples, then with Luca Giordano. He came to the employ of the Spanish Viceroy of Naples. From 1702 to 1705, de' Matteis worked in Paris, Calabria, and Genoa...

, Ludovico Mazzanti

Ludovico Mazzanti

Ludovico Mazzanti was an Italian painter.-External links:*http://www.artnet.com/artist/649656/ludovico-mazzanti.html...

, and Paceco De Rosa.

The academy was founded by Ferdinand IV in 1787 to train the officer corps for the Kingdom of Naples

Kingdom of Naples

The Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...

. The academy was installed in a pre-existing building from 1588, originally built for Anna Mendozza Marchesana della Valle, a noblewoman who then gave the building to the Jesuit Order. The premises served in a religious capacity until the Jesuits were banned from the kingdom in the mid-18th century.

Since the unification of Italy in 1861, the academy has remained a military preparatory school that has turned out officers for the kingdom and, later, republic of Italy. In more modern times the academy has encouraged graduates to pursue careers other than military. The most illustrious student ever to attend Nunziatella was the future king of Italy, Victor Emmanuel III. In addition, Nunziatella gave to Italy a high number of Prime Ministers, Ministers, a President of the Constitutional Court, and a huge number of top-ranked officers of the Italian Armed Forces, including Rolando Mosca Moschini

Rolando Mosca Moschini

Rolando Mosca Moschini, born March 9, 1939 in Umbria is an Italian army general. Mosca Moschini was commissioned as an officer in 1959, and initially served with artillery units of the Italian army...

, chief of the European Union Military Committee

European Union Military Committee

The European Union Military Committee ' is a department of military officials under the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the Political and Security Committee of the European Union's Common Foreign and Security Policy. The EUMC gives military advice to...

.

Especially valuable is the offer of sports training providing the practice of equestrianism

Equestrianism

Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...

, fencing

Fencing

Fencing, which is also known as modern fencing to distinguish it from historical fencing, is a family of combat sports using bladed weapons.Fencing is one of four sports which have been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games...

, swimming

Swimming (sport)

Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...

, track & Field, boxing

Boxing

Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

, basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

, volleyball

Volleyball

Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...

and other sports.