King Ferdinand of Bourbon bought the Villa in 1817 to make it the summer residence of his wife, the Duchess of Floridia.
In 1919, the Villa was purchased by the State and used as a museum.
Since 1931, the Duke of Martina Museum has housed one of the largest Italian collections of decorative arts, including over six thousand works of Western and Eastern manufacture, dating from the twelfth to the nineteenth century, whose most conspicuous nucleus consists of ceramics.
The collection, which gives its name to the Museum, was formed by Placido de Sangro, Duke of Martina and donated in 1911 to the city of Naples by his heirs.
The Museum is spread over 3 floors: the collection of European porcelain of the 18th century, consisting of the most important manufactures of the 18th century, Meissen, Doccia, Naples and Capodimonte, French, German and English porcelain and the collection of Chinese porcelain of the Ming (1368-1644) Qing (1644-1911) and Japanese Kakiemon and Imari period.
