Rafael Benitez failed to deliver Champions League football to Napoli as his final act before leaving the Serie A club for pastures new ended in a 4-2 defeat at home to Lazio.
Lazio were three points clear in third place heading into Sunday night's end-of-the-season encounter in Naples but the hosts' superior head-to-head record meant a win would see the teams swap places.
While Marco Parolo and Antonio Candreva asserted Lazio's authority with first-half goals, Benitez was eager to sign off in style before completing his reported move to Spanish giants Real Madrid.
During halftime he motivated his players to hit back and Gonzalo Higuain's quickfire brace rocked the Biancocelesti before the Argentinian missed a penalty to cool Napoli's comeback.
Substitutes Ogenyi Onazi and Miroslav Klose then rubber-stamped Lazio's victory and with it a third-placed finish.
Andrea Belotti's last-gasp goal for Palermo spoiled Roma's end-of-season party but the 2-1 defeat could not take away the joy of finishing second in the table.
Palermo have enjoyed a promising return to the top flight and proved to be unfazed by the bright lights of the Stadio Olimpico by taking the lead through a first-half Franco Vazquez penalty.
An under-par Roma looked to have salvaged a point as Francesco Totti closed to within a single goal of the 300 mark with a classy strike at the death, but Belotti had the last word.
Mauro Icardi grabbed a share of the coveted 'Capocannoniere' award by scoring twice to boost Inter Milan to a 4-3 final-day victory over Empoli.
The young Argentinian managed to match 38-year-old Hellas Verona striker Luca Toni on 22 goals for the now-completed campaign when dragging Inter past plucky Empoli at San Siro.
Rodrigo Palacio and Marcelo Brozovic were also on target, with Levan Mchedlidze bagging a brace for 15th-placed Empoli, whose odd goal was supplied by Leonardo Pucciarelli.
Fiorentina finished their campaign on a five-game winning streak after beating 10-man Chievo 3-0 on evening.
The triumph capped an impressive campaign for the Tuscan outfit, who leapfrogged Napoli into fourth place.
Josip Ilicic put the Viola on their way with their opening goal in the 12th minute.
Plucky Parma salvaged a point from their last game in the top flight, an exciting 2-2 draw at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris which saw Sampdoria cling onto the final Europa League place.
The bankrupt club have been doomed for months but relegation has removed the shackles and seventh-placed Samp could not open the scoring through Alessandro Romagnoli until after the break.
Raffaele Palladino grabbed Parma's penultimate goal in the top division and, after Lorenzo De Silvestri re-established Samp's lead, Silvestre Varela plundered a confidence-boosting late leveller.
Torino put in a five-star display with a 5-0 win vs. Cesena to finish the season in ninth place and pile on the agony for their already relegated opponents.
Goals from Josef Martinez, Maxi Lopez and Marco Benassi saw the hosts race into a 3-0 lead after just 31 minutes.
But things got worse still for Cesena as Emiliano Moretti added a fourth four minutes into the second half and Lopez capped a wonderful evening for the Granata in the 70th minute.
Cagliari beat Udinese 4-3 in their last game before submitting to relegation after 11 years in the Italian top flight.
The Sardinians' return to the second tier was confirmed weeks ago despite a mini revival under new head coach Gianluca Festa, who on Sunday oversaw his fourth win since replacing Zdenek Zeman.
Marco Sau and Joao Pedro gave fans reason to be optimistic about the future with confidently taken first-half goals and, after Rodrigo Aguirre's first goal for Udinese dragged the northerners back into contention, Paul-Jose M'Poku restored the two-goal advantag
Simone Zaza struck twice as Sassuolo beat 10-man Genoa 3-1 to finish their campaign on a high.