Castel dell'Ovo ("Egg Castle") is a seafront castle in
Naples
Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
, located on the former island of Megaride, now a peninsula, on the
Gulf of Naples
The Gulf of Naples (), also called the Bay of Naples, is a roughly 15-kilometer-wide (9.3 mi) gulf located along the south-western coast of Italy (Metropolitan City of Naples, Campania region). It opens to the west into the Mediterranean ...
in Italy. The castle's name comes from a legend about the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of Roman civilization
*Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
poet
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...
, who had a reputation in the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
as a great sorcerer and predictor of the future. In the legend, Virgil put a magical egg into the foundations to support the fortifications. It remains there along with his bones, and had this egg been broken, the castle would have been destroyed and a series of disastrous events for Naples would have followed. The castle is located between the districts of
San Ferdinando and
Chiaia
Chiaia (, ) is an affluent neighbourhood on the seafront in Naples, Italy, bounded by Piazza Vittoria on the east and Mergellina on the west. Chiaia is one of the wealthiest districts in Naples, and many luxury brands have shops on its main stree ...
, facing
Mergellina across the sea.
History during the Roman era
The Castel dell'Ovo is the oldest castle in Naples. The island of Megaride was where Greek colonists of
Magna Graecia
Magna Graecia refers to the Greek-speaking areas of southern Italy, encompassing the modern Regions of Italy, Italian regions of Calabria, Apulia, Basilicata, Campania, and Sicily. These regions were Greek colonisation, extensively settled by G ...
from
Cumae
Cumae ( or or ; ) was the first ancient Greek colony of Magna Graecia on the mainland of Italy and was founded by settlers from Euboea in the 8th century BCE. It became a rich Roman city, the remains of which lie near the modern village of ...
founded the original nucleus of the city in the 6th century BC. Its location offers an excellent view of the Naples waterfront and the surrounding area.
In the 1st century BC, the Roman patrician
Lucius Licinius Lucullus built part of the magnificent
villa
A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house that provided an escape from urban life. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the f ...
, later called
''Castellum Lucullanum'', on the site.
Fortified by
Valentinian III
Valentinian III (; 2 July 41916 March 455) was Roman emperor in the Western Roman Empire, West from 425 to 455. Starting in childhood, his reign over the Roman Empire was one of the longest, but was dominated by civil wars among powerful general ...
in the mid-5th century AD, it was the site to which one of the last
Western Roman emperors,
Romulus Augustulus
Romulus Augustus (after 511), nicknamed Augustulus, was Roman emperor of the Western Roman Empire, West from 31 October 475 until 4 September 476. Romulus was placed on the imperial throne while still a minor by his father Orestes (father of Ro ...
, was exiled in 476.
Eugippius founded a monastery on the site after 492.
History from Norman to Napoleonic conquests
The remains of the Roman-era structures and later fortifications were demolished by local residents in the 9th century to prevent their use by
Saracen
upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens
''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Rom ...
raiders. The first castle on the site was built by the
Normans
The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Franc ...
in the 12th century.
Roger the Norman, conquering Naples in 1140, made Castel dell'Ovo his seat. The importance of the Castel dell'Ovo began to decline when king
Charles I of Anjou
Charles I (early 1226/12277 January 1285), commonly called Charles of Anjou or Charles d'Anjou, was King of Sicily from 1266 to 1285. He was a member of the royal Capetian dynasty and the founder of the House of Anjou-Sicily. Between 1246 a ...
(r. 1266–85) built a new castle,
Castel Nuovo
Castel Nuovo (; ; 'New Castle'), often called Maschio Angioino (; ; ' Angevin Keep'), is a medieval castle located in front of Piazza Municipio and the city hall ( Palazzo San Giacomo) in central Naples, Campania, Italy. Its scenic location and ...
, and moved his court there. Castel dell'Ovo became the seat of the Royal Chamber and of the State Treasury. It also served as a prison. In 1191, Empress
Constance of the Holy Roman Empire, daughter of Roger, was captured during her struggle with her nephew
Tancred, King of Sicily
Tancred (; 113820 February 1194) was King of Sicily from 1189 to 1194. He was born in Lecce, an illegitimate son of Roger III, Duke of Apulia (the eldest son of King Roger II) by his mistress Emma, a daughter of Achard II, Count of Lecce. ...
for the crown of Sicily, and Sicilian Chancellor
Matthew d'Ajello wrote to Tancred persuading him to lock her in the island Castel dell'Ovo to be better-guarded and secluded from people, and wrote to nobleman Aligerno Cottone in charge of defending Naples ordering him to "ut imperatricem in Castro Salvatoris ad mare benè custodiat" (properly guard the empress in "Castle of the Savior" (i. e. Castel dell'Ovo) in the sea). However, Constance was released the next year and finally became Queen of Sicily. In 1268, King
Conradin
Conrad III (25 March 1252 – 29 October 1268), called ''the Younger'' or ''the Boy'', but usually known by the diminutive Conradin (, ), was the last direct heir of the House of Hohenstaufen. He was Duke of Swabia (1254–1268) and nominal King ...
was imprisoned here before his trial and execution. Also imprisoned here were children of
Manfred, King of Sicily
Manfred (; 123226 February 1266) was the last King of Sicily from the Hohenstaufen dynasty, reigning from 1258 until his death. The natural son of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, Manfred became regent over the Kingdom of Sicily on beh ...
after their father's defeat in the
Battle of Benevento
The Battle of Benevento was a major medieval battle fought on 26 February 1266, near Benevento in present-day Southern Italy, between the forces of Charles I of Anjou and those of King Manfred of Sicily. Manfred's defeat and death resulted in C ...
from Charles I of Anjou. In 1381, Queen
Joanna I of Naples
Joanna I, also known as Johanna I (; December 1325 – 27 July 1382), was Queen of Naples, and Countess of Provence and Forcalquier from 1343 to 1381; she was also Princess of Achaea from 1373 to 1381.
Joanna was the eldest daughter of C ...
was also imprisoned there for a time after having been forced to surrender to her enemy Charles of Durazzo, the future
Charles III of Naples, before her assassination.
The castle's present form dates from the period of the
Aragonese domination (15th century) in Naples. However, later repairs occurred when the castle was bombarded both by
French and
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas
**Spanish cuisine
**Spanish history
**Spanish culture
...
artillery during the
Italian Wars
The Italian Wars were a series of conflicts fought between 1494 and 1559, mostly in the Italian Peninsula, but later expanding into Flanders, the Rhineland and Mediterranean Sea. The primary belligerents were the House of Valois, Valois kings o ...
. In the short-lived
Neapolitan Republic of 1799 the outbreak of clashes between the new regime's defenders and pro-
Bourbon segments of the population led to the use of the artillery of the castle.
After a long period of decay, the fortifications of the castle were repaired extensively in renovation project that started in 1975.
Present
In the 19th century, a small settlement of fishermen had been established in the immediate eastern vicinity of the castle known as Borgo Marinaro, which today has been shaped in the marina and its restaurants. The castle's plan is rectangular, approximately 200 by 45 metres at its widest, and a high bastion overlooks the causeway that connects it to the shore. The causeway, measuring a little more than 100 metres of length, is a popular location for newlyweds to have their wedding photos taken. The castle's buildings today are used as spaces for exhibitions and related cultural events. The promontory that extends to the castle's front in its southeast was, probably, used as a quay, that a large round tower just across the castle's southern tip would have protected.
Underwater archaeologists have discovered what appears to be a 2500-year-old harbor associated with the origins of the first Greek settlement of Paleopolis (which preceded the ancient city of Neapolis, now
Naples
Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
) in the sea next to the castle. Four tunnels, a 10-foot-wide street demonstrating furrows consistent with cart traffic, and a trench likely built as a defensive structure for soldiers were submerged immediately adjacent to the castle. The discovery was announced in March 2018, after the September 2017 identification of the original port of Neapolis.
References
Bibliography
*
External links
Things to Do With Locals in Naples*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Castel Dell'ovo
12th-century fortifications
15th-century fortifications
Castles in Naples
Tourist attractions in Naples
Colonies of Magna Graecia
Cumaean colonies
Romulus Augustulus
Archaeological sites in Naples