The history of Castel dell’Ovo (literally "Egg Castle") cannot be separated from the one of the islet of yellow tuff near the coastline called Megaride, where according to the myth, te siren Parthenope is buried.

There, around the end of the 8th century BC, the Cumens landed and founded a new settlement on the back of Mount Echia, the actual area of Pizzofalcone. That was the origin of the city which took the name of the siren.

In Roman times in the 1st century BC, on the islet the large maritime villa of Lucullus stood whose properties extended over a large coastal stretch to the actual Piazza Municipal and, to the north, maybe up to Puteoli (the actual Pozzuoli). It was on that fortified villa, the  castrum lucullanum, that in 476 AD, the last roman emperor Romulus Augustus was exiled. Later, Basilian monks settled there, and in the 7th century, they adopted the Benedictine rule, creating a monastery.

The islet, which in the meantime had taken the name of San Salvatore from the small church standing there, in 872 was the scene of a dramatic event: the Saracens, who had occupied it, kidnapped the bishop of Naples Athanasius. The fleets of the Duchy of Naples and the Republic of Amalfi managed to reconquer the islet and free the Bishop. Later, the Dukes of Naples demolished the structures of the convent to prevent the Saracens from making it a bridgehead for attacks against the city. In 1128, an Arx Sancti Salvatoris appears in the documents. This was a sign that the islet has returned to life. In 1440, Roger the Norman decided to establish his residence there. However, The predominant residential function was lost with the construction of Castel Capuano, which inherited it, while military defenses were strenghtened on the islet. Frederick II in 1222 kicked off the other interventions, building three towers to defend the royal treasure transferred to the fortified inlet, which became the palace of the Swabian kings. And also a prison. Where the following historical events brought the last representatives of the Swabian house, Corradino, before the decapitation in the market square, and Manfredi’s sons. From his part, Charles I of Anjou, although he had transferred the court to the newly completed Castel Nuovo, left the royal treasure on the islet. What was beginning to be called Castel dell’Ovo remained, in fact, the safest place in Naples.

According to legend, Virgil would have hidden in the dungeons a magic egg and as long as it remained intact, the castle would have remained and the city would have been preserved from destructions to catastrophes. Therefore, when in 1370, the natural isthmus connecting the islet to the mainland collapsed, queen Johana, in addition to having it rebuilt immediately in masonry, took care to reassure Naples inhabitants by saying that she had changed the egg!

With the arrival of the Aragonese on the throne of Naples, the castle was restructured various times. Some made necessary due to war events which had destroyed part of the existing fortifications, as in the case for the siege of Ferdinand the Catholic in 1503, when the towers were demolished. The complete renovation which followed gave the fortress the appearance it still has today the thicker walls, reinforced defensive systems towards the ground and the octagonal towers. The batteries and the two drawbridges were built in later times, when its prevalent function became a military and prison one. Where many opponents and revolutionaries passed until the Risorgimento.

It also risked being razed to the ground to be replaced by a new district, after the Italian unification. Fortunately, nothing came of it and the castle was not touched. After a thorough restoration in 1975, Castel dell’Ovo has become a centre for congresses and cultural events and is open to the public for the visits, while Borgo Marinari became a tourist attraction of the city with nautical clubs and renowned bars and restaurants.



Information:
open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Sundays and holidays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Free entry