The origins of the city of Naples
There, on the banks, where according to legend the dead body of the mermaid Partenope was found, killed by grief as a result of not being able to charm the shrewd Ulysses, a new city was born and grew: Parthènope, then Neapolis, today Naples.
A large castle was then built on those same banks, whose name derives from, according to another ancient legend, a magic egg, hidden in its dungeons by the Latin poet Virgil. The fate, not only of the castle but also of the entire city of Naples, is linked to this artefact. This legend became part of a common "feeling", so much so that in 1370, when the fortification collapsed due to an earthquake, the sovereign Giovanna I had to assure the population that the magic egg had been replaced, so as to prevent people from panicking.
History of the Castle
The Castle was built on the tuff islet of Megaride, a natural extremity of Mount Echia, and joined to the land by a thin isthmus of rock. Here, in the eighth century BC, the Cumans founded the Greek sub-colony of Parthènope, then they re-founded it as Neapolis at the end of the sixth century BC.
In the first century BC, during the Roman domination, the politician and soldier Lucius Licinius Lucullus acquired a large estate in the area, which also included the islet, where he built a large and luxurious villa, of which few remains can be seen today. Fortified by Emperor Valentinian III at the beginning of the 5th century, the villa became, in 476, the place of exile of the last Western Roman emperor, Romulus Augustus.
Medieval sources mention various other fortifications erected on the island, but the actual castle was built by Roger the Norman in 1140, occasionally using it as a royal residence.
Important fortifications and renovation work followed uninterruptedly under the Swabian and Angioni kings, but also during the Aragonese domination, the Spanish vice-royalty and the Bourbon kingdom.
The structure definitively lost its function of royal residence during the eighteenth century, when it was used as a military outpost and prison. After the unification of Italy, the castle experienced a period of neglect, which ended in the 1980s thanks to important renovation works aimed at transforming it into a place of culture.
Heritage
Today, the castle is annexed, via an artificial isthmus, to the historic district of Santa Lucia and is home to exhibitions, conferences and events.
There is also a marina called "Borgo dei Marinari" at the base of the fortification, which is home to some of the most prestigious nautical clubs in Naples.
