There are many wonderful, and awe inspiring places to visit in and around Naples, this Castle is just one of those places. I've always had a love of castles and old house, the fact this was here seemed to good an opportunity to miss out on.
*** What is it? ***
The Castel Dell'Ovo is apparently the oldest castle in Naples, having had many guises throughout the years, it is now a fantastic place to visit.
*** Where is it? ***
The Castle sits on a promontory of land, a small islet, jutting out from the main coastal road in the heart of the Bay of Naples. It is located on Via Partenope, and Via N. Sauro, in the Santa Lucia district, it separates the harbour area in the slightly upmarket sea front areas. As a landmark it is fantastic, if you walk away from the castle, on the promenade, you will soon be rewarded with the most amazing views right across the bay to Vesuvius and Sorrento
*** Why is it there? ***
The castle gets its name from way back when in history, there is supposedly an egg buried in the foundations, the poet Virgil, warned that if the egg ever broke a major catastrophe would engulf the city - read into that what you will!
The castle in its present form dates from around the 16th century, but the site dates back to the ancient Greeks, who built the original harbour here. A Roman General had a villa built here, and used the land the present castle is on, as a grain store. In the 5th Century a Monastery was built on this site. In the 12th Century it was converted into a fort. Although the present structure apparently dates from the 16th Century.
*** What has it got? ***
Getting to the castle, you walk across a short causeway, which in itself is quite impressive. Be aware though, cars and scooters use this too! A lot of newlyweds in Napoli like to have their wedding pictures taken here, so that is something worth watching out for, as the bride seems to clamber onto the parapet of the bridge! The castle is free to go in, once in, you can wander around the battlements to your hearts content, you do get some fantastic views over the Bay of Naples form the ramparts. To get to the top, you walk through the main gate, and go under a portcullis, go to the left, and walk up a fairly gentle slope. Look up at the massive walls, certainly a feat of engineering to build this. Once at the top of this slope, you turn a sharp right, and walk up a steeper slope, go through the inner gate, you are literally going through the centre of the castle. About halfway up is an area you can stop, here there are some toilets, I paid a visit, they were very clean, and well looked after, as in most places in Europe, just leave a few cents towards the upkeep.
Once you get to the top, the views are fantastic, just explore, clamber around and enjoy, look down at the restaurants around the marina, a great view. The rooms of the castle are generally closed, unless there is an event on, such as an exhibition or a music event
The Castel Dell'Ovo, also holds concerts. I was fortunate enough to be in Naples when there was a performance of Peter Gabriels' Passion (which was written for the film "The Last Temptation of Christ") the ticket cost me 10 Euro, which you could buy on the door, or you can get them in advance from the Box Office, situated in Gallerie Umberto (in the centre of Naples)
The concert area, is underneath the castle, in a massive hall. The hall is about 30m high, by 30 long and 20 wide. It is painted a light orangey yellow. In the hall are massive stone arches to either side, where you can see the size of the stones used to construct this area.
The hall was laid out with seating, I would say there were about 200 seats, but people were standing at the back and the sides too. A large stage was constructed at one end, The concert I attended was fantastic, lots of drums, strings & brass. The acoustics in the hall gave a little echo, not as bad as I've heard in other places though. After the concert, I managed to speak to some of the members of the band, they seemed very appreciative that someone from England had attended. At events such as these, I always make a point of speaking to the sound engineer, again he was really happy that I congratulated him!
There were plenty of staff on hand, should there be any problems.
Just out of interest if every this concert tours, you should try to see it, it was one of the best things I have seen/heard for ages.
*** Around the Castle ***
Outside of the castle walls is probably one of my favourite areas around and about Naples, it is called Borgo Marinard, part of the old Porto di Santa Lucia - This area was once a vibrant fishing community, now it is a beautiful marina, check out some of the boats here! and an even better collection of small bars and restaurants. I have sat at most of these restaurants, looking over one shoulder to the imposing walls of Castel Dell'Ovo, and the other across the bay to the outline of Vesuvius itself. Sit out here on a clear night, it is beautiful. The restaurants all specialise in seafood, with displays of the freshly caught fish waiting for you to choose which one you want. I would say it is difficult to choose one restaurant from the others, and they are all excellent, the ones with the best sea view, charge the best prices! You can charter boats from here too, the ones I saw advertised had sun decks etc, so I would suggest they are quite expensive!
*** Opening Times ***
The Castle Dell'Ovo is open Monday - Saturday 8am - 6pm, and Sunday 8am - 2pm, and it is free to go in.
Concert aside, I spent a couple of hours walking around here, but if your schedule is tight, you could do it 45 minutes.
Certainly if you are in Naples I would heartily recommend that you try to visit this fantastic castle. If you are a bit unstable on your feet, it may be a bit of a trial getting to the top, but certainly it will be worth it once at the top, and you can always have a drink in one of the bars after!
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