Castel dell'Ovo at Porto Santa Lucia

About Castel dell'Ovo at Porto Santa Lucia

Castel dell'Ovo (Castle of the Egg), also known as the Norman Castle, is a castle in Naples, southern Italy. It was built in the 12th century by the Normans on the site of a Roman fort, and is the oldest standing building in the city. The fort is located on the former island of Megaride, which was separated from the mainland by a narrow channel. The castle's name derives from a legend that the founder, Roger I of Sicily, was informed of the city's future by a sorcerer who predicted that it would be destroyed when a castle built on the site of the Roman fort fell into the sea. Roger had a servant place an egg on the summit of the castle's keep, and when it was lost to the sea the city was safe. The castle passed to the Angevins in the 13th century, and then to the Aragonese in 1442. It was extensively renovated in the 15th century. The castle was captured by the French in 1799, and became a prison. It was used as a military barracks from the 1860s until the end of World War II. It is now open to the public as a museum.