Castel dell'Ovo

About this place

Castel dell'Ovo is a seafront castle in Naples, located on the former island of Megaride, now a peninsula, on the Gulf of Naples in Italy. The castle's name comes from a legend about the Roman poet Virgil, who had a reputation in the Middle Ages 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, facing Mergellina across the sea. Look at the entrances, walls and surrounding terrain together. Their relationship helps explain how the site controlled movement and protected its occupants, while later alterations can reveal the shift from military stronghold to residence or monument.