Maschio Angioino

Castle Naples, Italy

Castel Nuovo, or even Maschio Angioino, is a historic medieval and Renaissance castle, as well as one of the symbols of the city of Naples. The castle dominates the scenic Piazza Municipio and is the seat of the Neapolitan Society of Homeland History and of the Naples Committee of the Institute for the History of the Italian Risorgimento, housed in the premises of the SNSP. The civic museum is also located in the complex, which includes the palatine chapel and the museum itineraries on the first and second floors.

The Castle has a complex structure, part of which was rebuilt, after several dominations, by Alfonso of Aragon. Today, they remain only the Palatine chapel, some towers and the walls, but the Castle had originally a trapezoidal plant, five big protection towers, a moat that surrounded it, a Catalan staircase inside each tower and, between the two towers that protected the entrance (also called towers ‘Di Mezzo’ and ‘di Guardia’), a marble triumph arch. In particular, among the most important elements that are arrived until us, there is the ‘Palatine Chapel’, also called church of ‘San Sebastiano’ or of ‘Santa Barbara’, characterized by a gothic architecture and inside magnificently frescoed with artworks by Masi di Bianco and even Giotto. Moreover, the Maschio Angioino is also known for some stories such as the legend of the crocodile, one of the most famous Neapolitan legends. According to the legend, this crocodile was brought to Naples from Egypt and, in particular, by the Queen Joanna II who married James of Bourbon. It seems that she made eat her lovers to the crocodile so that her husband could not discover them.