Hotel
Olimpico
Litoranea
di Pontecagnano Salerno (Italy)
Tel: +39 089 203004 Fax: +39 089 203458
Amalfi Coast, Positano, Sorrento, Naples, Pompeii, Paestum, Capri, Ischia, Salerno, Ravello, Herculaneum, Mt. Vesuvius, Maiori, Minori, Vietri sul Mare, Furore
Dell'Ovo Castle
Built on the small island of Megaride, which it is said the place where the
Mermaid Partenope got entangled, Castel dell'Ovo rises up in the centre of the
gulf, between the marina of Mergellina and the Borgo Marinaro, a short distance
from the Villa Comunale.
It was the place where the Cumani founded the first part of the city during the
6th century BC.
In Roman times the site was occupied by the Castrum Lucullum, a fort belonging
to the Roman patrician, Lucius Licinus Lucullus, an immensely rich man .
In this place St. Patrizia sheltered from his uncle, emperor of Eastern; the
Duke Sergio's soldiers expelled the monks to built a garrison and, during the
centuries which followed, the Normans and the Angevins extended and fortified
the tuff building.
The castle was the royal residence of Charles I of Anjou and of Alfonso of
Aragon and in the 17th century it was converted into a prison where was
imprisoned also Romolo Augustolo, the last Roman Emperor, the monk and
philosopher Tommaso Campanella, the Princess of Acaja, the King Manfredi's son
and several liberals among them was Francesco de Sanctis.
The castle is well worth visiting. Note especially the bastions constructed in
yellow tuff, the Monks' Refectory and the splendid view of the gulf from the
terraces on the upper levels, taking in the promontory of Posillipo and the
island of Capri which rises up in front of it.
According to a medieval legend, the Roman poet Virgil, who in ancient times was
considered a powerful wizard, hid an egg inside a jug hanging in one of the
rooms of the castle. Tradition has it that when the egg falls and breaks, the
castle and the entire city will fall to ruin.
The interior of the fortress contains medieval structures and includes examples
of both Gothic style and much older remains, such as the ruins of a place of
worship named after San Salvatore.
Also worthy of note are the Torre Maestra (Master Tower) and the Torre Normandia
(Normandy Tower).