very time you look at Naples from the sea on the ferry going to Capri, or you walk towards Piazza Amedeo to have a drink with your buddies, besides the parking restrictions, keep your eyes peeled and spot – in between the many buildings on the hill – that building with a castle shape, which has nothing to do with the ones around it. If you look at it carefully, Aselmeyer castle, or it would be better to say Grifeo castle, is very clear it has nothing to do with the classic architectural style of Neapolitan aristocratic residencies. As it’s written on the plaque at its entrance, Lamont Young built this unusual building in 1902. The Anglo-Neapolitan architect, with his visionary personality, planned it to be a hotel for English tourists as well as his private residence. After he moved to Gaiola isle, he sold it to the rich banker Carlo Aselmeyer, of which it keeps its current name.

Today the building, developed on different blocks spread on different levels, is divided in private apartments, to which you can access through a solid wood front door, exactly as in old castles, and you will be wondering where the ditches with crocodiles are.

This curious building represents one of the greatest examples of a Neo-medieval architecture, and it shows visible references to England, with its classic gothic atmosphere, mysterious and a little bit “rainy”, but also its liberty style, which makes everything so unique.

This castle has many peculiarities, and its location is one of those: basically it grabs on to the tuff batch of the Neapolitan hill and it looks like almost it wants to fly away.

You will be surprised not just by its outside. If you are lucky enough to enter it, after its huge entrance, you can have access to its upper levels, where you will be able to find polished and richly decorated spaces, but mostly you will be enraptured by its incredible suspended gardens in Babylonian style, which greet each visitor to its final treat: the breath taking panorama on the Gulf of Naples. This view will make you remember to be in a city with a thousand sides and so many beautiful things to be discovered.

https://thesooper.it

Castello Aselmayer

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Castel Sant'Elmo is a medieval fortress located on a hilltop near the Certosa di San Martino, overlooking Naples, Italy. The name "Sant'Elmo" derives from a former 10th-century church, Sant'Erasmo, shortened to "Ermo" and, finally altered to "Elmo". It presently serves as a museum, exhibition hall, and offices.
Documents date a structure at the site from 1275, from the era of Charles d'Anjou. Known originally as Belforte, it was likely a fortified residence, surrounded by walls, its entrance gate marked by two turrets. In 1329, using designs by the Sienese architect Tino da Camaino, king Robert of Naples enlarged the fortress described in documents as palatium in summitatae montanae Sancti Erasmi. Camaino also supervised construction of the adjacent Carthusian monastery of San Martino. By 1336, the palace was referred to as a castrum or castle, and work continued under Camaino till his death in 1343.

Attanasio Primario and Francesco di Vico then directed construction. By 1348 documents refer to the building as castrum Sancti Erasmi, probably because a chapel dedicated to Saint Erasmus was originally located on the site. The Angevin fortress was severely damaged in an earthquake in 1456, which demolished the external walls and the towers. The Aragonese rulers of Naples, and notably Don Pedro de Toledo, the first governor and cousin of the Viceroy, included it in a comprehensive scheme designed to fortify the land perimeter of the city, based on four separate strongholds. Castel Sant'Erasmo acquired its hexagonal star shape between 1537 and 1547 under the designs of Pedro Luis Escriva from Valencia, a military architect. The daring hexagonal shape drew fierce criticism from his contemporaries, to such an extent that in 1538 Escriva defended his design in a published Apologia.
Documents date a structure at the site from 1275, from the era of Charles d'Anjou. Known originally as Belforte, it was likely a fortified residence, surrounded by walls, its entrance gate marked by two turrets. In 1329, using designs by the Sienese architect Tino da Camaino, king Robert of Naples enlarged the fortress described in documents as palatium in summitatae montanae Sancti Erasmi. Camaino also supervised construction of the adjacent Carthusian monastery of San Martino. By 1336, the palace was referred to as a castrum or castle, and work continued under Camaino till his death in 1343.

Attanasio Primario and Francesco di Vico then directed construction. By 1348 documents refer to the building as castrum Sancti Erasmi, probably because a chapel dedicated to Saint Erasmus was originally located on the site. The Angevin fortress was severely damaged in an earthquake in 1456, which demolished the external walls and the towers. The Aragonese rulers of Naples, and notably Don Pedro de Toledo, the first governor and cousin of the Viceroy, included it in a comprehensive scheme designed to fortify the land perimeter of the city, based on four separate strongholds. Castel Sant'Erasmo acquired its hexagonal star shape between 1537 and 1547 under the designs of Pedro Luis Escriva from Valencia, a military architect. The daring hexagonal shape drew fierce criticism from his contemporaries, to such an extent that in 1538 Escriva defended his design in a published Apologia.
The castle served as an autonomous military outpost, with a governor who had absolute authority over both military and civilian matters. Around the parade grounds were situated the officers' quarters, chaplain's house, a church (1547) designed by the Spanish architect Pietro Prato, and the surviving buildings from the Angevin Belforte. Don Pedro de Toledo's funerary monument (1588) is found in the sacristy of the church.

In 1587 the munitions depot of the castle was struck by lightning, and exploded, destroying the church, the chaplain's house and the officers' quarters. Reconstruction was carried out between 1599 and 1601 under the architect Domenico Fontana. Despite successive rebuildings over the centuries, the castle conserves its original structure. Built of volcanic tufa, it overlords over Naples, and ever since the famous Tavola Strozzi incident (late 15th century), for centuries it was a symbol and bastion of government oppression. In 1604 it was used to imprison Tommaso Campanella, branded as a heretic, and in 1799 the patriots of the Neapolitan Revolution, including Gennaro Serra, Mario Pagano and Luigia Sanfelice. With the departure of the Bourbon garrison in 1860, it remained a military prison until 1952, when the prison was transferred to Gaeta.

Castel Sant'Elmo

Villa Ebe (anche nota come Castello di Pizzofalcone) è una palazzina neogotica che sorge sul fianco occidentale del Monte Echia a Napoli, in cima alle antiche rampe di Pizzofalcone, nel quartiere San Ferdinando.
Storia e descrizione
Fu costruita nel 1922 secondo il gusto e lo stile vittoriano dell'architetto ed urbanista Lamont Young che, circa vent'anni prima, si occupò dell'edificazione del castello Aselmeyer. L'edificio assunse il nome di Castello Lamont e fu progettato su due scompartimenti distinti che fungevano uno (il lato di villa Ebe) come residenza personale dell'architetto napoletano, nel quale vi abitò fino alla sua scomparsa avvenuta per suicidio proprio nella villa stessa; l'altro scompartimento invece fungeva da residenza per la famiglia Astarita. Quest'ultima parte del complesso, andò definitivamente distrutta da un bombardamento degli alleati durante la seconda guerra mondiale e ciò che rimane oggi visibile dell'opera di Young è dunque solo la parte riguardante villa Ebe.[1]

Il nome originale mutò nel corso degli anni, prendendo poi quello dell'allora giovane moglie di Young (Ebe), la quale continuò a dimorarvi fino al 1970; in seguito, i suoi eredi ne alienarono la proprietà al comune di Napoli. Nel 2000 un incendio doloso la danneggiò profondamente devastandone le sale interne e distruggendo completamente l'incantevole scala elicoidale.[2] L'elemento di spicco della villa rimane pertanto la torre quadrata con contrafforti ottagonali in pietra vesuviana con finestre ad arco poste sui tre lati della stessa.[1]

Il sito da anni langue abbandonato e fino agli inizi del 2000 non ha ancora preso slancio il progetto di rivalorizzazione approvato poi solo nel 2005, ma finora mai avviato. Tale progetto immagina la villa trasformata in grande museo interattivo, sede di mostre e convegni, dedicato all'architettura liberty; si prevede, inoltre, la risistemazione della panoramica terrazza (che gode di una vista a 360° sul prospiciente golfo) e l'installazione su di essa di un moderno periscopio, secondo il modello della Torre di Tavira a Cadice.

Nonostante nel luglio 2008 la Regione Campania abbia approvato un finanziamento con fondi europei dei lavori di ristrutturazione e riutilizzo del sito per un totale di 3.350.000 euro, al 2019 la villa versa in stato di totale abbandono. 

Villa Ebe

Castel Nuovo (English: "New Castle"), often called Maschio Angioino (Italian: "Angevin Keep"), is a medieval castle located in front of Piazza Municipio and the city hall (Palazzo San Giacomo) in central Naples, Campania, Italy. Its scenic location and imposing size makes the castle, first erected in 1279, one of the main architectural landmarks of the city. It was a royal seat for kings of Naples, Aragon and Spain until 1815.

It is the headquarters of Neapolitan Society of Homeland History and of the Naples Committee of the Institute for the History of the Italian Risorgimento. In the complex there is also the civic museum, which includes the Palatine Chapel and the museum paths on the first and second floors.
History
The origins and the dynasty of the House of Anjou
The construction of its former nucleus -today partly re-emerged following restoration and archaeological exploration work- is due to the initiative of Charles I of Anjou, who in 1266, defeated the Hohenstaufens, ascended to the throne of Sicily and established the transfer of the capital from Palermo to the city of Naples.

The presence of an external monarchy had set the town planning of Naples around the center of the royal power, constituting an alternative urban core, formed by the port and by the two main castles adjacent to it, Castel Capuano and Castel dell'Ovo. This relationship between the royal court and town planning had already manifested itself with Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, who in the 13th century, in the Swabian statute had concentrated greater attention on castles neglecting the city walls. To the two existing castles the Anjevins added the main, Castel Nuovo (Chastiau neuf), which was not just a fortification but above all his magnificent palace.

The royal residence of Naples had been until then the Castel Capuano, but the Norman ancient fortress was judged as inadequate to the function and the king wanted to build a new castle near the sea.

The project was designed by the French architect Pierre de Chaulnes, the construction of the Castrum Novum started in 1279 to finish just three years later, a very short time considering the techniques of construction of the period and the overall size of the work. However, the king never lived there: following the War of the Sicilian Vespers, which cost to the House of Anjou the crown of Sicily, conquered by Peter III of Aragon and other events, the new palace remained unused until 1285, the year of the death of Charles I.

Castel Nuovo

Museum of Castel Nuovo
The Civic Museum of Castel Nuovo is located inside of the castle, also known as Maschio Angioino.

The first room is composed by the Palatine Chapel (dedicated to St. Sebastian and Santa Barbara), dating back to 1307 and unique property remained in the castle of the first phase of construction of the Angevin period. The Chapel has a Renaissance portal with reliefs (Nativity and Madonna and Angels of Eagle Andrea and Francesco Laurana), with a rose window designed by Matteo Forcimanya belonging to the Catalan school.

Inside there are paintings of Giotto, decorative leftovers attributed to Maso di Banco and a fifteenth-century ciborium by Jacopo della Pila. There are also kept other cycles of frescoes from the fourteenth century castle Dodge Casaluce and the fourteenth-century ciborium of San Gennaro extra Moenia.

Of particular importance are the valuable sculptures made by artists who also worked arc of Aragon Alfonso triumphant (XV century), examples of the Neapolitan Renaissance. Between these two Enthroned Madonna with Child Francesco Laurana , one of which also called Madonna del Passero, from St. Augustine to the Mint.

The interior of the chapel had frescos by Giotto, executed in 1330, which resumed the Stories of the Old and New Testaments. The content of this cycle of frescoes is almost entirely lost even if there are decorative pieces in the window splays reminiscent of those of the Bardi Chapel in Santa Croce in Florence. Finally they exposed silver items which made up a large part of the furnishings of the church of the Santissima Annunziata Maggiore, among which Baroque chandeliers.

Upon entering the room, you immediately notice a tub of suburban villa, the fifth century, covered with white marble slabs on which fits the curtain wall Angevin. The oldest part of such finds, dating the first century BC, is located in the eastern part of the hall and is represented by an apse that opens into five semicircular niches. The most likely hypothesis is that it is a pool belonging to a villa at the time, probably that of Licinius Lucullus.

several dozens of graves were also discovered, dating back to the period when the area assumed the role of the necropolis (VI-XII century), with minimal grave goods and some personal items such as rings, earrings and a pair of bronze spurs decorated a feline.

On the first floor you can admire paintings of the fifteenth century from St Eligius Maggiore as a Madonna and Child with Saints and numerous tables of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, as a Death of St. Joseph of Paolo De Matteis .

The Saint Nicholas in Glory, signed and dated 1658 by Luca Giordano , comes from St. Nicholas church in the Nile; The Miracle of Saint John of God Francesco Solimena comes from the church of Santa Maria della Pace; The Adoration of the Magi sixteenth was performed for the Palatine chapel of the castle by Marco Cardisco who follow the lesson of Raphael, depicted in the painting the portraits of Ferdinand I, Alfonso II and Charles V in place of the Magi. Finally, there are the paintings of the Neapolitan school of the seventeenth century, including paintings by Mattia Preti and Domenichino .

On the second floor are preserved paintings nineteenth and twentieth century now owned by the City of Naples. Sculptures are also on display Vincenzo Gemito and also the works of Francesco Jerace part of Jerace donation, which occurred right in favor of the City.

http://www.museionline.info

Museum of Castel Nuovo

Castel dell'Ovo (in English, Egg Castle) is a seaside 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. 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.
The Castel dell'Ovo is the oldest standing fortification in Naples. The island of Megaride was where Greek colonists from Cumae founded the original nucleus of the city in the 6th century BC. Its location affords it an excellent view of the Naples waterfront and the surrounding area. In the 1st century BC the Roman patrician Lucius Licinius Lucullus built the magnificent villa Castellum Lucullanum on the site. Fortified by Valentinian III in the mid-5th century, it was the site to which the last western Roman emperor, Romulus Augustulus, was exiled in 476. Eugippius founded a monastery on the site after 492.
The remains of the Roman-era structures and later fortifications were demolished by local residents in the 9th century to prevent their use by Saracen raiders. The first castle on the site was built by the Normans in the 12th century. Roger the Norman, conquering Naples in 1140, made Castel dell 'Ovo his seat. The importance of the Castel dell'Ovo began to decline when king Charles I of Anjou built a new castle, Castel Nuovo, and moved his court there. Castel dell'Ovo became the seat of the Royal Chamber and of the State Treasury. It also served as a prison. In 1191, Empress Constance of the Holy Roman Empire, daughter of Roger , was captured during her struggle with her nephew Tancred, King of Sicily for the crown of Sicily, and Sicilian Chancellor Matthew d'Ajello wrote to Tancred persuading him to lock Constance in the island Castel dell'Ovo to be better-guarded and secluded from people, and wrote to nobleman Aligerno Cottone in charge of defending Naples ordering him to "ut imperatricem in Castro Salvatoris ad mare benè custodiat" (guard the empress in "Castle of the Savior" (i. e. Castel dell'Ovo) in the sea properly). However, Constance was released the next year and finally became Queen of Sicily. In 1268, King Conradin was imprisoned here before his trial and execution. In 1381, Queen Joanna I of Naples was also imprisoned there for a time after forced to surrender to her enemy Charles of Durazzo, the future Charles III of Naples, before her assassination.

The current appearance dates from the Aragonese domination (15th century). It was struck by French and Spanish artillery during the Italian Wars; in the Neapolitan Republic of 1799 its guns were used by rebels to deter the philo-Bourbon population of the city.

After a long period of decay the site got its current appearance during an extensive renovation project started in 1975.
In the 19th century a small fishing village called Borgo Marinaro, which is still extant, developed around the castle's eastern wall. It is now known for its marina and restaurants. The castle is rectangular in plan, approximately 200 by 45 metres at its widest, with a high bastion overlooking the causeway that connects it to the shore; the causeway is more than 100 metres long and a popular location for newlyweds to have their wedding photos taken. Inside the castle walls are several buildings that are often used for exhibitions and other special events. Behind the castle there is a long promontory once probably used as a docking area. A large round tower stands outside the castle walls to the southeast.

Underwater archaeologists have discovered what appears to be a 2500-year-old harbor associated with the origins of the first Greek settlement of Paleopolis (which preceded the ancient city of Neapolis, now Naples) in the sea next to the castle. Four tunnels, a 10-foot-wide street demonstrating furrows consistent with cart traffic, and a trench which was likely built as a defensive structure for soldiers were discovered submerged immediately adjacent to the castle. The discovery was announced in March 2018, after the September 2017 identification of the original port of Neapolis.

Castel dell'Ovo

Castel Capuano is a castle in Naples, southern Italy. It takes its name from the fact that it was at that point in the city walls where the road led out to the city of Capua. The castle is at the southwest end of via dei Tribunali, and until recently housed the Naples Hall of Justice, which has now moved to the new Civic Center, the Centro Direzionale.

The structure was built in the 12th century by William I, the son of Roger II of Sicily, the first monarch of the Kingdom of Naples. It was expanded by Frederick II of Hohenstaufen and became one of his royal palaces. On 19 August 1432, Sergianni Caracciolo was stabbed by four knights in the service of the queen in his room in Castel Capuano.

In the 16th century, under the Spanish viceroyship of Pedro Álvarez de Toledo, all of the city's various legal offices and departments were consolidated here and it became the Hall of Justice - known as the "Vicaria" - the basements of which served as a prison. Over the entrance to the castle, the arms of Emperor Charles V, who visited Naples in 1535, are still visible.

The castle has undergone many restorations, one as recent as 1860, and no longer retains much of its original appearance. The Colonna della Vicaria, a simple column on a pillar, once stood in front of the entrance; it was used to disgrace and punish debtors. At the rear exterior of the building, facing Piazza Enrico de Nicola, is the Fontana del Formiello.

Castel Capuano

If you have come to this page, you are looking for information on Villa Volpicelli, a structure present in Naples but not everyone is lucky enough to know or have seen with their eyes.

Located in the famous and characteristic district of Posillipo, Villa Volpicelli is now a real monumental structure, overlooking the sea, a place from which you can admire in all its beauty if you turn in the area aboard a boat.

The history of Villa Volpicelli
The first datum that shows its presence in Naples dates back to 1629, in the view of Baratta (engraver), and is recognized by its tall and magnificent cylindrical tower. In the years to come it has become a state property, and was given the nickname of 'fortino' (sometimes it was also called 'turret'). The name is taken from 1884, when Raffaele Volpicelli, a member of a noble Neapolitan family, bought the structure. He had some renovations done so that the villa was restored to its original appearance.

Today it is considered one of the most beautiful villas of Posillipo, and to give even more emphasis to the beauty of this structure, there is the wonderful garden, protected on the outside by a strong wall. It extends to the sea, and goes to touch another adjacent property, or Villa Rosebery.

https://www.napolike.com

Villa Volpicelli

 
On Nisida, the island-not island of Bagnoli , connected to the mainland by a bridge, stands the magnificent Castello di Nisida. It was built in the XIV century in the Angevin period and, later, Queen Giovanna built the Watchtower.

In the sixteenth century Don Pedro de Toledo made it part of that powerful defensive system that began in Baia and ended at the Sperone. With the plague epidemic of 1626, it became a leper hospital and today houses the Penal Institute for minors.

https://visitnaples.com

 Castello di Nisida

Il Castello Aragonese sorge a Baia, frazione di Bacoli, ed è situato in un'area di notevole importanza strategica, fu eretto su di un promontorio (51 m s.l.m.) naturalmente difeso a est da un alto dirupo tufaceo a picco sul mare, e a ovest dalla profonda depressione data dalle caldere di due vulcani chiamati "Fondi di Baia" (facenti parte dei Campi Flegrei); con l'aggiunta di mura, fossati e ponti levatoi, il castello risultava praticamente inespugnabile. La sua posizione - dalla quale si dominava tutto il Golfo di Pozzuoli fino a Procida, Ischia e Cuma - consentiva un controllo molto ampio della zona, impedendo tanto l'avvicinamento di flotte nemiche, quanto eventuali sbarchi di truppe che avessero voluto marciare su Napoli con un'azione di sorpresa alle spalle.
Storia
In epoca romana la collina era occupata da un complesso residenziale, forse la "villa di Cesare" (Tacito afferma che la villa di Cesare si trovava su di un'altura dominante il golfo di Baia), i cui resti furono distrutti e talora inglobati nell'attuale fortezza. Strutture superstiti della villa sono visibili intorno ad essa lungo la costa e a terra presso il campo sportivo, mentre altre sono state individuate recentemente e messe in luce nel corso dei lavori di restauro delle parti più alte del castello (torre Cavaliere) e più in basso lungo le sue scarpate a mare, a seguito del loro diserbo.

La costruzione del castello fu avviata dagli Aragonesi - insieme a numerose altre fortificazioni nel Regno di Napoli - nel 1495, poco prima dell'invasione dei francesi di re Carlo VIII. Per la progettazione del sistema difensivo e delle singole fortezze, il re Alfonso II d'Aragona si servì della consulenza di Francesco di Giorgio Martini, architetto senese, rinomato per le nuove tecniche e le soluzioni da lui applicate a difese militari. Non restano oggi tracce dell'originaria architettura del castello.

Dopo l'eruzione del Monte Nuovo, nel generale programma di difesa delle coste dalle incursioni saracene e turche, il viceré spagnolo Pedro Álvarez de Toledo avviò una radicale ristrutturazione e ampliamento del castello (1538-1550), in seguito alle quali esso assunse il suo aspetto attuale, a forma di stella.

L'edificio mantenne la sua funzione di fortezza militare nel periodo del vicereame spagnolo (1503-1707), del dominio austriaco (1707-1734), e infine del regno borbonico (1734-1860).

Gravemente danneggiato nella guerra che contrappose gli austriaci ai Borbone (1734), fu restaurato e ulteriormente fortificato dal re Carlo III di Borbone.

Durante la Repubblica Partenopea (1799) una flotta inglese tentò, ma inutilmente, di strapparlo ai francesi e ai repubblicani napoletani che lo presidiavano.

Dopo l'unità d'Italia (1861), per il castello subentrò un periodo di lenta decadenza e d'inesorabile abbandono. Considerato, infatti, non più utile a scopi militari, il castello passò nel 1887 sotto l'amministrazione di vari ministeri: prima quello della Marina, poi degli Interni, e infine della Difesa.

Nel 1927 lo Stato ne dispose la concessione - con diritto di godimento perpetuo - al Reale orfanotrofio militare. Per questa nuova destinazione d'uso negli anni 1927-1930 vi furono eseguiti numerosi lavori di ristrutturazione che inevitabilmente comportarono aggiunte e alterazioni.

Durante la seconda guerra mondiale il castello fu utilizzato come carcere militare e come soggiorno per prigionieri di guerra.

L'orfanotrofio militare rimase fino al 1975, anno in cui l'ente fu sciolto. Passato quindi alla Regione Campania, in occasione del terremoto dell'Irpinia del 1980 il castello fu occupato parzialmente per alcuni anni da famiglie terremotate.

Nel 1984 è stato definitivamente consegnato alla Soprintendenza Archeologica di Napoli e Caserta perché diventasse sede del Museo archeologico dei Campi Flegrei.