Description
Castel Capuano is, after Castel dell'Ovo, the oldest castle in Naples. Of Norman origin, it stands at the end of via dei Tribunali, next to Porta Capuana, the gate from which the road to ancient Capua began.
The castle was born in 1160 at the wish of King William I, known as the Bad, to a design by the architect Buono. It was a fortress with sturdy walls and austere rooms. Frederick II made it more hospitable, but also held political prisoners there.
With the arrival of the Angevins the court moved to Castel Nuovo, but Capuano continued to host the royal family and illustrious guests: in 1370 Petrarch stayed there. Here on August 23, 1433, Sergianni Caracciolo, the favorite of Queen Joanna II, was killed. It was she, they say, who sent him to his death.
Under the Aragonese it became a ceremonial palace again, adorned with frescoes and Flemish tapestries. In 1535 Charles V lived there for a few months, on his return from the conquest of Tunis.
In 1537 the viceroy Don Pedro de Toledo turned it into the Kingdom's court of law, gathering there the courts scattered around the city. This is how via dei Tribunali got its name. For centuries justice was administered here, and the prisons were in the cellars.
Don't miss, in the monumental part, the portal with Spain's double-headed eagle and the Hall of Busts, with the marble portraits of Naples' great lawyers.
Beneath the castle, 19th-century excavations found the tombs of a cemetery, which arose where in Roman Naples there was a fortress near the gymnasium.
In the 15th century it was the center of a system of leisure residences in the eastern area of the city, with the villas of Poggioreale and the Duchesca, built by Alfonso II of Aragon when he was still Duke of Calabria. In 1517 the wedding of Sigismund I of Poland and Bona Sforza was celebrated here.
Since 2023 it has been the operational seat of the Scuola Superiore della Magistratura.
The castle was born in 1160 at the wish of King William I, known as the Bad, to a design by the architect Buono. It was a fortress with sturdy walls and austere rooms. Frederick II made it more hospitable, but also held political prisoners there.
With the arrival of the Angevins the court moved to Castel Nuovo, but Capuano continued to host the royal family and illustrious guests: in 1370 Petrarch stayed there. Here on August 23, 1433, Sergianni Caracciolo, the favorite of Queen Joanna II, was killed. It was she, they say, who sent him to his death.
Under the Aragonese it became a ceremonial palace again, adorned with frescoes and Flemish tapestries. In 1535 Charles V lived there for a few months, on his return from the conquest of Tunis.
In 1537 the viceroy Don Pedro de Toledo turned it into the Kingdom's court of law, gathering there the courts scattered around the city. This is how via dei Tribunali got its name. For centuries justice was administered here, and the prisons were in the cellars.
Don't miss, in the monumental part, the portal with Spain's double-headed eagle and the Hall of Busts, with the marble portraits of Naples' great lawyers.
Beneath the castle, 19th-century excavations found the tombs of a cemetery, which arose where in Roman Naples there was a fortress near the gymnasium.
In the 15th century it was the center of a system of leisure residences in the eastern area of the city, with the villas of Poggioreale and the Duchesca, built by Alfonso II of Aragon when he was still Duke of Calabria. In 1517 the wedding of Sigismund I of Poland and Bona Sforza was celebrated here.
Since 2023 it has been the operational seat of the Scuola Superiore della Magistratura.