Description
Castel Sant'Elmo is the star-shaped fortress that can be seen from almost anywhere in the city, on the Vomero hill, 250 meters above the sea. It is the largest castle in Naples and is largely carved out of the yellow tuff. From here you look over the whole city, the gulf and the streets climbing up from the heights.
The view is the reason to climb up. From the arcades and the walkways the gaze runs from the gulf to the historic center, from Capodichino to Capodimonte as far as the Camaldoli hill. A Bourbon piperno sentry box looks over the area between Posillipo, Nisida and Cape Miseno.
To enter you take a steep ramp and a small bridge with walls full of loopholes; on the piperno portal is the double-headed eagle of Charles V. Farther on you meet a guillotine gate from the Napoleonic era. At the top is the parade ground, with the castellan's tower and two enormous cisterns beneath the esplanade.
The church of Sant'Erasmo, on the esplanade at the top, preserves a floor of majolica and terracotta and a Saint Michael Defeating the Devil, an early work by Luca Giordano. The Napoli Novecento museum displays Neapolitan artists from 1910 to 1980. You can also see the prison, with the cells where patriots and famous prisoners were held.
The name comes from a church of Sant'Erasmo, which became Eramo, Ermo and then Elmo. At first there was a Norman tower, Belforte. In 1329 King Robert of Anjou ordered a palace built there, finished in 1343.
Today's castle is due to Pedro de Toledo, who had it rebuilt in 1537 at the will of Charles V. The architect Pedro Luis Escrivà designed a star-shaped plan with six points, without bastion towers. Many criticized it, but it proved very functional.
In 1587 lightning struck the powder magazine: the explosion blew up a good part of the fortress and killed 150 men. In 1647, during Masaniello's revolt, the viceroy took refuge here and bombarded the city.
For centuries it was also a prison: Tommaso Campanella, Luisa Sanfelice and the patriots of the Neapolitan Republic of 1799 ended up there. It was a military prison until 1952 and opened to the public in 1988.
Don't miss
• The panorama from the walkways.
• The parade ground.
• The church of Sant'Erasmo.
• The Napoli Novecento museum.
Did you know?
• Within its walls is a 400-cubic-meter tank that supplies the Vomero.
• The castle was once called Paturcium and before the rebuilding it had a church of Sant'Erasmo, destroyed in 1587 by the explosion.
The view is the reason to climb up. From the arcades and the walkways the gaze runs from the gulf to the historic center, from Capodichino to Capodimonte as far as the Camaldoli hill. A Bourbon piperno sentry box looks over the area between Posillipo, Nisida and Cape Miseno.
To enter you take a steep ramp and a small bridge with walls full of loopholes; on the piperno portal is the double-headed eagle of Charles V. Farther on you meet a guillotine gate from the Napoleonic era. At the top is the parade ground, with the castellan's tower and two enormous cisterns beneath the esplanade.
The church of Sant'Erasmo, on the esplanade at the top, preserves a floor of majolica and terracotta and a Saint Michael Defeating the Devil, an early work by Luca Giordano. The Napoli Novecento museum displays Neapolitan artists from 1910 to 1980. You can also see the prison, with the cells where patriots and famous prisoners were held.
The name comes from a church of Sant'Erasmo, which became Eramo, Ermo and then Elmo. At first there was a Norman tower, Belforte. In 1329 King Robert of Anjou ordered a palace built there, finished in 1343.
Today's castle is due to Pedro de Toledo, who had it rebuilt in 1537 at the will of Charles V. The architect Pedro Luis Escrivà designed a star-shaped plan with six points, without bastion towers. Many criticized it, but it proved very functional.
In 1587 lightning struck the powder magazine: the explosion blew up a good part of the fortress and killed 150 men. In 1647, during Masaniello's revolt, the viceroy took refuge here and bombarded the city.
For centuries it was also a prison: Tommaso Campanella, Luisa Sanfelice and the patriots of the Neapolitan Republic of 1799 ended up there. It was a military prison until 1952 and opened to the public in 1988.
Don't miss
• The panorama from the walkways.
• The parade ground.
• The church of Sant'Erasmo.
• The Napoli Novecento museum.
Did you know?
• Within its walls is a 400-cubic-meter tank that supplies the Vomero.
• The castle was once called Paturcium and before the rebuilding it had a church of Sant'Erasmo, destroyed in 1587 by the explosion.