Castel dell'Ovo stands on the ancient Megaride islet. One of the imaginative Neapolitan tales tells that it was named after an egg that Virgilio hid inside a cage in the basements of the castle The place where the egg was kept was heavely locked because "all the facts and the fortune of Castle Marino" dipended on the egg. Since that moment the destiny of the Castle, and of the whole city of Naples, has been bound to that egg. The chronicles quote that at the time of Queen Giovanna I, the castle was seriously damaged because the huge arch joining the two rocks on which the castle stood, collapsed; the Queen had to solemny declare that the egg had been replaced in order to avoid the panic in town for fear of new and greater disasters. It is the mythical tomb of Partenope and Virgilio saw it when Lucio Licinio Lucullo lived there. The Normans, and later the Angiovines, turned it into a military fortress, as it stands today.

Castel dell'Ovo
Borgo Marinari

Tel. 081.7956180/81
Open: Mon to Sat - Hours: 9.00 a.m. - 7.30 p.m. - Sun and festival days: 9.0 a.m. - 2.00 p.m.
Tickets fares: Free entrance