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Castel Nuovo - Maschio Angioino (New Castle)

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desideria
desideria
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Castel Nuovo or Maschio Angioino

  • January 7, 2009
  • Rated 5 of 5 by desideria from Naples, Italy
Castel Nuovo or Maschio Angioino

One of the places you should visit while your staying in Naples is the Castle called "The New Castle" or "Maschio Angioino" that is situated in the center of the city.
The "Maschio Angioino"s construction began in 1279 under the reign of Carlo I d’Angiò. The project’s author was the French architect Pierre de Chaule. Thanks to its strategic position the new castle became not only the king’s residence but also the fortress.
From the very beginning the castle was called "Castrum Novum" (New Castle) in order to distinguish it from the other 2 more ancient castles situated in Naples: Dell’Ovo and Capuano.
While the reign of king Roberto d’Angiò the Castle had become the cultural center. Artists, doctors and poets (Giotto, Petrarca and Boccaccio among them) stopped there.
After d’Angiò there was a royal family of Aragonese and Alfonso I as well as his predecessors chose the New Castle as his palace. He began the reconstruction and ordered to place the Triumph Arc between two towers of the castle in order to celebrate his glorious entrance in the city of Naples.
As time passed the medieval castle-palace became the modern castle-fortress and the area around it lost the residential characteristics.
The monument itself is a trapezoidal structure with five cylindrical towers. The area of the court has some arcs and the scales that lead to the "Sala dei Baroni" (Hall of Barons), and is somewhat similar to the typical Spanish courts.
During the period between 1503 and 1734 the defense structures of the castle that was used only for military purposes by that time were modified once again.
In the beginning of the 20th century the city administration began to isolate the castle from the other constructions situated nearby. The historical and monumental value of the Castle was recognized.
Nowadays this monument hosts the Civic Museum. The museum’s itinerary includes different halls and towers that receive plenty of various exhibitions and cultural initiatives.

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