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Castel Nuovo (; ; 'New Castle'), often called Maschio Angioino (; ; 'Angevin Keep'), is a Middle Ages 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 Società Napoletana di Storia Patria ("Neapolitan Society of Homeland History") and of the Naples Committee of the Istituto per la storia del Risorgimento italiano (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.
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 Normans 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.
With the ascent to the throne of Robert, King of Naples, in 1309, the castle, which he renovated and expanded, became a remarkable center of culture, because to his patronage and his passion for the arts and literature: the Castel Nuovo hosted important personalities of the culture of the time, such as the writers Petrarch and Giovanni Boccaccio in their Neapolitan stays, while the most famous painters of the time that they were called to paint its walls: Pietro Cavallini, Montano d'Arezzo, and above all Giotto, who in 1332 painted the Palatine Chapel. Napoli e i suoi castelli tra storia e leggende, Del Delfino, 1989
From 1343 it was the residence of Joanna I of Naples, who in 1347, fled to France, abandoned it to the assaults of the army of the King Louis I of Hungary. He had come to avenge the death of his brother Andrew, the Giovanna's husband, killed by a palace plot that the queen herself was suspected of instigating it. The castle was looted and on its return the queen was forced to a radical restructuring. During the second expedition of Louis against Naples the castle, where the queen had found refuge, resisted the assaults. In the following years the fortress underwent other attacks: on the occasion of the taking of Naples by Charles III of Naples and then that of Louis II of Naples, who subtracted it from the son of Charles III, Ladislaus of Naples. The latter, regained the throne in 1399, lived there until his death in 1414.
Joanna II of Naples succeeded her brother Ladislaus and ascended the throne as the last Anjevin dynasty. The queen, depicted as a dissolute, lustful, bloody woman, would have hosted in her alcove lovers of all kinds and social backgrounds, even rounded up by her emissaries among young, handsome people. To protect her good name, Joanna II would not hesitate to get rid of them as soon as she satisfied her cravings. Precisely for this purpose it has been narrated for centuries that the queen had a secret trapdoor inside the castle: her lovers, having exhausted their task, were thrown into this well and devoured by sea monsters. According to a legend, it would have been a crocodile from the Africa to the castle's dungeons after crossing the Mediterranean Sea, the perpetrator of the horrendous death of the Joanna's lovers.
King Alfonso V entrusted the restructuring of the Angevin fortress-palace to the Mallorca-born Catalonia architect Guillem Sagrera, who rebuilt it in Catalan Gothic style. The five round towers, four of which incorporated the previous Anjevin construction with a square plan, suitable to support the blows of the guns of the time, reiterated the defensive role of the castle. The importance of the palace as a center of royal power was instead emphasized by rebuilding the Main Gate in a Triumphal Arc shape, a masterpiece of the Neapolitan Renaissance architecture and work of Dalmatian Francesco Laurana, together with many artists of various origins. The works took place starting from 1453 and only after the king's death was completed in 1479.
The internal struggle between barons and dynasty took place in a political and hidden manner and the same culminated definitively in 1487 in the homonymous hall of the Castel Nuovo. Ferdinand I of Naples, during his throne, he found himself facing the barons, beating them in skill and cunning after plots, assassins and double games.
Finally the Italian State obtained the entire castle for civil purposes, the works began in 1923 and also affected the factories and warehouses built near the square in place of the demolished bastions: already the following year all the various buildings were eliminated and the esplanade was created where gardens were built on the side of current Vittorio Emanuele III street.
Only the door of the citadel was saved, the original Aragonese access to the complex, rebuilt in 1496 by Frederick of Naples (as evidenced by its emblem on the arch): isolated and distorted of its function, is visible among the flower garden square along Via Vittorio Emanuele III. The work related to the restoration of the castle, which eliminated the many superficies added over time, lasted until 1939.
Among the main personalities, beside Neapolitean, Aragonese and Spanish monarchs, are: Giovanni Boccaccio, Giotto, Pope Boniface VIII, Pope Celestine V and Petrarch.
The internal staircase to each of the towers is commonly called scala catalana. The same door on the roof of the castle, where in the past the watchtowers were placed to check from a possible arrival of enemies.
On the northern side, at the Beverello tower, one of the Crusader windows of the Sala dei Baroni opens; while two other windows face the eastern side, one towards the sea and the other, along the back wall of the Palatine Chapel, with single-light windows between two narrow polygonal towers. Protected by the other corner tower called that of the Oro, then follows an advanced factory building that originally supported a loggia and a re-entering stretch with two overlapping loggias.
It is 35 meters tall and has been elongated into two stacked arches. Some reports claim that the arches had originally been planned as two face to a free standing arch for the Piazza del Duomo, but that an officer in the service of Alfonso, Nicola Bozzuto, whose house was to be razed to make room for the monument, induced the king to alter the site to the Castel Nuovo. A handbook for travellers in southern Italy, Seventh Edition (1873), By John Murray (Firm), page 97-98.Liberatore, R. page 9
Corinthian columns flank the entrance, while the first level sculpture depicts a triumphal quadriga leading Alfonso parading. The sculptors included Isaia da Pisa, Merliano, Domenico Gagini, Andrea Fiorentino, a pupil of Donatello, and Silvestro dell'Aquila. Sculptors from Aragon also contributed to the work. The center has a shield with the symbols of Aragon. The Frieze below reads: ALFONSVS REX HISPANVS SICULVS ITALICUS PIVS CLEMENS INVICTUS Above it reads: ALFONSVS REGUM PRINCEPS HANC CONDIDIT ARCEM
The second upper arch is surmounted by Lions and four niches with statues depicting the virtues of Alfonso. Above this is a rounded lintel with two genii with horns of plenty surmounted by Alfonso in attire of a warrior. Real Museo Borbonico, Volume 13, By Raffaele Liberatore, Stamperia Reale (1843), Antonio Niccolini, Editor, page 1-35. This cornice was meant for an equestrian statue. The three statues of St Michael, St Anthony the Abbot, and St Sebastian, and the two recumbent ones, on the summit of the arch, are by Giovanni da Nola.John Murray handbook page 97.
The bronze doors at the arch were executed by the monk Guglielmo of Naples, and represent in various compartments the victories of Ferdinand I over the Duke of Anjou and the rebellious barons.
At the end of the chapel, there is a spiral staircase accessible from a door on the left that allowed you to go up to the Hall of the Barons.
Inside, illuminated by tall and narrow Gothic windows, there are only few remains of the original frescoed decoration, the work of Maso di Banco and a ciborium of Iacopo della Pila, dated to the end-15th century. However, there are also other 14th century frescoes from the Castle of Balzo at Casaluce.
The frescoes on the right wall of the chapel were painted by Maso di Banco and contain references to Gothic-Angevin culture. In contrast, those on the left wall are the work of other Florentine artists.
The interior was also frescoed by Giotto towards 1330, which resumed the Stories of the Old and New Testament. The content of this cycle of frescoes is almost entirely lost even if there remains a decorative part in the windows reminiscent of those of the Bardi Chapel of the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence. Furthermore, it is described, in the verses of an anonymous author in a collection of sonnets of 1350, about the whole work of Giotto concerning the chapel.
Finally, the chapel collects valuable sculptures made by artists who also worked on the triumphal arch of Alfonso II of Aragon (15th century). The same sculptures are excellent examples of Neapolitan Renaissance. One of these is the Tabernacle with the Madonna and Child, a masterpiece by Domenico Gagini, a pupil of Donatello and Brunelleschi.
Moreover, there are two other sculptures of particular importance, both called Madonna enthroned with the Child, and both of Francesco Laurana, sculpted during two different stays in Naples. One of the two was taken to the castle although not part of it, because it was carved for the Chiesa di Sant'Agostino alla Zecca.
Under the Aragonese dominion, more precisely of Alfonso V of Aragon (1442–1458), the hall was rebuilt by Guillem Sagrera who enlarged it the spaces and the dimensions.
The hall is called the Hall of the Barons because around 1487 Ferdinand I of Naples invited some of the barons who had conspired against him to this place, with the excuse of celebrating his nephew's wedding. In reality this was nothing but a trap; the barons that were present were arrested and immediately put to death. Located at the corner of the Tower of Beverello, between the northern side and the eastern side, facing the sea, the large room (26 m x 28 m) is covered by an octagonal vault resting on large angular ébrasement and equipped with sixteen ogive forming a star pattern with a bright oculus in the center. Around the dome there are small windows that served soldiers to watch over the person of the king when he received visits or ambassadors. Access to this position of the hall was possible through the helical scale ( Catalan staircase) in piperno and in tuff stone, located in the adjacent Tower of Beverello and also built by Guillem Sagrera, during the works that affected the whole royal environment. The floor of the room was decorated with Maiolica white and blue glazed, brought from Valencia.
On the side facing the sea, between two crossed windows open to the outside, there is a large fireplace, surmounted by two stages for musicians.
Among the works of art still present in the hall is the two-faced portal marble of Domenico Gagini, two bas-reliefs on which the triumphal procession of Alfonso V of Aragon is depicted and the entrance of the King in the castle, a Catalan portal through which you access the Chamber of the Angels.
Today part of the sculptural decoration by Barcelonan Pere Johan is dispelled. Until 2006, moreover, it hosted the meetings of the City Council of Naples.
During some restoration work on the courtyard of the castle, important archaeological finds of the Ancient Rome of the 1st century BC and of the 5th century were found, The remains are preserved and which can now be viewed via a transparent glass floor.
The interior presents a Baroque decoration with frescoes and panel paintings enclosed in stucco frames and gilded wood.
On the high altar, there is a canvas painted by a follower of Girolamo Imparato and Giovann'Angelo D'Amato, depicting the Madonna del Carmine virgin with the purging souls and the Saints Saint Sebastian and Pope Gregory I.
The chapel was mainly used to offer those condemned to death the sacraments before being executed. In the chapel is buried John, the brother of Masaniello.
The 15th-century vault, similar to that of the Hall of the Barons, was designed by Guillem Sagrera, but destroyed during the bombings of World War II.
The chapel was consecrated in 1688, after a refurbishment in the Baroque style, as evidenced by a marble plaque placed on the entrance door.
The only evidence of the time, left in the room, are represented by some decorations in gilded stucco, by two frescoes on the left wall (most likely belonging to a single scene) coming from the 14th-century cloister of Chiesa of Santa Maria Donnaregina Vecchia and the presence of three paintings by Nicola Russo; the Visitation, the Annunciation and the Journey of Mary Bethlehem.
The Pit of the Crocodile, also known as that of the Miglio, was the warehouse of the Aragonese court, but it was also used to segregate prisoners condemned to harsher penalties. An old legend tells of frequent and mysterious disappearances of the prisoners due to which vigilance was increased. It was not long before these disappearances happened because of a crocodile that penetrated from an opening in the basement and dragged the prisoners by the leg after biting them. Once they had discovered this they were subjected to the jaws of the reptile all the condemned who wanted to be sent to death without too much sensation.
Later to kill the crocodile a large leg of horse was used as bait A Napoli spunta il coccodrillo della leggenda corriere.it and, once dead, was stuffed and hooked on the entrance door of the castle. This legend may be the source of the popular assumption that all castle- have crocodiles or other man-eating animals in works of fiction.
In the Pit of the Barons instead, four coffins are presented to the visitors without any inscription and are probably those of the nobles who took part in Conspiracy of the Barons in 1485.
On the first floor there are frescoes and paintings essentially of religious commissions, belonging from the 15th to 18th centuries. There are paintings by important Caravaggisti artists as Battistello Caracciolo and Fabrizio Santafede, and important exponents of the Neapolitan Baroque, as Luca Giordano, Francesco Solimena and Mattia Preti. On the second floor there are exhibited works ranging from the 18th to 20th centuries. The exhibition follows a thematic order: history, landscapes, portraits, views of Naples.
Other halls of the castle, such as the Hall of Charles V and the Loggia Room, are finally destined for temporary cultural exhibitions and initiatives.
The library contains one of the first books printed in Italy (the fourth), the De civitate Dei of Augustine of Hippo made in June 1467 at Subiaco by two German clerics: Arnold Pannartz and Konrad Sweynheim.Gabriele Paolo Carosi, Da Magonza a Subiaco. L'introduzione della stampa in Italia, Busto Arsizio, Bramante Editrice, 1982, pp. 33-35
Civic museum
Inside the Castel Nuovo there is a museum itinerary inaugurated in 1990 which starts from the 14th-century Palatine Chapel, passing through the Armory Room up to the first and second level of the castle, the latter destined for painting and sculpture.
Library of the Neapolitan Society of Homeland History
On the second floor and on the third floor is the Library of the Neapolitan Society of Homeland History. The library has book, iconographic, documentary and parchment collections. It is a private library, therefore access is governed by rules set by the Articles of Association and prescribed in the Rules.
See also
Bibliography
(1999). 9788886319232, Pubblicomit. ISBN 9788886319232
External links
Categories: Buildings And Structures Completed In 1282, Buildings And Structures Completed In 1309, Buildings And Structures Completed In 1479, Gothic Architecture In Naples, Castles In Naples, 1282 Establishments In Europe, 13th-century Establishments In The Kingdom Of Sicily, Sites Of Papal Elections, Tourist Attractions In Naples, Royal Residences In The Kingdom Of Naples
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