Standing at the eastern end of the historic centre of Naples, Castel Capuano is the oldest of the great Neapolitan castles, founded in the twelfth century under William I, the Norman king of Sicily, who needed a fortress to control the routes into the city from the surrounding plain. The squat brick and stone structure has been rebuilt and remodelled many times across the centuries. The castle takes its name from the nearby Porta Capuana, the medieval city gate beside it, which led travellers out of Naples toward the inland town of Capua. Under the Angevin and Aragonese rulers, the building served as a royal palace, hosting kings, queens and visiting dignitaries, including the future emperor Charles V on his way back from his coronation in Bologna in 1530. In the sixteenth century, under the Spanish viceroyalty, the castle was thoroughly remodelled to serve as the seat of the courts of justice of the kingdom of Naples. Lawyers, judges and litigants crowded its halls and stairways from then until the early twenty-first century, with several courts of the Italian state continuing to occupy parts of the complex. The interior preserves a remarkable series of frescoed rooms, including the Sala dei Busti, ornamented with bust portraits of Neapolitan rulers, and the Salone Sommaria, the great hall once used by the Court of the Sommaria, with elaborate sixteenth-century frescoes by the Spanish painter Pedro de Rubiales and his collaborators. After the relocation of the law courts to new premises in the early twenty-first century, parts of Castel Capuano have been progressively opened to the public, with restoration projects revealing the medieval and Renaissance fabric beneath later modifications. The castle is used periodically for exhibitions and cultural events. The surrounding district, known as the Forcella, is one of the more vibrant working-class neighbourhoods of Naples, and a visit to the castle combines easily with a stroll past the imposing Porta Capuana, the church of Santa Caterina a Formiello and the surrounding lively street life, giving a sense of the layered history of the eastern half of the city.

Type: Tourist Attraction

Address: Via dei Tribunali, Naples, Italy

Opening Date: 01/01/1165