Considered to be the oldest castle in Naples, Castel
dell’Ovo juts out into the bay of Naples on a tiny isle called Megaride. This
is the island where Siren Partenope washed ashore after she drowned herself in
the sea because she could not lure Ulysses into her trap. This same siren gave
Naples its first name, Partenope.
Castel dell’Ovo was made famous by the Roman poet Virgil and
the legend of his magical, mythical egg, however this egg is the namesake of
the castle. That’s right! An egg. This beautiful isle castle was named after an
egg! Legend has it that Virgil placed an egg into a glass jar, the jar into a
metal cage and hid it beneath the castle. As long as the egg remained safe and
intact, the city would too. The only
problem with that was that Virgil was there way before the castle was ever
built. I mean way way before.
Before Castel dell’Ovo, Virgil was living in Castellum
Luculanum. This expansive villa built by the Roman knight and patrician Lucius
Licinius was a Roman playground that lost its allure and was converted into a
fort. Once a fort, they decided that it would be a great place for a castle. I
can’t blame them. Having a prison on an isle is totally awesome. This Perfect
location was home to the last Roman Emperor Romolus Augustolus when her was
exiled and imprisoned until his death. Roger the Norman finally transformed it
into a castle in the 12th century.
From then on, many others who walked within the castle added their own
personal uses and additions to the grand castle.
Today, the prison cells are all gone and the halls of the
castle are free to roam. But it still leaves me to ponder, after all these
centuries, is the egg still there? All through the castle I was looking to see
if I could find where Virgil put that egg! Going through the grand corridors
and walking through narrow walksway in search of an egg centuries old. When
your in Naples and you are finished eating your delicious Napolitano pizza,
take a walk down to the water and search for the egg.
