The origins and the House of Anjou The original nucleus of the estate—partially uncovered through restoration and archaeological excavations—was built on the initiative of
Charles I of Anjou. In 1266, after defeating the
Hohenstaufens, Charles ascended to the throne of
Sicily and moved the capital from
Palermo to
Naples. 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. 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.
Conspiracy of the Barons The
Conspiracy of the Barons was a movement of reaction against the policies of centralization of the State adopted by the new sovereign dynasty of
Naples, i.e. the
Aragonese. The lawsuits against
Ferdinand I of Naples were that these began the recovery of populated areas, taking them away from the Barons' property and supplying them with that of the Aragonese court. In fact, the maneuver was a royal delivery of power. 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. , with Castel Nuovo in center left
Spanish rule The castle was again looted by
Charles VIII of France, during his expedition in 1494. First with the fall of
Ferdinand II of Naples (1496) and later of
Frederick of Naples (1503), the kingdom of Naples was annexed to the
Kingdom of Spain by
Ferdinand II of Aragon, who established the
Viceroyalty of Naples. The Castel Nuovo lost its function as a royal residence, becoming a military garrison, due to its strategically important position. However, it hosted the Kings of Spain who came to visit Naples, like
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, who lived there for a short time in 1535.
Neapolitan Republic The last important event dates back to 1799, when it was proclaimed the birth of the
Parthenopean Republic (Neapolitan Republic). Renovated for the last time in 1823 by
Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies, it later hosted the "artillery arsenal" and a "pyrotechnic office" which in 1837 estimated to be more prudent transfer of the guns factory of the Torre Annunziata.
20th century In the 1920s was made the wide range of flower gardens that ran along the Maschio Angioino until the end-20th century: in the early months of 1921 Count Pietro Municchi, an engineer then councilor of urban decor, presented to the City Council the proposal for the isolation of the Castel Nuovo. 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. ==People who have lived in the castle==