Hello, dear Hivers and welcome to the third largest city in Italy, called - Naples or Napoli. In today's post I decided to show you one of the most famous sights in Naples - namely Castel Sant'Elmo.
Castel Sant'Elmo is located on one of Naples' hills, occupying a central position in the city and offering spectacular views of the entire city and Mount Vesuvius in the distance.
The exact address of Castel Sant’Elmo is Via Tito Angelini, 20/A, 80129 Napoli NA, Italy. 📍
To get to the castle we decided to use the funicular,which departs from the city center and reaches near the castle itself.
Starting station of the funicular
The funicular ride lasts about 10 minutes and offers amazing views of the city. The price of a one-way ticket for the funicular is 1.60 euros.
For more information regarding the cost and routes of the funicular we looked at the following website:
The fortress wall towering high above Naples
The entrance fee to Castel Sant'Elmo is 5 euros per person. Students who present a student card enjoy a 50% discount and for them the ticket costs 2,50 euros.
The castle is open to the public from Monday to Friday from 8:30 am to 19:30 pm. It is closed on weekends. My advice to you is to buy your tickets online to avoid waiting in lines. Especially during the summer period, there are many people wanting to visit Castel Sant'Elmo and sometimes you have to wait for hours to get in.
The gate to enter the castle. As I wrote above, there was a ditch full of water some time ago so that the invaders could not enter the castle.At the entrance there is a huge eagle dug into the stone wall.
And here comes one of the most beautiful scenes i've ever seen in my life - you can see Naples from a bird eye. And at the background is Mount Vesuvius
Already at the entrance to the castle there is an information sign which reads as follows:
Seen from above, Castel Sant'Elmo is impressive with its peculiar six-pointed star shape. This singularity is to be attributed to its creator, Don Pedro Luis Escrivá, a valencian knight architect, who from 1537 transformed the Angevin Belforte into a modern fortress at the behest of Don Pedro Alvarez de Toledo, viceroy of Naples. In a manuscript of 1538 Escrivá defends his choices by demonstrating that the appearance of the fortress derived from war necessities: the six points allowed the cannons to aim easily in any direction and the walls were so thick that it was impossible to break them down. Even today, the top of the Vomero hill is entirely occupied by this major military complex, which represents an historical heritage in Naples.
-Tourist information sign
Helmet sculpture at Castel Sant'Elmo
One of the main streets in Naples seen from above
The castle has a hexagonal shape. It is believed that the castle was founded in the 14th century. Throughout history, the castle has been of interest to both the Spanish and the French, as well as other conquerors. The castle is surrounded on all sides by a deep moat, which was once filled with water. And the narrow openings in the castle walls, on which the cannons were placed, added to the castle's defence.
This castle was among the first to be built without watchtowers, something that was unthinkable for this period of history. In more recent history, namely in the 20th century, Castel Sant'Elmo was used as a prison.
Castel Sant'Elmo failed to impress me either with its architecture or with any interesting fact about its creation and subsequent use. However, the views from the highest point of the castle - the panoramic terrace - were totally worth a visit to Castel Sant'Elmo.
The view from Castel Sant'Elmo is absolutely astonishing. There is an eagle's view of all the important sights in the city:
1.Castel Nuovo
2.Galleria Umberto I
3.Basilica di San Francesco di Paola (it looks exatly the same as Vatican city)
4.Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli - which contains many artefacts from Pompeii
5.Mount Vesuvius and the port
and many others....
I hope that it was interesting for you to hear the story behind Castel Sant'Elmo and my impressions about it! :)
All Photos Taken By Me With:
- Iphone 13 pro 📱
- Nikon d7500 📷