Castel Sant'Elmo

Castel Sant'Elmo Review

Perched on the Vomero, this massive castle is almost the size of a small town. It was built by the Angevins in the 14th century to dominate the port and the old city and remodeled by the Spanish in 1537. The parapets, configured in the form of a six-pointed star, provide fabulous views: the whole bay on one side; on another, the city spread out like a map, its every dome and turret clearly visible; and to the east, slumbering Vesuvius. Once a major military outpost, the castle these days hosts occasional cultural events. Its prison, the Carcere alto di Castel Sant'Elmo, is the site of the Museo di Novecento Napoli, which traces Naples's 20th-century artistic output, from the Futurists through to work of the 1980s.You get in the castle free if you have a ticket to the adjoining Certosa di San Martino.