Attractions in Naples

Castel Nuovo (Maschio Angioino) is the imposing five-towered fortress dominating the port. Built by Charles I of Anjou in 1279, its triumphal arch entrance (1470) is a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture.

The Naples Cathedral (Duomo di San Gennaro) houses the Chapel of San Gennaro, where the patron saint's blood miraculously liquefies three times a year. The cathedral layers 13th-century Gothic, Baroque, and archaeological remains.

The Royal Palace of Naples on Piazza del Plebiscito was the Bourbon royal residence from the 17th to 19th centuries. Its grand staircase, throne room, and court theatre illustrate the opulence of the Bourbon court.

Castel dell'Ovo (Castle of the Egg) sits on the Megaride islet at Santa Lucia, Naples' most ancient site. Legend says Virgil hid a magical egg in the foundations—if it breaks, Naples will fall.

Piazza del Plebiscito is Naples' grandest square, a vast semicircular piazza encircled by the Royal Palace, the Basilica of San Francesco di Paola (modelled on the Pantheon), and neoclassical colonnades.

The Catacombs of San Gennaro are early Christian burial tunnels carved into tuff stone beneath the Rione Sanità, with 2nd-century frescoes, mosaics, and the original tomb of Naples' patron saint.