Hotel Naples Italy - Naples Attractions - Royal Continental

Castel dell’Ovo is located on the former island of Megaride, now a peninsula, on the Gulf of Naples.

The castle's name comes from a legend about the Roman poet Virgil, who had a reputation in medieval times as a great sorcerer and who is believed to have put a magical egg into the foundations to support the fortifications.

For centuries, the Piazza del Plebiscito square was an irregular public area where festive occasions were celebrated with the so-called “festive machines,” which were designed by famous architects of the era. Then in 1817, Pietro Bianchi was commissioned to design the square and the project was finally completed in 1846, with the latest neoclassical style and based upon the model of the Pantheon in Rome.

Inside there exist many statues and paintings dating back to the era of construction, as well as a 17th century high altar. Also, there exist some paintings which came from older churches, which once stood in the area. The equestrian statues of Charles III Bourbon and Ferdinand I stand on the square opposite the basilica. The statue of Charles III was created by Antonio Canova, who also designed the horse upon which Ferdinand is riding, while the statue of the king is the work of Antonio Calì.

Traditionally, every year at Christmas an exhibition of contemporary art takes over the square, with some of the more eccentric works giving rise to many a heated discussion. Some of the artists who have exhibited works at this annual show include: Mimmo Paladino, Richard Serra, Rebecca Horn and Luciano Fabro.

Neapolitans like to have fun with the seasonal tourists, subjecting them to a “game,” which consists of blindfolding them and making them walk across the area between the two statues, which is a straight line. However, the slight slope inevitably leads the visitor to veer to one side and miss making it through the two statues. When the blindfold is removed, a fun time is guaranteed as the visitor realizes that s/he has been stumbling around the square like someone lost in the desert.

The Real Teatro di San Carlo Opera House, better known as the Teatro San Carlo, is the most important theatre in Naples and one of the most famous opera houses in all the world.

Additionally, it is also the oldest European opera house and one of the most important in Italy. It is listed as one of the UNESCO’s world heritage sites and has a capacity for 3,000 spectators on five levels. It is shaped like a horseshoe and has a splendid royal box, gallery and stage which are some thirty-five metres long.

The Naples Archaeological Museum (MANN) is one of the most important in the world both for the quality and the quantity of works on display, most of which date back to the Greek and Roman periods. The building itself, work upon which started in 1585, is a striking architectonic masterpiece and is one of Naples’ largest monumental edifices.

The Museum is divided into four parts: the Farnese Collection (artifacts from ancient Rome and its surrounding areas); the Pompeii Collections (artifacts from Pompeii, Herculaneum, Stabiae and other ancient sites in the Vesuvius area, which are part of the Bourbon collections); other artefacts from minor collections, which have been acquired by or donated to the Museum (the Borgia Santangelo, Stevens, Spinelli collections etc.); and artefacts from excavations carried out by the Naples and Caserta Archaeological Service (prehistoric, Cuman, Pithecusae, Neapolis etc. services) of which the Museum is a part.

The Reggia di Capodimonte, located on via Miano 1 and inside a park of the same name, is a handsome building that was designed by the Roman architect Antonio Canevari for Charles Bourbon, then King of Naples.

The building houses the National Capodimonte Art Gallery, which is one of the most important in Naples and boasts works by Giovanni Bellini, Sandro Botticelli, Caravaggio, Annibale Carracci, Artemisia Gentileschi, Francisco Goya, Simone Martini, Masaccio and Titian among others.

In the Reggia’s beautifully manicured and embellished gardens, which consist of many wonderful plants and trees, there is also a hunting lodge and a ceramics museum.

The Castel Nuovo, better known as the Maschio Angioino, one of Naples' most symbolic monuments, dominates the Piazza Municipio square.

Seat of various organisations like the Neapolitan Society for Italian History and the Institute of the History of the Italian Risorgimento, it also houses the City of Naples Civic Museum with the Palatine Chapel and the first and second floor galleries.

Via San Gregorio Armeno is world renown for the many artisan shops, which manufacture figures for Christmas nativity scenes. These shops are open all year round and upon entering, you are immediately transported into a Christmas-like atmosphere.

Traditionally at Christmas, every Neapolitan family visits “a San Gregorio Armeno”.