Naples: Castel Sant’Elmo

Once Oosterdam came alongside the pier, we made our way down to the gangway and joined the queue of independents ready to go ashore. The line wasn’t overly long as the ship’s tour groups were gathering in the Mainstage and would disembark from there. (Using two separate gangways to disembark passengers from a ship is brilliant IMHO.)

In short order, the line began moving. There was good news to accompany the move … an hour had been added at the end of the day to make up for the delayed arrival. Oosterdam was now scheduled to leave at 8:00p.

Off the ship, we exited the secure zone and walked towards the port gate. But before we got there, we found the underground tunnel to the metro. Perfect … since we needed to take Linea 1 two stops to Fermata Dante to then connect to the funicular that would take us up to Castel Sant’Elmo.

Purchasing our tickets from the automated machine, our timing proved perfect. Hearing the ding of the doors, we ran the last few steps and got on the train that was about to depart the station. Before long, we were getting off and making our way above ground.

Asking for directions from the locals, we walked the short distance to the Montesanto Funicular. Minutes later, we were being whisked up the mountain to the Morghen Station, the second stop on this two-stop funicular … an elevation difference of ~500 feet. Then, it was a matter of following the signs to climb further up the hill to get to the castle.

Built by a Valencian knight in 1537, Castel Sant’Elmo is a transformation of fortifications that already existed at the time. Its six-pointed star shape is considered unusual, but the architect felt that having six points allowed cannons to aim in any direction. An added defensive feature of the castle is the thickness of the walls, which the architect said would be impossible to break down. He was right. The castle still sits intact atop Vomero Hill, proudly overlooking the city.

After purchasing our admission tickets, we strolled up a gently sloped path to reach the entrance to Sant’Elmo. Before crossing the passeggiata into the castle, we stopped to check out the views and the colossal coat of arms of Emperor Charles V … consisting of the double-headed Hapsburg eagle with wings outspread … two subjects, dressed as warriors, at its feet.

From our perspective, the walls rose high, the lower half of the castle carved directly into the tuff — volcanic rock —to create the moat surrounding the fortifications. The upper walls were constructed of bricks made using the excavated tuff.

We made our way up into the castle, using internal ramps that carriages rolled up and down back in the day, carrying food and supplies. And which pedestrians walked to get to and from the upper reaches of the castle. We peeked through the small openings that were used to launch incendiary devices at the enemy, and stopped frequently to enjoy the slightly-misty city views from the embrasures carved into the tuff walls.

Our steps eventually took us up to Piazza d’Armi … a huge open space overlooked by buildings. Today, there were just a few people wandering around the square. Back in the day, a nearby sign explained, there would have been at least 200 people here carrying out their daily tasks. Besides the castellan, the civil and military head of the fortress, also living here then were the chaplain and the sacristans, officials, soldiers, guards, workers. These people resided and worked in the buildings along the perimeter of the piazza. There was also a butcher, a tavern, a millstone, furnaces to bake bread, vegetable gardens, a workshop to make bullets … and more.

After wandering around the ramparts for a while, we returned to the piazza where we came to an art museum housed in one of the buildings. The Museum — Novecento a Napoli … 1910-1980 — exhibits a collection of art from 1910 forward … by Neapolitan artists and others who were in the city at the time. We went in to check out what was on display, but didn’t dally long as we had another museum to visit that Mui said would probably take up a lot more of our time.

Soon, we were continuing with our loose plans for the day.Read more