Castle of the Month: Maschio Angiono

[endlessrarities]

You thought I'd forgotten 'Castle of the Month', didn't you?  True, I'm cutting it a bit fine this month, but I thought I'd wait and have a distinct Neopolitan flavour to it.

We'll set Pompeii aside for a couple of days, and travel instead to the incredible Maschio Angiono, which dominates the harbour-side in Naples:-

 

Also called 'Castel Nuovo' - the 'New Castle' - it was built by Charles I of Anjou in the second half of the 13th century.  It has a humdinger of a curtain wall with an impressive batter that would surely make castle-holics everywhere sit up and take note:-

As is the lot of castellated and defensive structures the world over, this particular castle has seen a lot of reconfiguration and rebuilding through the years.  The most important phase of this reworking took place in the late 15th century, under the direction of Alphonso I of Aragon.  Amongst the changes made at this time was the building of a triumphal arch at the main, front entrance:-

 

And if you want a closer look at the archway:-

 

And tomorrow we'll go inside...
 

Comments

[aulus-poliutos.livejournal.com]

Heh, Castle of the Month is surely something I could do as well; I got a bunch of them in my photo archives. :)

That Maschio Angiono looks like a whopper of a castle that might even have impressed Edward I.

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

Some of my castles consist of earthen mounds with a bit of wall sticking out! This makes a welcome change...

[aulus-poliutos.livejournal.com]

I got some of those, too. Sverre's Castle near Trondheim, for example, or the castle of Henry the Fowler (late 9th century) near Pöhlde - you need some imagination to see castle fortifications in those earthen walls overgrown by trees.

But I also got some of the Norman whoppers in Wales. And Dolwyddelan, to make up for it. :)

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

We should probably have an inter-blog competition for the World's Worst Castle award. I have a few shapeless lumps in fields which might be good contenders, heh heh.

[technophobe1975.livejournal.com]

I love the fact that you can tell that the archway was definitely a later addition!

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Il futuro vi assedia. The future besieges you?

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

Don't ask me. I'm a prehistorian. I don't do reading:-)

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

I'm only a beginner at Italian, so I'm quite probably wrong. It appears to be a protest movement slogan of some kind, but I like the irony of it appearing in front of a castle surrounded by modern traffic. I wonder if it was unintentional or if someone was having a little joke...

[puddleshark.livejournal.com]

Don't tell Alphonso, but I think that triumphal arch may have been a mistake...

[birdsedge.livejournal.com]

I'm with puddleshark. The triumphal arch looks so... out of place. Like someone stuck alloy wheels on a steamroller.

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

Alloy wheels on a steamroller. OUCH!!

[red-trillium.livejournal.com]

That is an interesting-looking castle. The arch does look odd plopped in between the dark turrets.

As always, thank you.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I love the incongruity of the renaissance arch between the two hulking medieval towers. Alphonso I just didn't give a damn!

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

I can detect a slight thread of continuity with the Romans here. There's a tendency to reproduce something Grand and Historic and Classical in a 'modern' context (like the Roman re-use of Greek myths and art forms in Pompeii). When it's done modestly, it looks great. When it's over blown, it can look a wee bit tasteless.

Ah, Chavs were universal creatures, weren't they??

[cmcmck.livejournal.com]

And of course the Reason I use Castelnuovo as a surname nom de plume on here is because the Italian part of my family came from the village of Castelnuovo in Umbria :o)

The Angevins always did like to make unsubtle threats!