On hot summer days it is obvious, for those who live in Naples or for those who are passing through the city, to dive into the sea at Castel dell'Ovo looking for some refreshment.
Ph. Machi di Pace - Trentaremi
The sea is there for everyone. But in Castel dell’Ovo you can regenerate even if you don't dive into the water. A soft salty breeze, a walk to Borgo Marinari while the fishermen prepare the pots, the setting sun flooding the sea with gold, the boats coming back to the port, the narrow streets paved with dark cobblestones, Capri island on the horizon line, the Castle. Children playing on the rocks up to via Caracciolo.
Ph. Machi di Pace - Trentaremi
In Castel dell'Ovo you feel reborn and it is no coincidence that this place is a cradle of stories and symbols linked to the theme of rebirth. The same islet on which the castle stands, according to some testimonies cited in the book “The symbolism of the egg” by Paolo Izzo, in ancient times was nothing more than a ramification of Mount Echia, from which it was separated due to a natural disaster.
“The chronicle adds that Virgilio the Magus was loved, respected, idolized almost like a God, since he never used his magic for evil purposes, but always for the benefit of the city and the people”Matilde Serao - “Neapolitan Legends”
And as a survivor, it became the symbol of resistance and therefore of a rebirth. And the mythology linked to Virgil, the "Poet Magus" protector of the city, highlights the symbolic value of Castel dell'Ovo for all Neapolitans. It was here that the Parthenope Siren put her egg. The egg of rebirth. Where she placed it is still a debated topic, but according to sources that refer to the Chronicle of Parthenope and that Izzo always mentions in his book, the carafe with the egg was kept hanging from an oak tree hidden in a secret room in the center of the castle.
Ph. Machi di Pace - Trentaremi
Inside that room, at the request of Virgil, two windows were opened pointed towards east and west respectively. The one to the east watched the sun rise and was in the same direction as Montevergine, where Virgilio in a hidden garden cultivated miraculous herbs, capable of recovering the body and soul. Able - it is said - to restore eyesight to the sheep. And therefore capable of regaining strength. The one to the west, on the other hand, watched the sun set towards Lake Avernus, where the souls of the dead descended towards the Underworld and where Virgil himself imagined the place of Aeneas's journey to the Underworld.
Ph. Machi di Pace - Trentaremi
A symmetrical path between sunrise and sunset, between birth and death, which had as its fulcrum the egg of the Parthenope Siren, hidden in the secret rooms of the Castel dell’Ovo.
It may be due to the many suggestions that this place evokes, but even today when you go to the Castle for a bath or for a walk, you can find carefreeness.