Castel Sant'Elmo
Star-shaped hilltop fortress, once a viceroy's refuge and later a political prison.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to Castel Sant'Elmo in Naples opens in 1647, when a young fishmonger named Tommaso Aniello, known as Masaniello, turned a mock battle at a summer festival into a real uprising against a new tax on fruit. As the mob surged toward the viceroy's palace, the Spanish viceroy, Duke of Arcos, fled uphill to shelter inside these star-shaped walls. You'll hear how a fisherman he had never met found himself, however briefly, ruling the city below. Look out over the bay from the ramparts, toward the market where the revolt began.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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