Do you see those three grooved, cylindrical towers? They stand at the Castle's ground entrance, which is the side that faces the Town Hall Square's gardens. The central one was added later on with the works promoted by Alfonso of Aragon. When the sovereign was present in the castle, the flag was hoisted on the flagpole at the back of the mighty Beverello tower, in the direction of the harbor.
But now let me tell you about the Arch of Triumph that you can see framed between the Middle and Right Tower, which is also called the Guard Tower. This arch is not only the entrance to the renovated royal residence, but also the castle's most important architectural and sculptural element, and one of the greatest masterpieces of 15th-century Neapolitan art.
As you can see, it is inspired by the triumphal arches of Roman emperors, but it has one peculiarity: all the architects and sculptors present at the court of Alfonso of Aragon contributed to it. Can you see the two overlapping arches? Concentrate above all on the frieze between one and the other, because it is the focal point of the entire composition: it represents the royal procession that accompanied King Alfonso's entrance into Naples, and was inspired by the triumphal processions of ancient Rome.
Go under the arch and enter the castle's sober courtyard where you can see the signs of decadence following the fall of the Aragonese kingdom. In the surviving rooms, which have been perfectly restored, you can visit the Civic Museum.
The courtyard faces the Palatina Chapel that preserves part of its original structure, where you can see fragments of frescoes from the early 1300s, but above all the splendid interior architecture with the extraordinary star-shaped vault that crowns the Council Room, also known as the Barons' Room.
FUN FACT: the Barons' room is tied to a famous historical episode. In 1486 a group of Neapolitan nobles, the so-called "barons", were organizing a conspiracy against King Ferdinand I of Aragon. The sovereign invited all the nobles to the castle for a reconciliation party. When they were all gathered in the room, he had them arrested and some were even executed for treason.
Language: English