Thursday Doors – October 25, 2018

Thursday Doors is a weekly feature allowing door lovers to come together to admire and share their favorite door photos from around the world. Feel free to join in on the fun by creating your own Thursday Doors post each week and then sharing it, between Thursday morning and Saturday noon (North American eastern time), by using the blue link-up button below. 

Castel Nuovo – Naples, Italy

Commissioned by King Charles I of Anjou the Castel Nuovo was built between 1279 and 1282. It was to be his new centralized seat of power over his vast holdings from Tuscany down to Southern Italy, as well as the newly conquered island of Sicily.

The name Castel Nuovo (New Castle) was meant to differentiate it from two others already in existence in the region.

In researching before our trip I found out just how confusing and convoluted the history of much of Italy is; particularly after the fall of the Roman Empire.

I won’t even begin to try to do it justice here because there’s just so much that I simply don’t know.

What I can tell you is that it served as both a royal residence and a fortress for most of its seven-plus centuries and it changed hands along with the succession of rulers who conquered or captured this part of the world during that time.

From the courtyard, leading to the royal residences inside the castle

The castle was modified and added on to a number of times over the centuries to suit the preferences of the new occupants.

We did a short tour of the castle which included a visit to the dungeons which were so dark and dank that none of my shots beyond this door turned out very well 😦

Abandon hope all ye….

We did get a great view of the bay of Naples with Mount Vesuvius off in the distance from one of the walkways between the towers.

Honestly there were only a few interesting doors within courtyard.

A bonus was this wonderful 15th century fresco above the main door.

But for me the star of the castle was the main door itself. Even from the inside it had some noteworthy features, including a door within the door.

The carved bronze outer layer with all of its detail is simply stunning.

You can see where it was damaged by cannon shot in a few spots.

Despite the damage, the door is exceptionally well-preserved, and it’s well worth taking the time to explore the castle just for the humbling feeling of being in a structure that has been around for over 730 years.

After visiting the Colosseum in Rome a few days earlier Castel Nuovo was the second the oldest building I had ever visited.

What’s the oldest building you have ever been in?

As always, thank you for visiting 🙂

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