Castello Aragonese - Campi Flegrei on-line

The castle of Baia is built on a hill with a beautiful view where Julius Ceasar’s villa once stood. The castle was built by King Alfonso I of Aragon between 1493 and 1495. It was enlarged in 1531 on the orders of the viceroy Don Pedro de Toledo and restored after the eruption which threw up Monte Nuovo in 1538. The building can be devided into three parts:

- the entrance area;

- the area overlooking Baia with the large square tower;

- the central area connecting the first and the second with the Piazzale dello Stendardo, today the Piazzale V.Veneto.

In addition to being a fortress the castle was also a prison and then a school for the children of the soldiers who died during the wall. At present a permanent exhibition is being set up in some of the rooms, and it has aroused great interest.