Europe and the Mediterranean
Naples
RAMON LLULL IN NAPLES
After his trip in 1293 to Tunis, from where he was expelled, Ramon Llull arrives in Naples. There he writes Arbre de Ciencia (Science tree), one of his major works, and, on 13th of January 1294 he finishes the Taula general (General table). The following month he preaches to the Saracens of the city of Lucera, in the nearby region of Puglia. In May of that year debates with the Muslims imprisoned in the Castle dell’Ovo (“of the egg”), near the Neapolitan port; that same month he travels to Barcelona to return to Naples in July, now on his way to Rome.
NAPLES, THEN AND NOW
Naples is the capital of the Italian region of Campania and the ancient kingdom of Naples. Coastal city, it has a large port. It was founded by the Greeks around 600BC, passing into the hands of the Romans, the Byzantines, the Ostrogoths and the Sicilians. It was occupied by the Catalan-Aragonese crown in 1440.
The city has some Greek and Roman remains. The church of Saint Restituta (4th century) has mosaics from the 5th and 6th centuries. The castle fortress of Egg (dell’Ovo) is from the 12th century and takes its name from a legend in which it was built, on the islet of Megaride, on a chicken egg that supports the entire structure. The New Castle (Castel Nuovo) was built between 1279 and 1282 and was restored by Alfonso the Magnanimous (1396-1458), king of Catalonia and Aragon, who added a famous triumphal arch. Castle Capuano owes its construction to the King William I of Sicily (the Bad), which he began in 1140. Of gothic style are the Cathedral, the church of Santa Maria Donnaregina, and of Santa Clara and the Certosa di San Martino. The monumental nature of the historical centre of Naples earned them the declaration of World Heritage by UNESCO.