castel dell'ovo

Castel dell' Ovo stands on the islet of Megaride. According to one of the most fanciful Neapolitan legends, the name of this castle derives from the egg that the Latin poet Virgil apparently hid in a cage placed in the dungeons of the castle. The egg was locked up and kept hidden because "the fortune of the Sea Castle depended on that egg". Since then, the destiny of that castle has been in parallel with the fate of that egg. Chronicles report that, during queen Anne's reign, the castle was heavily damaged when the hump-backed bridge connecting the two rocks the castle was built on collapsed, thus obliging queen Anne to reveal she had made sure the egg would be replaced so as not to spread panic among her subjects who feared further troubles and disasters.