Castel dell'Ovo is the oldest standing fortification in city. located on the former island of Megaride, the island was where Greek colonists from Cumae founded the original nucleus of the city in the 6th century BC. In the 1st century BC the Roman patrician Lucius Licinius Lucullus built the magnificent villa Castellum Lucullanum on the site. Fortified by Valentinian III in the mid-5th century, it was the site to which the last western Roman emperor, Romulus Augustulus, was exiled in 476. Eugippius founded a monastery on the site after 492. Roger the Norman, conquering Naples in 1140, made Castel dell 'Ovo his seat. The importance of the Castel dell'Ovo began to decline when king Charles I of Anjou built a new castle, Castel Nuovo and become seat of the Royal Chamber and of the State Treasury. It also served as a prison. Today the castle walls and rooms are used for exhibitions and other special events. The terrace of his bastions en towers are free open for the pubic.
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