The architect Tino di Camaino started the factory in 1329. The Castrum Sancti Erasmi was completed by other architects in 1343. Due to the serious damage suffered by the 1456 earthquake, it was renovated in the Aragonese period. With the viceroyalty, under Pedro de Toledo, Castel Sant'Ermo, later Sant'Elmo, became a fortress with a characteristic star plan designed by the engineer Pedro Luis Escrivà. The church of the castle, damaged by a fire, was rebuilt by Domenico Fontana. Being a prison for a long time, the philosopher Tommaso Campanella was also imprisoned there and, under the Bourbons, various political prisoners. It was a military prison with the unification of Italy and remained such until 1952. Now houses exhibitions and the Museo del Novecento with works from the period 1910-1980.
Useful information
From Monday to Sunday 8.30-18.30
Full ticket 5 euros Reduced ticket 2 euros
