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Things to do and see for free in Naples: museums, castles, parks and other places

The Castel dell'Ovo in the Gulf of Naples

In Naples there are countless artistic and cultural beauties to visit and many of them are ad free entry, so as to easily allow anyone to learn more about a part of the city's heritage.
It is museums, castles, parks, churches and other cultural historic sites where you can admire works of art, majestic halls or funerary monuments of famous people, like the Tombs of Leopardi and Virgil. Some of these places are symbols of Naples, like the Maschio Angioino and Castel dell'Ovo, but we can not even mention theBotanical Garden, Mother Museum and PAN.

In the following list, the things to see for free in Naples.

Maschio Angioino

The Maschio Angioino, or Castel Nuovo, is one of the symbols of Naples and stands in Piazza Municipio. It's a medieval and renaissance castle created by Carlo d'Angiò in the 1266, but the works started only in the 1279.

Over the centuries it was home to several sovereigns and a fervid center of culture. It can be accessed for free every Sunday e on holidays and you can visit the Hall of the Barons, the archaeological route of the former Sala dell'Armeria, the Sala della Loggia overlooking the arsenals and the Monumental Courtyard. The Civic Museum, however, remains paid.

Castel dell'Ovo

The Castel dell'Ovo rises on the ancient island of Megaride and stands out on the Gulf of Naples with its typical yellow color. And the oldest castle in Naples and its name derives from a legend according to which the poet Virgilio would have placed, in the dungeons, an egg that would have kept the structure forever standing.

From the terraces and terraces, where Spanish cannons are located, you can enjoy a beautiful panorama. In the castle there are the Maestra Tower e Norman, five rows of columns of the Roman villa of Lucullus, the cells of the monks dug into the rock and the remains of the church of the Savior. Admission is free every day, even in the case of temporary exhibitions.

Where is it: Via Eldorado, 3 - 80132 Naples

Mother Museum

Monday is the day of free entry to the Mother Museum (Donnaregina Museum of Contemporary Art), the structure of contemporary art par excellence in Naples which houses permanent and temporary collections.

Lucio Fontana, Carlo Alfano, Robert Mapplethorpe, Jeff Koons and Daniel Buren are among the most famous artists who have set up their exhibitions at the Madre.

The museum is very large, located in a nineteenth-century palace, consists of three floors and temporary collections are on the third, while permanent on the second.

Where is it: Via Luigi Settembrini, 79 - 80139 Naples

Botanical Garden

The Royal Botanical Garden of Naples was founded in 1807 by the French Giuseppe Bonaparte, who however created an idea of ​​King Ferdinand IV of Bourbon. It can be visit for free every day and hosts 9000 plant species and about 25000 specimens.

The exhibition areas with flowers and plants are numerous and divided according to precise ethnobotanical criteria. They contain a palm grove, a citrus grove, the filiceto (with the ferns), the areas with desert and beach plants, the bog, the Mediterranean Macchia and the mangroves. There are also three greenhouses and the Experimental section of medicinal plants.

Where is it: Via Foria, 223 - 80137 Naples

Tombs of Leopards and Virgil

The Tombs of Leopardi and Virgil are found in the Vergian Park of Piedigrotta, which should not be confused with the Virgilian Park of Coroglio. It is famous because it contains the remains of these two great poets and the funeral monument of Leopardi is the one that stands out most. In fact, it consists of a large ara in which the name of the poet is engraved, while on the side there is a stele with the signature of King Vittorio Emanuele III which attests to its authenticity. The third element is a plaque with a sanction of King Umberto I, which makes it a national monument.
La Tomb of Virgilinstead, it is a Roman columbarium with an inscription by Petrarch that invites the visitor to stop.

Where is it: Ascent of the Cave - 80122 Naples

National Library

The Vittorio Emanuele III National Library is located inside the Royal Palace of Naples and contains thousands of volumes and precious collections, many of which are private. It is estimated that there are 19000 manuscripts, 4563 incunabula, 1792 papyrus ercolanesi, 1800000 printed volumes and more than 8300 periodical newspapers. Some are also kept manuscripts of Giacomo Leopardi.
Admission is free every day, both for citizens and for foreigners, provided they have completed 16 years and are in possession of an identity document. The rooms are frescoed and decorated in different styles, including the Pompeian, and there are also many busts, the result of private donations.

Where is it: Piazza del Plebiscito, 1 - 80132 Naples

Wood of Capodimonte

The Real Bosco di Capodimonte is the largest park in the city and is located adjacent to the homonymous palace. It was used by Charles of Bourbon as a hunting reserve since 1735 and became a public park only in the 60 years of the 900.

It is the ideal green area for those who want to spend a few hours relaxing walking and resting, but also for those who want to do sports or a bike ride.

It is a typical English garden and teeming with old trees like elms, oaks, linden and holm oaks.

Where is it: Via Miano, 4 - 80145 Naples

Floridiana

La Floridiana is lgreen area of ​​the Vomero district and takes its name from the homonymous villa inside, named after the wife of Ferdinando IV di Borbone, Lucia Migliaccio, Duchess of Floridia. It is made up of many paths and thickets and there are numerous camellia trees.

It is a mixture of an Italian and an English garden and there is a large green lawn for walking, lying down and playing. Towards the end of the various paths, we reach the beautiful Belvedere that allows you to admire a fascinating view of Naples.

Where is it: Via Domenico Cimarosa, 77 and Via Aniello Falcone, 171 - 80127 Naples

PAN - Palace of the Arts of Naples

The Palazzo delle Arti in Naples is a museum that is located from 2005 in the Palazzo Carafa di Roccella. Together with the Mother Museum, it hosts both collections and exhibitions of contemporary art and it is always free admission, with the exception of some more significant temporary exhibitions.

It often organizes too conferences, seminars, meetings, book presentations and film reviews, giving space to many emerging talents. It is one of the points of reference for many Neapolitan and non-Neapolitan associations and artists, a cultural center in continuous ferment.

Where is it: Via dei Mille, 60 - 80121 Naples

Duomo

The metropolitan cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, better known as the Duomo, is the most important basilica in the city and incorporates two other churches: the Basilica of Santa Restituta and the Chapel of the Treasure of San Gennaro. The Cathedral, in reality, is the overlap of various religious buildings that have arisen since the 4th century.

The exterior is a mixture of architectural styles, from Gothic fourteenth-century Neogothic 1800. Inside there are 3 naves and 10 side chapels, the seventeenth-century ceiling is in wood and gilded coffered and there are various paintings by Luca Giordano. The Cathedral of Naples is visited for free, only the early Christian Baptistery is paid.

Where is it: Via Duomo, 149 - 80138 Naples