All Castles in Procida

Palazzo d’Avalos is an imposing fortress on Procida, overlooking the sea, part of Terra Murata, the fortified village on the highest point of the island.   SHORT HISTORY The palace was designed by the architects Cavagna and Tortelli at the end of the 16th century, for the Cardinal Innico d’Avalos. At the same time, the entrance to the village of Terra Murata was built, from an order of the same Cardinal d’Avalos. Since 1734, after the domination of the d’Avalos family ended, the palace was confiscated by the Bourbons, and became the royal hunting retreat for both King Charles III and King Ferdinand IV, before the construction of the Royal Palace of Capodimonte. In 1815, the building changed its destination into a military academy. Later, in 1830, it was converted into a prison with two parts, an old one (Palazzo d’Avalos) and a new one, and the penitentiary functioned until the Italian unification. Following the downfall of the Italian Social Republic, between 1945 and 1950, the prison held the fascism nomenclature. In 1978, the old prison was closed, and ten years later, in 1988, the new prison was also disbanded, the place remaining abandoned. Today, Palazzo d’Avalos can be visited Read more [...]