Mount Echia in Pizzofalcone

About this activity

The Mount Echia, formerly called Euple or Emple, from Euplea of Statius, is a rocky promontory made of yellow tuff, located in Pizzofalcone, in the neighborhood of St. Ferdinand to Naples. Later the name changed first to Epla, Hecle, Ecla, Echa, and then to today's Echia.

History of Mount Echia

Also known as Mount of God, for the church of the same name with a convent founded in this very area in the 16th century, the hill of Pizzofalcone, where Mount Echia is located, is rich in history and culture.

Cumans founded there in the late 8th century BC. Parthènope, a city of Magna Graecia, a safe harbor given the particularly favorable location of the rocky outcrop surrounded by the sea between the village of Santa Lucia and the basin of Chiaia, above the islet of Megaride. It was the first urban settlement from which the ancient Neapolis, which is now the metropolitan city of Naples.

In 1442, following the siege of Naples by Alfonso V of Aragon, a rampart was built here, known as the Fortelicio of Pizzofalcone, which then remained to protect the city.

Many years later, between the 1800s and 1900s, the area was completely turned upside down: the Promenade was replaced by a new road, Via Partenope, along which luxurious hotels and buildings have been built that have unfortunately hidden Mount Echia, now visible only in part by walking down Via Chiatamone.

What to see on Mount Echia in Pizzofalcone

Today the Mount Echia is an archaeological site. Some remains of the immense Villa of Lucius Licinius Lucullus, built by the Roman patrician of the same name in the 1st century BC, were found here.

The Villa extended from the islet of Megaride, where we now find the Castel dell'Ovo, to the south side of Mt.

Alongside the archaeological findings we find the wonderful Belvedere of Pizzofalcone, currently under renovation, which offers a magnificent view of the entire Bay of Naples.

In 200 Charles I° D'Anjou, king of Sicily and Naples, had a falconry built here for hunting, hence perhaps the name Pizzofalcone. Instead, legend has it named simply for its characteristic hawk's beak shape.

In addition, on the highest part of Mount of God Street stands the Grand Quarter of Pizzofalcone, now Nino Bixio Barracks, built around 1670 by Viceroy Pedro Antonio of Aragon to relocate the Spanish garrison, until then stationed in the area of the Spanish Neighborhoods.

The hill is also home to one of the oldest military training institutes in Italy and the world, the Nunziatella Military School in Naples, founded Nov. 18, 1787, where the Jesuits once held their novitiate.

The Pizzofalcone Elevator

In the 20th century, it was built here, the elevator of Pizzofalcone, which connected the eponymous upper part of the city with the Victory Tunnel below and to the nearby Via Chiatamone.

With a very large structure, it was capable of accommodating up to ten people per ride, it might look like simply an elevator, but having such a structure in the 1900s was crucial because there the Nunziatella Military School and the Pizzofalcone district formed the core of Naples. It is said that Neapolitans went here to look for wives since the most beautiful women in the city were there.

In 1966 ownership of the elevator passed from the City of Naples to SIP, as the upper part of the structure terminated in the new Pacanowski Palace, named after the architect.

In the same year it was remodeled, only to be reopened in 1968, but was closed soon after due to water infiltration; it has been in total disrepair ever since.

The "platamonie" caves.

The underlying area of Mount Echia, entirely composed of yellow tuff, later called Neapolitan, was characterized by caves and hollows carved into the rock due to the phenomenon of seawater erosion, called by the Greeks "platamonies," or caves . They were ideal places as shelters for boats but also as dwellings due to the presence of spring water.

The Greeks in time understood that the volcanic rock in those caves was ideal for building, as it was light but resistant to crushing, easily quarried and easily transported through the many canals and shafts that the Greeks made.

These caves were also used as places of worship and as baths in Roman times, given the presence of sulfur springs, but recent studies have shown that they were probably used as dwellings as early as prehistoric times.

Still visible under Mount Echia, they have become in some cases garages and parking lots, several stories high, or even modern housing.

The ramps of Pizzofalcone

Starting from Via Chiatamone, we find the Pizzofalcone ramps, or also called Lamont Young ramps after the architect's name, which with a zigzag path take us up to Monte Echia in the San Ferdinando district.

These ramps were built at the behest of Ferrante Loffredo, owner of Carafa Palace of Santa Severina.

Villa Ebe, the ancient Aselmeyer Castle

At the top of the ramps stands Castello Aselmeyer, a Gothic mansion built by Lamont Young in 1922, now known as Villa Ebe after the architect's wife, Ebe Cortazzi, who lived there until the 1970s.

Half of the mansion was unfortunately destroyed by bombing during World War II. The ghost of the architect, who committed suicide in 1929, is said to roam the walls of the mansion.

Curiosities about Mount Echia in Pizzofalcone

A strong interest in this neighborhood has arisen in recent years thanks to the mystery novel "The bastards of Pizzofalcone" by Italian writer Maurizio De Giovanni, about four investigators who find themselves facing a delicate murder case.

A TV drama of the same name was also based on the book, with the famous Alexander Gassmann.