The Castellum Lucullanum on an island off the promontory (Monte Echia) that creates two small bays within the Bay of Naples, the modern Castel dell'Ovo, had a history of occupation that epitomizes social developments of the Roman Empire: pleasure villa, fortified stronghold, Imperial retreat, monastery. Gulf of Naples is located in Southern Italy. ... For other senses of this name, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ...

The island in the famously beautiful bay that was ringed with patrician and imperial residences had been known to the Greeks of Magna Graecia as the island of Megaris, with a shrine to Parthenope, the sea nymph who was the patroness of Greek Neapolis. The old town of Partenope on Monte Echia was the earliest nucleus of Naples. The island was selected for one of the villas of the immensely rich Roman Republican statesman, Lucius Licinius Lucullus (consul 74 BC), the patron of the arts, of scholars and chefs, whose name echoes in a "lucullan feast". The villa's site, which had been selected for its private and airy location and splendid view, served as the retirement villa for the emperor Tiberius. Map of Magna Graecia Italy. ... Megaris, a small but populous state of ancient Greece, south of Attica, whose inhabitants were adventurous seafarers, credited with deceitful propensities. ... Parthenope may refer to: The asteroid 11 Parthenope. ... Lucius Licinius Lucullus (c. ... Tiberius Caesar Augustus, born Tiberius Claudius Nero (November 16, 42 BC – March 16 AD 37), was the second Roman Emperor, from the death of Augustus in AD 14 until his own death in 37. ...

At some point in the tenser conditions of the later Roman Empire, which culminated in the ruinous Gothic War of 535–552, the island site once pleasant for its views became a defensive fortified stronghold. See also Gothic War (377–382) for the war on the Danube. ...

In 476, when Odoacer dethroned the last Western Emperor, the boy Romulus Augustus, he mercifully pensioned him and sent him to live at the Castellum Lucullanum, provided with an appropriately sizeable retinue supported by an annuity of 6,000 solidi—a senatorial income— and accompanied by relatives, save his father, Orestes, the power behind his brief reign, whom Odoacer beheaded. In 493 and again in 507 (or 511), Romulus had to renegotiate his financial arrangements with the government of king Theodoric, successor to Odoacer. Odoacer solidus struck in name of Zeno. ... Tremissis of Romulus Augustus. ... Solidus (Latin) is the name of a Roman coin during the Roman Empire. ... Theodoric was a first name frequently encountered in medieval European history. ...

As notables, Romulus with Barbaria, doubtless his mother, were the patrons of a monastery founded shortly after 488 in the fortified island site, which contained the relics of Saint Severinus, the apostle of Noricum. The relics of Severinus were brought by his pupil Eugippius from the monastery at the site of modern Linz, which was overwhelmed by barbarian war-bands in 488, sending Eugippius and a small group fleeing for safety to Italy. The monastery was dedicated to St Severinus, and Eugippius became first abbot, erecting a fine shrine to Severinus, whose vita he wrote, providing a unique view of Roman life in the Danube valley at the end of the Empire [1]. Severinus can refer to: Petrus Severinus, the Latin name of 17th century Swedish anatomist Peder Soerenson Pope Severinus Saint Severinus, apostle to Noricum Saint Severinus to whom the Abbey of St Severinus in Gatinais was dedicated Saint Severinus mentioned with Saint Juliana, possibly a martyr in Italy in the Diocletian... Noricum in ancient geography was a province of the Roman Empire. ... Map of Austria, locating Linz Linz is a city and Statutarstadt in northeast Austria, on the Danube river. ... // Greek origin of the term Barbarian comes the French barbarien or Medieval Latin barbarinus, from Latin barbaria, from Latin barbarus, from the ancient Greek word βάρβαρος (barbaros) which meant a non-Greek, someone whose (first) language was not Greek. ... Events Theodoric the Great becomes king of the Ostrogoths. ... Vita or VITA can refer to any of a number of things: Vita (Latin for life) can also refer to a brief biography, often that of a saint (i. ...

The library at Castellum Lucullanum must have been extensive, for before his death about 538 Eugippius compiled a thesaurus of the works of St Augustine (Christian Cyclopedia). Recent research has revealed unexpected monastic and literary endeavors of Eugippius and sets him alongside Cassiodorus as one of the leaders of scholarship in Italy of his time [2]. Aurelius Augustinus, Augustine of Hippo, or Saint Augustine (November 13, 354–August 28, 430) was one of the most important figures in the development of Western Christianity. ... Flavius Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator (ca 484/490 - ca585), commonly known as Cassiodorus, was a Roman statesman and writer, serving in the administration of Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. ...

The 6th-century Antipope Laurentius was confined at Castellum Lucullanum. Laurentius (Laurence) was an antipope of the Roman Catholic church, from 498 to 499 and from 501 to 506. ...

The monastery dedicated to St Severinus within the Castellum remained prominent in the pontificate of Pope Gregory I, who recommends stern treatment of a seditious uprising there, which had included the slaves of the lady Clementina and had resulted in unspecified "atrocious" crimes against the person of the bishop Paul (Epistles, I, i) [3]. In the late 9th century, Paul the Deacon, one of the four chroniclers who bore that name, wrote an account of the translation of the remains of St Severinus to a new monastery within the city of Naples. The monastery survived into the 10th century, when the relics of St Severinus were transferred again, this time within the walls of Naples, to the Benedictine abbey of San Severino. Pope Saint Gregory I or Gregory the Great (ca. ... Paul the Deacon (c. ... Naples (Italian Napoli, Neapolitan Nàpule, from Greek Νέα Πόλις - Néa Pólis - meaning New City; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is the largest city in southern Italy and capital of Campania Region and the Province of Naples. ... The longest lasting of the western Catholic monastic orders, the Benedictine Order traces its origins to the adoption of the monastic life by St. ...

The the late 19th century, landfill extended the coastline and joined the island to the mainland. Today, along this new waterfront of Santa Lucia are located the most luxurious hotels of Naples.

References

• Christian Cyclopedia 2000, "Egippius" on-line
• James J. O'Donnell, "Antiquity: Before and After", 2004
• Moorhead, J. Theoderic in Italy. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992.

External links

• Geoffrey S. Nathan, "Romulus Augustus"
• "S. Lucia and the Castel dell'Ovo"