A Roman villa built by Lucius Licinius Lucullus stood on the island of Megaride in the 1st century BC. The first castle was built in the Norman period in the 12th century. The article names no architect for any phase.
Under the Angevins it became the Royal Chamber and State Treasury and served as a prison. The present form dates from the Aragonese period in the 15th century. The plan is rectangular, about 656 by 148 feet (200 by 45 m), and a causeway a little over 328 feet (100 m) long links it to the shore.
Legend says the poet Virgil placed a magical egg in the foundations, and that the castle would fall if it broke. A renovation began in 1975, and the buildings now host exhibitions.
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