Naples and Palermo
A wedding gift from friends: the newly-weds' Piccolo Mondo Rotondo is a portrait of the building in Palermo where the bride used to live and the famous Castel dell 'Ovo in Naples, hometown of the groom. The Castle is well suited to the symbolism of the egg on which is portrayed. One of the most fanciful Neapolitan legends would trace its name back to the egg that the poet Virgil had hidden inside a cage in the basement of the castle. The egg, under heavy lock and key, was kept secret because upon "that egg rested all the factives and fortune of Castel Marino." From that moment the fate of the Castle, together with that of the entire city of Naples, has been linked to that of the egg. The chronicles report, that at the time of Queen Giovanna I, the Castle suffered extensive damage from the collapse of the arch that joins the two rocks upon which it is constructed and the Queen was forced to solemnly declare to have arranged to replace the egg, to avoid spreading panic through the city for fear of new and more serious disasters.