Villa Ebe

Villa Ebe, also known as Castello di Pizzofalcone, is a Neo-Gothic palace from the 1920s in Naples' San Ferdinando district. It sits on the western flank of Monte Echia, at the top of the Rampe di Pizzofalcone. The architect Lamont Young built the structure in 1922 in the Victorian style and used one part as his personal residence, while the other unit belonged to the Astarita family. The latter was destroyed by bombing during World War II, so only the Villa Ebe section survives today. The property was named after Young's wife, Ebe, who lived there until 1970. After it was sold to the city of Naples, the villa was badly damaged by arson in 2000, which destroyed the interior rooms and the historic spiral staircase. Despite an approved restoration plan calling for its conversion into an interactive museum of Art Nouveau architecture and the reconstruction of a panoramic terrace overlooking the Gulf of Naples, the building fell into complete disrepair by 2019. Only in 2023 did the villa return to public attention, thanks to a documentary film.