Castellamare di Stabia, a town on the Bay of Naples near the ruins of Pompeii, is the place where the exiled Neri degli Uberti builds a new household and receives King Charles the Old. In the story, its garden and fishpond turn a political refuge into a setting for hospitality, display, and a royal encounter.

Setting and Settlement

After King Charles the Old’s victory over Manfred, the Ghibellines were expelled from Florence and the Guelphs returned. Neri degli Uberti left the city with his household and substantial funds, intending to take refuge under the king rather than elsewhere. He settled at Castellamare di Stabia and bought an estate set about a crossbow-shot from the other houses of the town.

The estate is placed among olive, walnut, and chestnut trees, characteristic of the abundant growth in the surrounding countryside. Neri built a commodious dwelling and laid out a garden beside it. Because running water was plentiful, he also made a clear fishpond in the garden and stocked it well with fish. He continued to improve the grounds, making the property an increasingly attractive place to visit.

The King’s Visit

During the hot season, King Charles came to Castellamare to rest. Hearing of the beauty of Neri’s garden, and learning who owned it, he chose to visit privately that evening with four companions. Though Neri belonged to the party opposed to the king, Charles considered that circumstance a reason to treat him with greater familiarity, and sent word of his intended supper.

Neri welcomed the king gladly and prepared magnificently. After viewing and praising the house and garden, Charles washed and sat at a table beside the fishpond. Guy de Montfort sat on one side of him and Neri on the other; three of the king’s companions served in the manner arranged by their host. The food and costly wines were excellent, and the meal proceeded without noise or disturbance, to the king’s evident approval.

The Garden as a Scene of Hospitality

The garden’s design made its water a working part of the supper. Two young women entered carrying the tools for fishing and cooking: one had hand-nets and a long pole, while the other brought a frying-pan, firewood, a trivet, oil, and a torch. They approached modestly, then waded into the pond until the water reached their breasts. A servant kindled a fire beneath the trivet and set the pan over it.

One woman used the pole to search where the fish were concealed while the other waited with the net. They soon caught fish and passed them to the servant, who cooked them in the pan almost as soon as they left the water. The king watched with pleasure. In this episode Castellamare is more than a refuge: Neri’s cultivated estate becomes a carefully arranged place where landscape, household service, and an unusual meal display the host’s resources and hospitality.