A fun part of writing historical fiction is that I get to read a lot of history. I go to some lengths to get the history accurate. Once a book’s plot is set, I start delving into the locations. For example, for my current book The King’s Galley, what did Seville, Barcelona, Algiers, and Naples look and feel like in 1523? I never know what I might find.
Researching Naples, I immediately realized the formidable thirteenth century Castel Nuovo deserved a major role in my book. Studying the plans of the castle, I discovered the Hall of the Barons. Hmm. What’s that? Did the local barons meet there?
No. The name comes for an infamous red wedding rivalling that in George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones. The wedding was in 1487, thirty-six years before my book. The niece of King Ferrante of Naples was to marry the son of one of the local barons. The people welcomed this. Hopefully, it would end the decade’s long feud between Ferrante and the barons. Only thing was, while Ferrante wanted to end the feud, he wanted to do it on his terms. Once the guests were in, guards locked the doors, and the barons, their sons, and the groom ended up in Ferrante’s dungeons. He executed the lucky ones, while the unlucky ones were drawn and quartered. The feud was over.
Did Martin use this wedding as inspiration? I don’t think so. His story seems more rooted in Irish and Scottish history. But the real red wedding in the Hall of the Barons rivals the fictional one!
kennethdschultz 
Good research. Hall of Barons indeed.
What are your sources?
Ferdinand’s remarkable tale is out there in many reputable places. I think most of these go back to Nicolò Morelli’s Vite de Re di Napoli (1849) and Scipione Mazzella’s Le Vite dei Re di Napoli (1594.) My Italian is rudimentary and I haven’t personally read these.