National Castles Days

[Jovialis]

On the 19th and 20th of May, you can tour these castles for free.

http://www.istitutoitalianocastelli....ggio-2018.html

[Jovialis]

This is the one in Bari:

Castello Svevo

Probably built in 1132 by Norman King Roger II, it was destroyed in 1156 by king William I of Sicily and rebuilt and reinforced in 1233 by the Holy Roman emperor Fredrick II. During the Angevin domination, it went through several transformation, and after being acquired by Duke Ferdinand of Aragon, was donated to the Sforza family and passed to Bona Sforza, Queen of Poland. After Bona's death, it was returned under the King of Naples and transformed into a prison and barracks.
The castle is surrounded by a moat on all sides, except the northern section, which was bordering the sea and can be accessed from the bridge and the gate on the southern side. It is mainly composed of the Aragon walls and the main Hohenstaufen tower, and is currently used for exhibitions.

^{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castel...o-Svevo_(Bari)}

[Salento]

Castello Carlo V (Lecce)


Acaya (LE) Classic Fortified Battle Castle




Anfiteatro Romano di Lecce (Lupiae). (not a Castle, but is huge, even if a chunk of it is still buried, and other structures were built on top.) :)




Angioino Castle Gallipoli (LE)


Otranto (LE)


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About this Castles + List of more Castles in Salento.
http://www.nelsalento.net/salento-castles/

[Jovialis]

Castel del Monte

Another famous castle in Bari.

Castel del Monte (Italian for "Castle of the Mountain"; Barese: Castídde d'u Monte) is a 13th-century citadel and castle situated on a hill in Andria in the Apulia region of southeast Italy. It was built during the 1240s by the Emperor Frederick II, who had inherited the lands from his mother Constance of Sicily. In the 18th century, the castle's interior marbles and remaining furnishings were removed. It has neither a moat nor a drawbridge and some considered it never to have been intended as a defensive fortress;[1] however, archaeological work has suggested that it originally had a curtain wall.[2] Described by the Enciclopedia Italiana as "the most fascinating castle built by Frederick II",[3] the site is protected as a World Heritage Site. It also appears on the Italian version of the one cent Euro coin.[4]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castel_del_Monte,_Apulia

[Jovialis]

Il Castello Di Barletta

Another Barese castle located in Barletta.
The description is in translation from Italian:

The assumptions on the genesis of the first nucleus of the current castle attest its origins between 1046 and 1050 by the Normans and are based on the custom, typical of this people, to fortify the lands close to those to be conquered by providing towers , in view of the subsequent occupation of the neighboring area. [10] For this reason Count Peter the Norman in view of a subsequent attack on the city of Trani , held strenuously until 1054 , under the Byzantine rule, [11] seized the defenseless lands of Barletta, erecting a fortress for defensive purposes in the south - east area of today 's building. In those same years he built the first city wall, within which the town was divided into two nuclei of Santa Maria, near the castle and the ancient mother church , and San Giacomo, to the west around the church of the same name . [12]


The passage of deliveries between the Norman count and his son Peter II, occurred in 1067, [12] and the consequent wars of succession to power that involved the Altavilla of Sicily, [13] made Puglia an open field of war [14] and they led the Barlettan territory under the power of William I of Sicily, who succeeded his father in 1154 , having died his elder brothers. Following the destruction of Bari , Guglielmo, called il Malo , between 1156 and 1162 , expanded the building of the castle, building two other towers , connected by a simple wall, to which was later added a fourth on the south-west side, thus forming a pseudo-trapezoidal fortress . [15] In 1172 William II, known as Good , son of William I, returning from Taranto and heading for the sanctuary of San Michele Arcangelo in Monte Sant'Angelo , stayed in the castle of Barletta [11] making substantial donations in favor of the barlettano clergy. [16]


Of the Norman period, which ended with the death of Tancredi , William II's cousin, in 1194 , only the south-east tower remained, in 1194 , cut off in height and incorporated during the sixteenth-century interventions in the southern curtain of the Spanish structure. [17] The profound restoration of the castle in the eighties , given the direct inaccessibility of the tower, has allowed the internal visibility through the recovery of a hole in the ground floor protected by a metal grating.

https://translate.google.com/transla...ta&prev=search

[Salento]

@Jovialis In the summer, many Castles offer guided tours and many also house art exhibits that are open to the public.

[Jovialis]

Some more beautiful castles in Italy




Scaligero Castle

located on Lake Garda in Lombardy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scaligero_Castle_(Sirmione)

[Jovialis]

Castello di Vigoleno

Located in Piacenza, Emilia-Romagna

https://translate.google.com/transla...no&prev=search

[Jovialis]

Buonconsiglio Castle

Located in Trento

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buonconsiglio_Castle

[Jovialis]

Castello di Caccamo

In Caccamo, Sicily

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castello_di_Caccamo

[Jovialis]

La Rocca di Ostia

Located in Ostia Antica, Lazio

https://translate.google.com/transla...ia&prev=search

[Salento]

Another view of the Castle of Gallipoli. (Puglia LE)
The outside walls are Impressive, they are as thick as a mid size room. Really cool stuff.