Castles

The castles, fortresses and remains are spread all around the territory and most of them date from the Norman and Swabian period, although there also Angewin fortresses from the time of the Aragonese and the Baroque.

THE PROVINCE OF FOGGIA

Castel Fiorentino
The remains of the fortified city in which Frederick II died.

Lucera
Castle built by Frederick II between 1223 and 1229.

Monte Sant’Angelo
Ruins of the castles which has Normans, Swabians and Aragonese origins.

THE PROVINCE OF BARI

Castel del Monte
Castle built on an octagonal plan with eight towers of the same shape. It is has a perfect geometrical shape and regularity. There are also 16 identical chambers.

Bari
Castle built by Frederick II between 1233 and 1240.

Barletta
Swabian castle built between 1233 and 1234. Charles of Anjou reinforced it between 1289 and 1291 and during the XVI century it was surrounded by fortifications.

Conversano
Norman-Swabian castle with four towers which in the XVI century was transformed in a recidence by the Aquaviva family.

Gioa del Colle
Castle built around 1100 by Richard Seneschal and expanded and embellished by Frederick II after 1230.

Trani
Quadrangular-shaped castle built by Frederick II in 1233.

THE PROVINCE OF BRINDISI

Brindisi
Swabian castle built by Frederick II in 1227. Ferdinand I of Aragon surrounded the castle with a wall set off by four round towers. Charles V in 1550 modified the castles and turned it in a prison.
The Aragonese castle "Castel Rosso" built by Ferdinand I of Aragon for the defence of the port.

Carovigno
Castle buil in the XV century by the Del-Balzo Orsini family. It was built to defend the town from raids by Saracens and pirates.

Mesagne
Castle built by Robert Guiscard and rebuilt by Antonio Del-Balzo Orsini in the XV century.

Oria
Castle built by Frederick II between 1227 and 1233. It has a particular form of an isosceles triangle and it is characterized by a large quantity of weapons with storage rooms, passages, and tanks.

THE PROVINCE OF LECCE

Gallipoli
Castle built in the XVI century over the Byzantine fortifications.

Lecce
Castle built between 1539 and 1548 over an Angevin nucleus on the order of Charles V.

Otranto
Castle built by Ferdinand of Aragon between 1485 and 1489. It has a quadrangular plan and round towers.

THE PROVINCE OF TARANTO

Massafra
Castle of Norman origin altered by the Pappacoda family.

Taranto
Castle built by Ferdinand of Aragon in 1481. Expanded in 1577 and successively transformed. It is now the centre of the Naval Command.