Best castles in Puglia

Castles by province

Castles, fortresses and remains are spread all around the territory of Puglia.

The strategic location of Puglia, located southeast of Europe, washed by the sea and in front of the eastern part of Europe, meant that, throughout history, people who have lived in Puglia, felt the need to defend themselves from the continuous invasions. For this reason, they built castles and towers.

Most of them date from the Norman and Swabian period, although there also Angewin fortresses from the time of the Aragonese and the Baroque period.

Castles in 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.

Castles in the province of Bari

Bari

Castle built by Frederick II between 1233 and 1240.

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.

Castles in the province of BAT

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.

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.

Trani

Quadrangular-shaped castle built by Frederick II in 1233.

Castles in 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" was 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.

Castles in 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.

Castles in 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.