Castel del
Monte
A
thirteenth-century castle 16 km (10 mi) from Andria, built for the
Emperor Frederick II Barbarossa, Castel del Monte is a unique
masterpiece of medieval military
architecture and a strong statement of imperial might. Standing proud on
the top of a hill and visible from kilometers around, it was built in
about 1240 near Bari, in the south-eastern Italian region of Puglia. Castel del Monte is a successful blend of elements from classical
antiquity, the Islamic Orient and north European Cistercian Gothic. It is
a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The castle, which may not ever have been intended as a defensive
structure, was the
inspiration of the Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick II Barbarossa on his return from the Crusades, where he had
seen the octagonal base of the Dome of the Rock, although he could
equally
have been inspired by the imperial example of Charlemagne's chapel in the
cathedral at Aachen. Each of the eight corners has an octagonal bastion,
the idea for which may come from buildings he had seen in the Near East.
Barbarossa enjoyed using the castle for only a few years before his death
in 1250, and after some time it became a prison, then a refuge
for plague victims, before being abandoned. Only recently has Italy
rediscovered its enormous symbolic potency. Today the Castel del Monte
has been restored and it now graces the reverse of the Italian
1 cent coin. You could get to Castel del Monte by car or bus from Andria.
