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Where and When

THE CASTLE OF BARLETTA - from 16 may to 20 september2009

The castle of Barletta was most probably built during the Norman Age and is mentioned for the first time in a document dated 1202.  The castle was enlarged by Frederick II of Swabia, as is evident from the two windows in the south-eastern part of the building, whose lunettes are sculpted with the imperial eagle grasping a hare in its talons, a recurring motif in Swabian iconography. In 1203, the castle was damaged by local inhabitants, who besieged it in order to drive a pro-Pope lord out of it. Here, the emperor held the famous Diet, before his departure on the crusade in 1228.

On the contrary, a lot of evidences are left of the Angevins’ intervention: started by Charles I in 1269, the works lasted until 1291 and involved the royal architect Pierre d’Angicourt. On that occasion, the royal boardrooms and the palace were renovated, a chapel was built and the whole structure was fortified with boundary walls, endowed with a corner round tower.

The Aragoneses reinforced the boundary walls between 1458 and 1481 and, afterwards, thanks to Charles V, the castle was given a symmetric structure, characterized by four pointed angular ramparts and casemates, placed radially and along the curtains, according to contemporary fortification rules. The project is attributed to the military engineer Evangelista Menga.

In order to fortify the area towards the town, which was the most exposed to attacks, the eastern side, south-eastern corner and wall curtains were reinforced. To this stage of the works refers the plaque above the castle entrance, which is surmounted by Charles V’s shield and bears the year 1537; in spite of what is often believed, the castle was not finished in that year, since much more time was needed to build such a huge fortress. Mostly defensive works were carried out between 1552 and 1559.

The castle underwent several further changes over the centuries up to the recent restoration work on the basements, which was supervised by the architect Stefano Serpenti and financed by Apulia Regional Government through the “Norman – Swabian – Angevin” PIS: such restoration offer the possibility to relaunch the castle as a major tourist destination and cultural centre.

Cultural Heritage and Services Office
Municipality of Barletta