The Castle of Monopoli, surrounded by the sea and located on a peninsula, was built first as a stronghold and later changed into noble house. It was originally built as part of coastal strongholds by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and later fortified by the Angevins. In 1552 it was once again reinforced by the viceroy Don Pedro de Toledo, at the behest of Charles V. Other important changes were made in 1660, by the Duke of Atri Giovanni Geronimo Acquaviva.
The present appearance dates back to 1660, when the huge cylindrical keep was added, from which it is possible to enter. On the upper part, there are large holes for the cannons, a sign of the original function to protect the town, while the right part, towards the town, appears to be more refined after the works of the 17th century, when it started to be used as house.The castle, reshaped several times over the centuries and used as prison during the first years of the 20th century, was restructured around 1976 and nowadays houses the Archaeological Museum of the Town.
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The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.
The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.
The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.