Gioia del Colle Castle

Gioia del Colle Castle dates originally from the Byzantine era from 9th century. It was composed of a rectangular fortified enclosure in limestone. Between the 9th and 10th centuries, the castle was expanded by Richard of Hauteville, the Duke of Apulia. The oldest document where the Castle is mentioned dates back to 1108, so the expansion could have been before the Norman enlargement. Richard of Hauteville transformed the Byzantine fortress into a feudal stronghold. He expanded the yard to the south and enclosed it with a solid wall. He built a fortified tower in the southwest corner, later named Torre De' Rossi. The King of Sicily, Roger II of Sicily, of Norman ancestry, changed the fortification partially and added two towers in the northeast and northwest corners, which no longer exist.

The current placement is attributed to Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, who refunded the castle and added a tower in the southeast corner around 1230, when he came back from the Fourth Crusade in the Holy Land. He erected curtain walls in the yard to obtain closed areas, service rooms on the ground floor (kitchen, storages, stalls, stables), and residential areas on the first floor.

With the defeat of Manfred, King of Sicily in the Battle of Benevento in 1266, the Swebian hegemony over southern Italy ended and the Castle of Gioia del Colle declined in influence. After the Hohenstaufen, it went under the supremacy of the House of Anjou and of the Crown of Aragon. Manfred – who was born in Gioia del Colle, according to legend – lost the property at his death to the princes of Taranto until the 15th century. Then, it passed to the House of Acquaviva from Conversano until the 17th century, and to the princes of Acquaviva until the beginning of the 19th century.

During these centuries, the castle was transformed from military construction to a residential dwelling and adapted to the new residential need. It had lost all of its military and civil relevance, maintaining its structure. From the 15th century, the Castle began to lose its importance and started a long phase of degradation and disfigurements. However, it kept the original structure, differently from other Apulia's Castles, which underwent various military adaptations. That is why the Castle of Gioia del Colle represents one of the most accurate testimonies of the Norman-Swebian period.

Between 1969 and 1974 the castle was restored. Today it is used for hosting cultural activities.

References:

• Wikipedia

Address

Piazza dei Martiri 1799 1, Gioia del Colle, Italy

Details

Founded: 9t
Category: Castles and fortifications in Italy