The castle of Bovino was built by the Norman Count Drogone and later expanded by Frederick II, and in the 1600s it was transformed into a noble residence by the dukes of Guevara. Currently inhabited by the descendants of the Guevara family, in the past it was one of the most beautiful patrician residences in the South of Italy.
The Norman tower exists and is supported by a massive barbacane, in pyramidal shape. The construction is still retains good, between rocks and walls that partly retain vestiges of roman and hanging gardens. The castle stands on a rocky spur and overlooks the whole valley, famous for the raids of the bandits who, until the advent of united Italy, took to assaulting and plundering caravans and coaches that, from the Campania Region, to reach the Adriatic coast, were forced to pass through this narrow and dangerous throat between the mountains. The rooms of the Palazzo Ducale offer the visitor the possibility to appreciate the rich decor and visit the small but charming private chapel with majolica floor, where there is preserved a fragment of Sacred Plug, nestled in a cross of admirable workmanship, together with many relics of saints including a particle of purpura of Jesus Christ.
Visby Cathedral (also known as St. Mary’s Church) is the only survived medieval church in Visby. It was originally built for German merchants and inaugurated in 1225. Around the year 1350 the church was enlarged and converted into a basilica. The two-storey magazine was also added then above the nave as a warehouse for merchants.
Following the Reformation, the church was transformed into a parish church for the town of Visby. All other churches were abandoned. Shortly after the Reformation, in 1572, Gotland was made into its own Diocese, and the church designated its cathedral.
There is not much left of the original interior. The font is made of local red marble in the 13th century. The pulpit was made in Lübeck in 1684. There are 400 graves under the church floor.