Location: Apulia Map
Constructed: 13th century
Official site
Castel del Monte is located in Apulia region of South-east Italy. It is one of the most unusual citadels in Italy. Castel del Monte was constructed in the 1240's on the orders of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and under supervision of the governor of Capitanata. Its unique appearance and octagonal shapes earned Monte Castle a status on World Heritage Site. Some historians suggest that its design was influenced by Muslim mosque, known as Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. Frederick II participated in the Sixth Crusade in 1228- 1229 and could have seen this magnificent structure. Despite centuries of use much of the Castel del Monte citadel is in perfect condition. Other than marble that once covered the interior of the fortress courtyard, much of the structure is well preserved. The main wall reaches a height of 25 meters and its eight towers- bastions reach a height of 26 meters. Castel del Monte's diameter is 56 meters in length. The entrance to the Castle del Monte faces east side. Its design was influenced by Greco- Roman architecture that were so popular during Renaissance period. The fortress was not used as a military defensive position. Instead it was used as a state prison during rule of Charles I of Anjou just two decades after its construction. Sons of Manfred of Sicily, Azzo, Enzo and Henry, were kept her as prisoners after 1266. Later it was used as a refuge from a plague and finally the Monte Castle was abandoned. Italian government finished restoration of the castle in 1928 and established it as a museum of military architecture.
History
The origin of the building dates back to 29 January
1240, when Frederick II Hohenstaufen ordered Riccardo da Montefusco,
the executioner of Capitanata, to prepare the materials and
everything necessary for the construction of a castle at the church
of Santa Maria del Monte (now missing). This date, however, is not
accepted by all scholars: according to some, in fact, the
construction of the castle on that date had already reached the
roofs.
The attribution to a specific architect is also
uncertain: some trace the work to Riccardo da Lentini but many claim
that Frederick II himself designed the building. It seems that it
was built on the ruins of a previous fortress, first Lombard and
then Norman. Probably at the death of Frederick II (which took place
in 1250) the building was not yet finished.
From the times of
the Emperor Frederick to Giovanna I, queen of Naples, this splendid
fortress was always called "Castello di Santa Maria del Monte". The
first time that it was described without the nickname "Santa Maria",
therefore simply "Castel del Monte" is in a decree of King Ferdinand
of Aragon, dated from the Castle of Altamura, on 1 December 1463. It
was rarely used for parties; among these in 1246 we remember the
marriage of Violante, natural daughter of Federico and Bianca Lancia
with the count of Caserta Riccardo Sanseverino.
Castel del
Monte was also a place intended for the function of a prison. Under
the reign of Manfredi Marino da Eboli was imprisoned there after the
conspiracy of 1253. Under the jurisdiction of Charles I, on the
other hand, the young children of Manfredi were imprisoned, in a
completely secret way and under the custody of the castellan Golardo
Saumeri: Enrico, Federico, Enzio and Corrado of Caserta with Henry
of Castile.
In 1528, due to a French expedition to the
Kingdom of Naples, Castel del Monte was devastated and bombed. On 8
September 1552 it was sold to the Count of Ruvo, Don Fabrizio
Carafa, at the price of 100,000 Ducati. In the following years, the
Carafa family appointed the castellans and set up a bakery with a
mill and an oven. For the Carafa it was an enchanting holiday
resort. From the seventeenth century a long period of abandonment
followed, during which the castle was stripped of its furnishings
and marble wall decorations (traces of which are visible only behind
the capitals) and it became not only a prison but also a shelter for
shepherds. brigands and political refugees. In 1876 the castle, in
extremely precarious conditions of conservation, was finally
purchased (for the sum of 25,000 ₤ by the Italian State, which
arranged for its restoration starting from 1879.
On June 24,
1883, the knight Buongiovannini, central inspector of monuments at
the Ministry of Public Education and the engineer of the Civil
Engineering Francesco Sarlo held a conference on the restoration of
the artifact. In 1928 the restoration directed by the architect
Quagliati removed the debris from the outside of the castle and
demolished part of the crumbling structures, later rebuilding them
to give the castle a "rejuvenated" appearance; this did not stop its
deterioration and a further restoration had to be carried out
between 1975 and 1981. In 1936 Castel del Monte was declared a
national monument, then eliminated.
In 1996 UNESCO included
it in the list of World Heritage Sites for the mathematical and
astronomical rigor of its forms and for the harmonious union of the
cultural elements of northern Europe, the Islamic world and
classical antiquity, a typical example of architecture of the Middle
Ages.
Description
The building has an octagonal plan
(external side: 10.30 m interval between the towers plus diameter of
each tower: 7.90 m) and an octagonal turret is inserted at each
corner (side 2.70 m), while the octagon that corresponds to the
internal courtyard has sides whose size varies between 6.89 m and
7.83 m. The diameter of the inner courtyard is 17.86 m. The diameter
of the entire castle is 40m, while the diameter of each tower is
7.90m. The towers are 23 m high and slightly exceed the height of
the inner courtyard walls (20.50 m).
Indoor
The internal space is divided into two floors, raised
with respect to the square in front of 3 and 9.5 meters
respectively. The trapezoidal rooms are divided by walls that join
the edges of the internal octagon and the edges of the external one,
where the homologous towers are set. The problem of covering the
rooms is solved by breaking down the initial trapezoid into a
central square and two lateral triangles. The central square is
covered by a cross vault, while the two lateral triangles are
surmounted by two segments of a barrel vault for each room. At the
center of each cross vault, at the intersection between the ribs, a
different "extrados" keystone emerges from the intrados for each
room. The ribs do not have a static lift function, but only a
decorative one. The barrel vaults are built following the trend of
the external walls relating to that part of the building.
Although adjacent, the two types of vaults used are completely
independent: in the intersection between them, in fact, it can be
seen how the warping presents a discontinuity, caused by a mismatch
in the composition of the two contiguous roofs. The vaulting plane
of the vault is underlined by a frame, also taken up in the capital
above the supporting columns. Communication between the lower and
upper floors is ensured by the presence, not in all eight towers, of
the spiral staircases. The stairs develop in an anti-clockwise
direction and consist of 44 trapezoidal steps which branch off, each
in a single stone mass, from a central column with a diameter of
about 22 centimeters. The upper floor, although it follows the
structure of the lower floor, is more refined and refined: the ribs
that support the vaults are more slender, and each room is brightly
illuminated by the presence of mullioned windows or, in one case
(the side that looks towards Andria), three-light window.
These windows were divided by elegant columns that the architect
Luigi Vanvitelli thought of using for "some playful fountain
surrounded by a Gothic portico in one of the groves of the garden of
the Royal Palace of Caserta". The peculiarity of these windows is
the presence of steps and seats that flank them. Along the walls of
each room runs a seat below the base of the columns. Worthy of
particular attention, inside the castle is the maneuvering device of
the ancient gate for closing the main portal, visible with all the
necessary shafts, inside the load-bearing masonry, for the sliding
of the chains that supported it. As already mentioned, the castle
consists of eight towers, on top of five of them there were
cisterns, while the remaining three towers were used to house
falconers and soldiers.
External
The main entrance portal
opens on the wall of the octagonal structure oriented approximately
to the east, that is to say in front of the point where the sun
rises coinciding with the spring and autumn equinoxes. It is
accessed via two flights of symmetrical stairs, arranged "like
pincers" on the sides of the entrance, rebuilt in 1928. Unlike the
simple secondary entrance on the opposite side, oriented to the west
of the building (consisting of a simple arched portal pointed arch),
the main entrance is decorated with two fluted columns that support
a false architrave on which a cusp-shaped pediment is set.
Each wall has two windows: a single lancet window on the first floor
and a mullioned window for the second floor, not always in line with
each other. The eastern and western facades (those in which the two
portals are placed) differ from this rule, which do not have a
single-lancet window, and the northern facade, which has a
three-light window (on the side facing Andria) for the second floor.
Further loopholes are present on the towers, to give light to the
internal spiral staircases. From the structural point of view, the
walls between the towers rise directly from the ground, while the
towers have a plinth, highlighted in the upper part by a
Gothic-style frame. As further proof of the structural perfection of
the building, it can be seen how the tangents on the sides of the
internal courtyard meet precisely in the center of the octagonal
towers.
Courtyard
In the inner courtyard, the compactness of the walls is
attenuated only by the presence of three entrances in the lower part
and three "French windows" in the upper part. The feeling inside the
courtyard is that the entire first floor acts as a plinth for the
upper floor, lightened by the presence of blind arches.
In
some written accounts there are indications about the existence of a
basin, or fountain, in the center of this courtyard, according to
some also octagonal and consisting of a single block of marble (as
described by Troyli in 1743), which was later destroyed. The few
testimonies, on the other hand, appear inaccurate and contradictory.
Below the courtyard floor there is a large cistern for the
collection of rainwater, an aspect held in high regard in this
building, so much so that there were five other collection cisterns
inside the towers; the one below the inner courtyard is the only one
still functioning. The high walls from which the internal courtyard
is formed give the idea of being inside a well, which in medieval
symbolism represented knowledge.
Decoration
The decoration
of the building, originally very rich but now almost completely
disappeared, is notable for the keystones of the ribs, decorated
with mythological creatures and plant motifs, characteristic of the
realism of late Swabian sculpture, of Romanesque inspiration (such
as the Bust of Barletta). Architecture and sculpture betray the
influences of French and Cistercian building.
Rich porphyry
frames decorate the doors.
The structure is mainly composed
of three different materials, whose arrangement is not random but is
studied for the chromatic effect it has on the observer:
limestone is the predominant material, since all the architectural
structures and some decorative elements are made of this material.
This material gives the building a color ranging from white to pink,
depending on the time of day in which the building is observed;
the white marble or with light veins, today present only in rare
decorations in the rooms, in the past must have represented the
material of which all the furnishings and decorations of the
building were made;
the coral breach, which gives an important
note of color to the structure. In the past the effect of the coral
breach must have been more marked, since all the rooms were covered
with slabs of this material.
Hypothesis on the function
of the building
Over time, various hypotheses have arisen about
an alternative use or a completely different purpose from that of
the castle for Castel del Monte. Due to the strong symbolism of
which it is imbued, it has been hypothesized that the building could
be a sort of temple, or perhaps a kind of temple of knowledge, in
which to devote undisturbed to the study of sciences. In any case,
it reveals itself as a grandiose architectural work, a synthesis of
refined mathematical, geometric and astronomical knowledge.
Some slight asymmetries in the arrangement of the residual
decorations and internal doors, when not due to spoliation or
alterations, have suggested to some scholars the idea that the
castle and its rooms, although geometrically perfect, were designed
to be enjoyed through a sort of obligatory "path", probably linked
to astronomical criteria. To explain the total lack of corridors, it
was also assumed that on the first floor there was once a wooden
balcony, now disappeared, on the side facing the internal courtyard,
which would have allowed independent access to the individual rooms.
A recent hypothesis by Fallacara and Occhinegro would assign to
the building the function of a wellness center, suitable for
regenerating and caring for the body, on the model of the Arab
hammam. There are several elements of the construction that would
lead in this direction: the multiple and ingenious systems of
canalization and collection of water, the numerous storage tanks,
the presence of the oldest bathrooms in history, the particular
conformation of the entire complex , the obligatory internal path
and the octagonal shape.
Due to its octagonal shape, with as many octagons placed at the
vertices of the central plan, it is possible to suppose that the
building was built to recall the shape of a crown; this would
explain the function of Castel del Monte, or a further affirmation
of imperial power, a monument. The building has often been the
subject of "esoteric" interpretations, in popular books and
television broadcasts. The medievalist Raffaele Licinio - full
professor of Medieval History at the University of Bari and director
of the Norman-Swabian Studies Center - and many other academic
historians, such as Professor Franco Cardini, have repeatedly
reiterated the inaccuracy of these interpretations. According to
Licinius, the building was an integral part of the kingdom's castle
system, while it is not, as some amateur scholars claim, a
mysterious construction built by the Templars (very unlikely also
considering the disagreements between Frederick II and the Templars)
or the result of other esoteric legends more or less ancient.
Symbolic motifs
The building, in addition to being an example
of precise construction, is full of symbolisms that have fascinated
many scholars, but on the basis of completely unfounded
considerations. The irregular octagon on which the plan of the
complex and its elements is based is a symbolic geometric shape: it
is - for those who believe it - the intermediate figure between the
square, symbol of the earth, and the circle, which represents
infinity of the sky; therefore it would mark the passage of one to
the other. According to some, the choice of the octagon could derive
from the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, which Frederick II had seen
during the sixth crusade, or from the Palatine Chapel in Aachen.
The whole building would be imbued with strong astrological
symbols and its position would be studied so that on the days of the
solstice and equinox the shadows cast by the walls have a particular
direction. At noon on the autumn equinox, for example, the shadows
of the walls would perfectly reach the length of the inner
courtyard, and exactly one month later they also cover the entire
length of the rooms. Twice a year (April 8 and October 8, and
October at that time was considered the eighth month of the year),
moreover, a ray of sunlight would enter from the window in the
southeast wall and, passing through the window that turns to the
inner courtyard, it would illuminate a portion of the wall where a
bas-relief was previously carved.
Two lions crouch on the two
columns flanking the entrance portal, the one on the right looking
to the left and vice versa, facing the points on the horizon where
the sun rises in the two summer and winter solstices.
To the
five water cisterns present under the towers, five chimneys would
ideally be connected inside. Some [without source] have related this
presence to the words of the Gospel according to Luke: "Today I
baptize you with water, but whoever baptizes you with fire will
come", thus crediting the hypothesis that the building was used as a
sort of temple. It was then noted how the building, seen from afar,
looks very similar to a crown and, in particular, the one with which
Frederick II himself was crowned (also octagonal). Ideally wanting
to cut the entrance portal to the building with a vertical line
passing through its axis, it would be possible to see a large F,
initial of the sovereign who wanted it and who perhaps thus left his
mark and his signature. Furthermore, the layout of the stairs would
have been designed so that anyone who goes out could never turn
their backs on the building or the initial of the man who had it
built.
The number eight recurs in various elements of this
construction: the octagonal shape of the building, the internal
courtyard and the eight towers at the top, the eight internal rooms,
the internal basin which must have been octagonal, eight cloverleaf
flowers on the left frame on the entrance portal , eight more on the
lower cornice, eight leaves on the capitals of the columns in the
rooms, eight leaves on the keystone, eight vine leaves on the
keystone of the first room on the ground floor, eight sunflower
leaves on the keystone of another hall, eight leaves and eight
petals on that of the fifth room, eight acanthus leaves on the
keystone of the eighth room, eight fig leaves on the keystone of the
eighth room on the upper floor.
The only three-light window of the building faces the city of
Andria. The location of the building would have been determined by
astronomical reasons: at the latitude where Castel del Monte rises
(N 41 ° and 5 '), on equinoctial days the sun, one hour before noon,
has a angular opening of 22 ° and 30 '. The same opening obviously
has an hour later. By adding these two values, we obtain an angle of
45 degrees which, open at the center of the circumference, subtends
a chord: the side of a regular octagon inscribed in the
circumference itself. In short, those who are sensitive to the
fascination of esotericism can find satisfaction, although, as has
already been written, the "magical" hypotheses inspired by Castel
del Monte have all been dismantled by academic historians.
Use of the image of Castel del Monte
On May 2, 1977, a 200 lire
stamp was issued which shows a perspective view. On 22 September
1980 another was issued for the ordinary series worth 20 lire. In
1998 the shape of Castel del Monte was chosen for the 1 euro cent
metal coin minted in the Italian state.
The recurrent form of
the octagon in the castle plan is present in the flag of the Puglia
Region, in the coat of arms of the Polytechnic of Bari and in
numerous other logos of entities of the region, including that of
BancApulia. The structure of the convent library in which
Jean-Jacques Annaud's 1986 film The Name of the Rose is set is
clearly inspired by Castel del Monte.
In the online game
Forge of Empires Castel del Monte is a large building from the late
Middle Ages. Gives players forge points and attack bonuses. In the
2015 film The Tale of Tales - Tale of Tales, the scenes set in the
imaginary palace of Altomonte were shot in Castel del Monte. In
2016, Castel del Monte was used as the location for the Wonder Woman
movie, using it to recreate the fortress on the island of
Themyscira.