Location: Bari Map
Constructed: 1132 by Norman king Roger II
Swabian Castle is located in Bari region of Italy. It was constructed in the 13th century. Over subsequent centuries Swabian Castle kept its military significance. It was modernized and increased several times. Swabian fortress construction started in 1132 by orders of Norman king Roger II. Its defensive fortifications were later expanded by the Holy Roman emperor Frederick II Hohenstaufen (aka Antichrist) between 1233 and 1240. Swabian Castle saw many reconstructions and improvements to face new challenges of military technology including withstanding cannon fire. But you can see older medieval portions in the basement of the fortress. Today the castle is open to the public. Swabian Castle houses headquarters of the Superintendency for Environmental, Architectural and Historic Heritage in Puglia as well as Gallery of Plaster Casts.
Finds dating back to the
Roman-Greek era have led experts to trace the existence of the Bari
fortress back to ancient times. On the other hand, in the Satires
(I, 5, 96-97) of Horace and in the Annals (XVI, 2, 7-9) of Tacitus,
there is mention of the existence, in the ancient Barium, of a
fortified place whose location could coincide with a part of the
current castle or, much more probably, with the Byzantine kastròn
(Corte del Catapano-Basilica di S. Nicola).
The medieval
fortification probably dates back to 1132. The building,
commissioned by the Norman king Roger II, was destroyed in 1156 by
the Baresi themselves (who had induced King William the Malo to raze
the entire city to the ground with the exception of some places of
worship ) and rebuilt as early as 1233, when Emperor Frederick II
ordered its rebuilding and strengthening. Underwent numerous
transformations in the Angevin era and became the property of
Ferdinand of Aragon, it was then donated by him to the ducal family
of the Sforza. The latter ordered the expansion and refinement of
the fortress which soon passed into the hands of his daughter Bona,
Queen of Poland, who died there in 1557.
Later the building,
returned under the kings of Naples, was used as a prison and
barracks.
Today the castle is surrounded by the ancient moat,
which runs along three sides, with the exception of the northern
strip, once bathed by the sea; beyond the moat there is the defense
wall, from the Aragonese period, equipped with large angular spear
bastions. The castle is accessed from the south side, crossing the
bridge over the moat and entering the courtyard between the
sixteenth-century bulwarks and the Swabian keep.
On 3 October
2017 it reopens with structured rooms and new exhibits on display.