How to get to the costa del monte castle. Castles of Italy: Castel del Monte

There are many beautiful places on the planet that enjoy increased attention of tourists. The south of Italy is known throughout the world for its outstanding architecture, and the eastern region of Puglia is no exception. Many structures are of interest not only for their original designs. The buildings, the purpose of which remains a great mystery for posterity, become the subject of discussion by tourists and the object of many years of research by scientists.

Medieval attractions in Bari

The capital of the region is famous for its religious monuments. Nicholas with the myrrh-streaming relics of Nicholas the Wonderworker, the Church of St. Sabinus are the main attractions of the ancient city. Around Bari there are medieval historical monuments, which tourists from all over the world come to admire.

The most famous building is the Castel del Monte, called the most mysterious building in Europe. A regular octagon, literally saturated with symbolism, raises the minds of specialists.

The conflicting identity of the owner of the castle

To understand the architectural features of a capital structure, it is necessary to get to know its owner - a person who is ambiguous and evokes different feelings among historians.

The controversial personality of Emperor Frederick II of Hohenstaufen caused a lot of controversy and opinions. It is known that his cruelty and lust for power knew no bounds. For lack of religious feelings, he was excommunicated from the church, which did not prevent him from winning the Crusade.

The emperor who returned Jerusalem to the Christian world was considered a very educated person. The surviving ancient document describes the decree of Frederick II on the beginning of the large-scale construction of the castle near the monastery of Santa Maria del Monte. Work began on the high hill at the beginning of 1240 and continued for about ten years.

The fate of the historical monument

It is believed that the emperor himself took part in the development of the grandiose project of Castel del Monte, but documentary evidence of his residence in his brainchild was not found. After the death of the crowned person, the castle was inherited by the sons, but after a while it was abandoned and served as a shelter for local shepherds. After repeated acts of vandalism in 1876, the state took it under protection.

There is a legend that the imperious emperor did not die in 1250, but simply hid from the whole world, planning to reform the church and establish peace on earth.

Riddles with no answers yet

Not all scientists agree on the start date for the construction of Castel del Monte. It is known about serious financial difficulties in 1239, due to which the construction of other fortresses in the empire was suspended. This is one of the first mysteries that specialists are working on to this day.

The second, concerning the true purpose of the monumental structure, torments all researchers and historians. There is an official version, according to which the building was originally built as a residence for the emperor who loves falconry. However, the spiral staircases inside the castle are twisted to the left, counterclockwise, in a completely different direction than was customary. In the huge room there is not even a hint of rooms for supplies, servants, stables, and the interior decoration is too luxurious for a hunting lodge.

Castle or something else?

Located on a high hill, the octagon, at the corners of which there are towers, is unlike other castles. It does not have the obligatory drawbridge, rampart and moat, and the main entrance is made in the form of a portal of a Gothic temple facing east.

The architectural creation, which is a two-story structure with a flat roof, was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1999.

The symbolism of the eight

The octagonal plan of the building, located in the city of Bari, whose sights are known to the whole world, made the building famous. Despite the fact that the building looks intimidating, it has never been a defensive structure. Eight trapezoidal rooms on the first floor, not intended for receiving guests, and the same number of rooms on the second, corner turrets with eight sides are full of surprises. The symbolic number is repeated in architectural details a huge number of times.

The courtyard once housed a marble pool symbolizing the Holy Grail. Needless to say, it also had an octagonal shape. And under it were cisterns with water, united in a special hydraulic system - the oldest sewage system of the Middle Ages.

The interior of Castel del Monte is surprising: all its details continue the theme of the figure of eight - a symbolic figure of infinity, considered a transition from earth to sky.

Calendar and sundial

The main feature of a historical monument is its ability to show the time. The first floor is a kind of calendar that counts down the time. Direct sunlight enters each room on the second floor twice a day throughout the year (for rooms on the first floor this is true only in summer), turning the structure into a giant sundial.

At noon of the autumnal equinox, the castle's massive walls cast a shadow that equals the length of the courtyard. Gradually it lengthens until it "contains" the entire structure.

A place for occult rituals?

The kingdom of geometry, numerology, all kinds of secret signs, most likely, served as a meeting place for communities that conducted occult rituals, or an astronomical observatory in which they studied alchemy. The retinue of Frederick II included the famous astrologer and magician Michele Scoto, whose name Dante mentioned in his work, describing the hell of sorcerers.

The construction of Castel del Monte was not without the influence of the Templars. The stone crown of Apulia, as the mysterious masterpiece of world architecture is also called, was the material embodiment of esoteric, astronomical and mathematical knowledge.

Citadel of Secret Knowledge

The national monument is adored by tourists who admire the original stone work, which has no analogues. Travelers who come to the south of Italy will certainly visit the legendary castle, the image of which is minted by the government of the country on small coins. The majestic building is in no hurry to give away all the secrets, but that makes it even more interesting to look into the citadel of secret knowledge.

Castle Castel del Monte, whose name translates as "castle on the mountain", stands in the city of Andria in the Italian region of Apulia. It was once called Castrum Sancta Maria del Monte, as it was built on the site of the former monastery of St. Mary on the Mountain. True, by the time the castle was erected in the middle of the 13th century, nothing remained of the monastery.

The construction of the castle was started by order of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and lasted for about ten years. Already in 1250, the powerful structure was ready, although the interior decoration continued.

Castel del Monte, in the form of a regular octagon, is located 16 km from the city of Andria, in a place called Terra di Bari - Land of Bari. The same octagonal towers are built in the corners. The height of the castle reaches 25 meters, the length of the walls is 16.5 meters, and the width of the walls of the towers is 3.1 meters. The main entrance is located on the east side, and there is an alternate portal on the west. An interesting feature of the castle is that the two sides of the side tower touch one side of the main building.

I must say that the two-story Castel del Monte is not actually a castle in the full sense of the word, since it has no moat, ramparts and drawbridge. There are no warehouses, stables, or a separate kitchen. Therefore, the purpose of Castel del Monte is still controversial among scientists. The generally accepted version is that the castle was the hunting residence of Emperor Frederick II. True, the richly decorated interiors make scientists argue further - this decoration for a hunting lodge was too magnificent and elegant.

The interior of the castle consists of 16 rooms, eight on each floor. The corner towers are occupied by wardrobes, toilets and spiral staircases, the latter twisting not to the right, but to the left. The location of the castle rooms is interesting: for example, two rooms on the first floor have no exits to the courtyard. Four rooms have only one door, and the passage halls have 2-3 portals. All rooms on the second floor are illuminated by sunlight twice a day throughout the year, and rooms on the first floor are illuminated only in summer. This strange design suggests that Castel del Monte was a kind of astronomical instrument: its upper part is a giant sundial, and the first floor serves as a calendar, the spaces of which are evenly illuminated during the summer and winter solstice. And this is another unsolved mystery of the ancient castle, which the locals call the "Crown of Apulia".

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Castel del Monte is called the "Crown of Puglia" and is considered one of the most mysterious buildings not only in Italy, but throughout Europe. Within these walls, 8 centuries ago, amazing, mystical and, possibly, terrible things happened, about which much is still unknown.

Castel del Monte (or castle on the mountain) is located in Italy, in the Puglia region. Its construction was started by order of Frederick II, presumably in 1240. It is interesting that just a year before that, the financial condition of Spain was so deplorable that Frederick II stopped the construction of several military fortresses. But not Castel del Monte.

A bit of history

The history of the castle has a lot of mysteries and unknowns - and even has its own mystical number. The structure and pool are octagonal, 8 towers at the edges, 8 halls on the lower floor and 8 on the upper. In the details of architecture, you can find the number 8 countless times: in the leaves on the columns, in the pattern on the vaults. By the way, the magic of the number 8 spread to the owner of the castle, Frederick II, however, after death. When the tomb of the king, who died in 1250 (add the numbers), was opened for the restoration of the cathedral in Palermo, a mysterious ring with an emerald surrounded by gold petals was found on his hand, of which there were ... of course, 8.

What to see

From afar, the Nagorny Castle seems round, but if you come closer, you can see its unusual shape. Castel del Monte is built in the form of a regular octagon with towers at the corners. In the courtyard there was a pool of the same shape, cut from a single piece of stone - the symbol of the Holy Grail.

Castel del Monte stands alone on a secluded hill, rising to the roof, you can enjoy the panoramic sea views from the stone terrace.

It is still not known for sure why this castle was built. Of course, there is an official version - Frederick II, who was fond of falconry, wanted to use it as a hunting lodge, but it is surprising that Castel del Monte has no rooms for servants, a separate kitchen, or a stable. In short, everything that should definitely be in a royal hunting residence.

But in the castle there are many fireplaces, too small in size for cooking on them, but suitable for alchemical experiments. Spiral staircases, twisted not to the right, as required by the tradition of that time, but to the left. Connecting doors that allow almost the entire castle to go unnoticed, passing from one room to another. There is also a legend about a secret tunnel almost 18 km long, leading to the Ducale di Andria castle.

Practical information

Address: Apulia, Auto Strada Statale, 170 Dir. Website (in English).

You can get there by bus number 6 from Andria (only in the summer season from May to September) or by private car - there is a parking lot near the castle.

Opening hours: from October 1 to March 31 - from 9:00 to 18:30 (ticket sales until 18:00), from April 1 to September 30 - from 10:15 to 19:45 (ticket sales until 19:15) ... The castle is closed from December 25 to January 2. Opening hours for other holidays will appear on the website.

Excursion cost: adults - 5 EUR, students (18-25 years old) - 2.50 EUR. Audio guide - 3.50 EUR.





The majestic Castel del Monte is one of the most famous landmarks in the Italian region of Apulia. Moreover, it will not be an exaggeration to say that this is one of the most mysterious castles in the world.

Unlike other mystical places, the amazing castle is not hidden from prying eyes behind the mountains and forests. On the contrary, it is visible from afar. You drive along the freeway and see, here he is, handsome, towering on top of the hill. And it doesn't matter that the name of the building is translated as “castle on the mountain”, only those who have never seen real mountains in their life can literally take the name Castel del Monte. It was built on a castle on the very spot where the Maria del Monte monastery was located until the thirteenth century, hence the first name of the building, which few people remember today - castrum Sancta Maria de Monte.

Photo: view of Castel del Monte

Today, the crowd of people does not dry up to Castel del Monte. For this, many thanks to the magical world of cinema and the Italian director Matteo Garrone in particular, because it was in the unusual halls of this monumental structure that he settled the characters - the king who raised the flea, and the princess whom the eccentric father married to the cannibal. Curiously, until the twentieth century, the castle was in an abandoned state, and shepherds spent the night there. Today, the architectural structure is in the care of UNESCO, as a result, it was washed and put in order, but the interior decoration of the halls was not preserved - the same Matteo Garrone had to hastily fill the space of the premises with the props brought to the castle.

Photo: shooting of the film "Scary Tales"

Garrone chose Castel del Monte for the film adaptation of the tales of the Neapolitan Giambattista Basile for a reason, because this place is incredibly mysterious. Although located 16 kilometers from the city of Andria, Castel del Monte bears the honorary title of one of the most famous medieval castles in the world, in essence it is not a castle.

Shot from the movie "Scary Tales", the princess and the king on the roof of the castle

The fact is that in the understanding of a normal person of the Middle Ages, a castle could only be built for one of two purposes. The first goal, it is also the main one - defense and terrain control. In this case, one or another lord erected a small fortress, as a rule, on the top of a mountain, which helped to repel enemy attacks, and at the same time to influence the situation in the region as a whole. The second task is a fortified place to live. Sometimes castles grew to the size of cities, take, for example, but their powerful walls again made it possible to hold back hordes of enemies.

But Castel del Monte is not intended for defense at all. Where are the walls and the moat with water? Where are there any decent defenses? This place also seems to be of little use for life. Of course, even Walter Scott in his "Ivanhoe" wrote that the concept of "comfort" did not exist in the Middle Ages, but this castle, even by medieval standards, is far from the home of a self-respecting lord. It's okay that all the halls inside are connected to each other, but, most importantly, there is no place for a stable and there is no kitchen. So, most of all, the castle looks like a kind of old art object, built for the sake of ideas, such houses are sometimes designed by modern architects who have received an absolute carte blanche to implement their creative ideas in conjunction with an unlimited budget.

This association is quite appropriate if you know who built Castel del Monte. The castle was built on the mountain by the Emperor Frederick II Staufen himself - a legendary person in all respects. He not only managed to win the title of Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from competitors and lead the sixth crusade, but was also considered one of the most educated people of his time. He knew Greek, Latin and Arabic, founded a university in Naples, where not only Christians, but also Jews and Arabs taught, and this, by the way, is the height of tolerance by medieval standards. Frederick II as a whole was very far from Christian prejudices, here are illustrative examples: the emperor insisted that doctors study anatomy on corpses, and Frederick also had a warm attitude towards Fibonacci and even organized mathematical tournaments.

Photo: engraving depicting Frederick II

The emperor also had a penchant for writing: he is credited with writing an essay on falconry, and at his court he created a Sicilian school of poetry. At the same time, like all progressive people of his time, Frederick II was an admirer of a wide variety of mystical teachings, studied astronomy and astrology. With the personal life of the emperor, everything was also interesting, he earned the reputation of Bluebeard, since he was married four times, however, his last marriage with his permanent mistress Bianca Lancia was never recognized by the church. Frederick II spawned a great many children - 20 legitimate, but for obvious reasons, no one scrupulously counted the bastards.

Castel del Monte was built by Frederick II from 1240 to 1250, that is, in the last decade of his life. The name of the architect is unknown, but many historians, not without reason, believe that he was the emperor himself - a painfully intricate design was the result. The fact is that, like many medieval mystics, Frederick was obsessed with the number eight, which symbolizes infinity, and it is constantly traced in the structure of the castle.

To begin with, the castle, when viewed from above, is a regular octagon, and an octagonal tower is erected at each corner of the structure. The shape of the inner courtyard of the castle also repeats the octagon. The castle has only two floors, the roof is flat, and the main entrance to Castel del Monte looks strictly to the east, because, as it was believed in the Middle Ages, the good news came to us from the east.

Photo: windows overlooking the courtyard of the castle

There are 8 rooms on each floor of the castle, all of them are connected to each other, so that Castel del Monte can be easily walked around the perimeter. The rooms are made in the form of trapezoids, and windows are cut through the walls. Toilets, wardrobes and spiral staircases are located in the corner turrets. By the way, the castle has a separate story with the stairs - usually in all the castles they are "twisted" to the right, since this is optimal for the defense of the object, but in Castel del Monte, on the contrary, they are "turned" to the left, that is, as it does nature, because it is to the left that the shells of mollusks or snail shells are twisted.

Photo: stairs in Castel del Monte

All rooms of the castle are exactly the same, the rooms differ from each other only in the location of the doors and the number of windows. In the decorative elements, the number eight again dominates: on the capitals of the columns there are eight leaves each, on the bas-reliefs in the rooms there are eight leaves or clover flowers.

Another interesting thing is that direct rays of sunlight fall into the windows of the second floor twice a day (with the first floor, this rule works only in summer), so many assume that the mysterious castle is nothing more than a huge sundial, and at the same time astronomical device. In addition, twice a year during the summer and winter solstice, sunlight is evenly distributed among all rooms on the ground floor. This, of course, is also no coincidence, so many historians suggest that the first floor of Castel del Monte is a kind of analogue of the solar calendar.

You could calm down here, but here's another curious reason for thinking - twice a year, on April 8 and October 8, the sun's rays pass through the windows of the castle into the courtyard in such a way that they fall strictly on the part of the wall where in the time of Frederick II a certain bas-relief was carved, now lost. Well, and to make everything quite difficult, it is worth remembering that October in the thirteenth century was considered the eighth month of the year.

Frederick II died before he could finish the construction of the castle - the building of Castel del Monte was completed, but the interior decoration was not completed to the end. After the death of the emperor, there were legends in Europe that Frederick did not die, but disappeared in an unknown direction in order to reform the church and establish universal brotherhood and peace. A certain symbolism is seen in this, because the octagon, repeated in the structure of Castel del Monte, in the Middle Ages symbolized the transition from the world of the living to the kingdom of the dead, and at the same time the union of heaven and earth.

Everything is very simple here - the square was considered a symbol of the earth, the circle was a symbol of the sky, and the octagon was an intermediate figure that signified both unity and transition. However, scientists far from mysticism believe that the repeated use of the octagon is just a reference to the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, because Frederick II saw the dome over the cornerstone during his crusade.

Encrypted in Castel del Monte and biblical symbols. The fact is that there are exactly five drainage basins and five fireplaces in the castle, many associate this with the phrase of the Baptist John from the Gospel of Luke: “I baptize you in water for repentance, but the one who follows me is stronger than me; I am not worthy to bear His shoes; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. " So, it is easy to assume that Castel del Monte was for Frederick II an analogue of the temple, built according to his personal project, and this fully meets the ambitions of the emperor.

By the way, this hypothesis is confirmed by another curious detail. If you look closely at the entrance to the castle, you can see a giant letter F encrypted there. If inside the tomb of Frederick II, associations with pyramids would be inevitable, and so Castel del Monte seems to be a kind of personal portal of the emperor, erected according to his plan and in his honour. At least, when you stand in the courtyard of the castle and, with your head raised, look at the sky, imprisoned in an octagon of powerful limestone walls, even the most inveterate materialists have a feeling of belonging to the medieval magical tradition. And the energy of this place is special, in the style of those "Scary Tales" by Matteo Garrone.

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Yulia Malkova - Julia Malkova - founder of the site project. Formerly the chief editor of the internet project elle.ru and the chief editor of the website cosmo.ru. I'm talking about travel for my own pleasure and the pleasure of readers. If you are a representative of hotels, tourism office, but we are not familiar, you can contact me by email: [email protected]

Castel del Monte is one of the most famous and visited places in Puglia; still, it is included in the UNESCO list of World Cultural Heritage sites. The Romanesque cathedrals of Puglia have just entered the struggle to be included in this list, and therefore most of these cathedrals can be viewed in silence and splendid isolation. Castel del Monte is packed with tourists, as is Matera. It's amazing that people so blindly trust uncles and aunts from UNESCO that they are ready to trudge into the wilderness, not paying attention to the masterpieces nearby)))

Once the courtyard was decorated with statues of ancient and medieval masters, but after the destruction of the Hohenstaufen family and until the end of the Bourbon monarchy, the castle was relentlessly plundered; some statues even ended up in Caserta. So now in the courtyard you can see several bas-reliefs (high, my camera did not master it), two portals - the entrances to the premises of the first floor, as well as three windows on the second floor.

One of the portals on the first floor:

Inside the castle is empty - everything was stolen before us. The bare walls are decorated only with coral limestone portals, fireplaces and columns.

These were all photographs of the first floor, followed by the second.

You can also lean out of the windows and try to see from a close distance those details of the yard that are poorly visible from below.

That's all.
I have had conflicting impressions of Castel del Monte. On the one hand, so much has been written about him by smart people (and read by the stupid, that is, by me) that the reality disappointed. Driving so far, planning bus schedules - all for the sake of bare walls. But, on the other hand, if I missed the UNESCO monument, then I would methodically eat my baldness for the rest of my life))) On the third hand, from the fortresses seen on the trip (Bari, Trani, Barletta, Melfi) Castel del Monte turned the most interesting.

In any case, there is nothing to watch for more than an hour (I arrived at 12-15, and left at 15-00), so choose the right pair of buses "back and forth" for yourself. If I had assumed that the strike on the coming Friday would be so serious, I would still risk my bald head, omit the visit to Castel del Monte and redo the program so that at least to get to Conversano. But what's done is done.

Perhaps the weather influenced my mood. In the photographs you see the sun, but this is all a hoax))) Although it was above 20 degrees, and the sun really shone, a piercing cold wind was blowing, and I was in the same shirt. It was the same hurricane wind that caused us to land several times the day before at Bari airport. on the following days the jacket had to be taken always, as it was cool in the morning and in the evening.

Next time we will run through Andria (running ahead, forgive the pun, I will say that you can definitely skip Andria if your vacation is short), we will look at the cathedral and the small church of Sant'Agostino.