09/02/2020
Castel del Monte is built in an octagonal shape, with each of the eight corners sporting an octagonal tower.
In 1237, Frederick II gave orders to build a castle near Santa Maria di Monte Castro, as part of his network of strategically placed defensive castles and residences.
The shape, however, doesn't make it look like a castle, as it lacks the original elements that are necessary for proper defense: it has no ditches, no drawbridge, no basement, but it does have large, marble-covered rooms, worthy of a lavish royal residence.
The 26 metre high walls and towers (which were even higher in the past) and the thick, quartz-bearing limestone walls make it more than 'just a residence'. Not only the shape was remarkable in the thirteenth century. Castel del Monte also has an advanced plumbing system, which used rain water for the toilets and bathrooms of the fortress.
It was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1996, and is one of the best preserved medieval castles in Southern Italy.
