Bari Swabian Castle

Bari, Italy

The Castello Svevo or Swabian Castle (Castello normanno-svevo), also known as the Houhenstaufen Castle, is a castle in the Apulian city of Bari.

Probably built in 1132 by Norman King Roger II, it was destroyed in 1156 by king William I of Sicily and rebuilt and reinforced in 1233 by the Holy Roman emperor Fredrick II. During the Angevin domination, it went through several transformation, and after being acquired by Duke Ferdinand of Aragon, was donated to the Sforza family and passed to Bona Sforza, Queen of Poland. After Bona's death, it was returned under the King of Naples and transformed into a prison and barracks.

The castle is surrounded by a moat on all sides, except the northern section, which was bordering the sea and can be accessed from the bridge and the gate on the southern side. It is mainly composed of the Aragon walls and the main Hohenstaufen tower, and is currently used for exhibitions.

According to the tradition, in 1221 Emperor Frederick II met St. Francis of Assisi in this castle. According to tradition, the emperor had a courtesan sent to Francis's room and watched through a peephole to see what would happen. When Francis sent the woman away, Frederick was impressed with his principles; the two spent the rest of the night in conversation. This story is not confirmed beyond doubt, but it is considered believable.

The castle it is currently used for exhibitions.

References:

Comments

Your name



Details

Founded: 1132
Category: Castles and fortifications in Italy

Rating

4.3/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

davide masi (2 years ago)
Terrible experience. 6 euro to get it and the portion accessible to visitors is minimal. Only a few rooms are open, the wall is not accessible and in the price is not inven included a guided tour. Also, the staff seems to be able to park their cars in the ground of the castle despite there are plenty of spaces in the streets just outside it.....only in Italy
Teodora Perieteanu (2 years ago)
Nice place, worth visiting when in Bari. The castle and the museum are free of charge, you can visit it by booking on the app.
Ahmed Dakroury (2 years ago)
No reception help, I understand it maybe bcuz of the pandemic, but at least leave some helpful notes for tourists! And the app is so user unfriendly.
necrosyther (2 years ago)
Very nice fort/castle. Contained great display halls of historic items. Would have been nice to be able to visit more of the castle and go on the walls. The area's you are able to visit are very limited. Was good for a free thing to do, but if I had paid I'd be unhappy with the amount of castle on show.
Porcu Raffaele (2 years ago)
The Bari castle, very very good! He is a caste with many sculpture and storic object Start at 600 a.c (don't sure). Impressively!
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Broch of Gurness

The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age broch village. Settlement here began sometime between 500 and 200 BC. At the centre of the settlement is a stone tower or broch, which once probably reached a height of around 10 metres. Its interior is divided into sections by upright slabs. The tower features two skins of drystone walls, with stone-floored galleries in between. These are accessed by steps. Stone ledges suggest that there was once an upper storey with a timber floor. The roof would have been thatched, surrounded by a wall walk linked by stairs to the ground floor. The broch features two hearths and a subterranean stone cistern with steps leading down into it. It is thought to have some religious significance, relating to an Iron Age cult of the underground.

The remains of the central tower are up to 3.6 metres high, and the stone walls are up to 4.1 metres thick.