Apulia / Castles by Frederick II

Royal residences, fortresses and castles built under the aegis of Frederick II are today cataloged as monuments of Federician architecture. These essentially follow the canons of Romanesque architecture, but are also enriched with elements and decorations of the Gothic style, which in some way streamline the rough and massive structure.

Frederick II of Swabia – Hohenstaufen (1198-1250), King of Sicily, Duke of Swabia, King of Germany and Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, had a multifaceted and eclectic education, thanks to his many teachers of Western-Christian and Eastern culture -Islamic.

Frederick II is considered a “revolutionary” innovator of politics, culture and art of his time for the way he understood the organization of the state, for the great impulse he gave to mathematical sciences, literature and architecture.

Federico II has the merit of having founded, with a provision of 5 July 1224, the University of Naples, the oldest lay and state university in the world.

In life, Frederick II had the nickname “Puer Apuliae” (Son of Puglia), due to the predilection he had for this region (at the time the name “Apulia” referred to the current territory of Puglia and Basilicata) and for the innumerable castles and palaces that he had restored or built here, as military fortresses or shelters for hunting parties.

Of the approximately thirty Frederick castles present today in Southern Italy, 12, in excellent condition, are from Puglia. Among those of Norman origin that were restored we mention the castles of Barletta, Trani, Canosa, Manfredonia, Bisceglie, Bari, Gioia del Colle, Brindisi, Mesagne and Oria.

The castles built from the foundations are Castel del Monte and the Castles of Lucera and Gravina. The most famous is Castel del Monte, an Italian national monument since 1936 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996.

Photos (top to bottom):
– Frederick II (De arte venandi cum avibus / Manfred – Vatican Library, Pal. Lat. 1071)
– Castel del Monte (Andria – BAT)
– Gravina Castle (BA)
– Castle of Lucera. (FG)Federico II (De arte venandi cum avibus / Manfred – Biblioteca Vaticana, Pal. Lat. 1071)