The castle of Manfredonia is a military structure of the Swabian-Angevin-Aragonese period, located in the town of Manfredonia, facing the sea
The castle of Manfredonia is a military structure of the Swabian-Angevin-Aragonese period, located in the town of Manfredonia, facing the sea.
HISTORY
The first documents about the castle stood until April of 1279, in which reference is made to the recruitment of labor in order to start the construction work. However it is possible that Charles I had built the castle exploiting facilities already incorporated in the design of the castle: it is thought that the structure originally consisted solely of an enclosed by walls equipped with communication ports to the outside. The castle is not the result of a single project, but it has developed from the originally planned prothomagister Pietro d’Angicourt and until its present configuration through a series of transformations, expansions and renovations that have occurred at different times. The first changes date back to around 1442, when the Aragonese, as part of a larger project of fortification of coastal areas, endowed the complex of a wall which incorporated the existing structure. The next century was built a pentagonal bastion west of the castle incorporating one of the circular towers, which was to protect the structure in case of enemy attack coming from the city. This is said Annunziata due to a marble tile above the outside corridor which represents a scene of the Annunciation. In 1620, however, the castle was forced to capitulate under the attack of the Turks, that pointed out the weakness of the castle: the lack of sufficient artillery and the total absence of protective railings designed to ensure the safety of the defenders were few the causes of this capitulation. Lost its defensive function, in the eighteenth century it was used as a barracks, and the west tower was used as a prison. In 1901 it was bought by the town of Manfredonia, who donated it to the Presidential Decree n. 952 of June 21, 1968 to the State with the commitment by the latter to build inside an archaeological museum.
ARCHITECTURE
Originally, the structure appeared to form quadrilateral enclosed in a wall which had five square towers: four corners of the complex and the fifth probably near the front door, in the north-east side. Then the four corner towers were combined in cylindrical towers while the fifth remain only a few traces. In the outer city wall, built in the Aragonese period, it was placed lower four cylindrical towers of the inner ones, as these are best suited to the defensive techniques of the period. And architectural style draws much to those who were the canons of construction of its Swabian, with its regularity and geometric nonlinearity.
http://www.casamanfredi.net
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museomanfredonia@beniculturali.it
Museo Archeologico Nazionale e Castello di Manfredonia