It’s impossible to visit Monopoli without admiring its castle in the town’s historical centre. Of great architectural interest it was constructed in the 1500s on a promontory reaching into the sea, the fortress was part of the coastal fortifications decided by Charles V of Spain (followed by Don Pedro of Toledo).

The manor house, of which the early works finished in 1552, included a pre-existing Roman shaped round tower and the ancient underground church of St Nicola de Pinna (11th Century) so called because it was erected on the point “pinna” of the promontory. The castle’s structure is the typical pentagonal shape of the 15th Century Spanish fortresses with two main floors: the quay level and the parade ground level and further mid levels used for various storage. From one of the courtyard rooms it is possible to detect part of the surrounding walls dating back from the 1400s.

The interesting parade ground allows viewing of the sentry’s walkway which connects the look-out towers on the north-east and south-east corners. Outside the castle the cannons and their high embrasures can be seen. The building underwent re-structuring in 1660 to accommodate Spanish military and their families. Originally the building was the residence of the city’s highest ranking military personnel but in the last century it became a prison. Since the recent refurbishment in 1998 the castle is used as a conference and exhibition centre. On the quay level there is a large and welcoming “armoury” with many artifacts linked to the maritime traditions.

http://www.monopolitourism.com


The Castle of Monopoli

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Il castello di Santo Stefano, detto anche Abbazia di Santo Stefano, è un'importante fortificazione costiera posta all'esterno della città di Monopoli. Per tutto il medioevo è stato componente essenziale del complesso e articolato sistema difensivo monopolitano.

Storia
Fondato nel 1086 da Goffredo, conte di Conversano, sorse su di una penisoletta protendentesi tra due insenature che formano due piccoli porti naturali, ossia gli attuali lidi Santo Stefano e Ghiacciolo. Con la presenza di un pozzo da cui attingere acqua freatica, fu sede del monastero dei Benedettini, i quali diedero il nome alla rocca per la presenza delle reliquie del santo, poi traslate il 26 dicembre del 1365 da Monopoli a Putignano per difenderle dalle continue aggressioni turche e piratesche.

Intorno alla fine del XIII secolo i Cavalieri di Malta, che già possedevano un domus intra moenia adibita ad ospedale, al fine di controllare i traffici verso la Terra Santa con più dovizia, decisero di trasferirsi nell'abbazia rifortificando il vecchio maniero difensivo costiero.

Crearono un fossato tuttora visibile e resero utili all'attracco entrambe le calette alla destra e alla sinistra del monastero-fortezza. In pratica, nelle giornate di greco o di greco-levante, l'abbazia-fortezza diveniva tappa obbligata per i naviganti da Bari verso Brindisi. La presenza di due cale forniva, inoltre, la possibilità di riparare più navi contemporaneamente e di rifornirle di tutto l'occorrente per intraprendere il viaggio verso la Terra Santa. La zona circostante, nei secoli XVIII e XIX, venne inglobata nel capitolo della cattedrale di Monopoli. Con l'annessione volontaria, prima città in Puglia, l'abbazia con i terreni ed il castello passarono sotto l'amministrazione borbonica. Attualmente il castello è di proprietà della famiglia de Bellis.

Castello di Santo Stefano

The Castle of Conversano is located on the highest point of the hill on which the city stands in a position able to dominate the whole surrounding territory to the sea, and borders the old Largo della Corte, a large irregularly shaped square always at the heart of the city life.
History
The castle was the residence of the Counts of Conversano for almost seven centuries, ever since Norman times. Yet his story is much older, probably already at the time of Gothic War (535–554) on the same place there was a defense building, which embraced a part of the megalithic walls of the ancient city of Norba.

Certainly the first Normans feudal lords in the 11th century imposed the reconstruction of a castle on the ruins of the former. Of the original Norman core is preserved today a tower with a square base, known as the Torre Maestra and a fresco on the original vault entry, depicting the saints Cosmas and Damian. Later, important extension works were made, among others, from the Counts Luxembourg (14th century) who promoted the building of high circular tower at the north, right where the ridge of the acropolis became steeper. Around 1460, the Acquaviva built a twelve-sided tower base, more squat and with the embankment type walls, particularly daring from the engineering point of view: inside it, there is a round tank with a corridor around it equipped with drains, which are essential to defend the city.

The following centuries saw the further transformation of the building that was gradually losing the character of the manor to configure itself as an elegant mansion, suitable to the prestige of the powerful feudal lords. The current entrance is opening along the wall on Piazza Conciliazione, built in 1710 at the behest of the Countess Dorotea Acquaviva. Is possible to access a courtyard which in turn provides access to the late Renaissance porch. Further work on building complex have followed one another until the late 19th century.

The castle is currently only partially a municipal asset, while some wings - including the bridal chamber decorated with scenes from the Old Testament of Paolo Finoglio - are still private property. The public area of the building now houses the civic art gallery displaying paintings of the great cycle of the Gerusalemme Liberata always by Finoglio.

Conversano Castle

Marchione Castle
The Castle of Marchione, in Conversano, is a hunting lodge belonging to Acquaviva d’Aragona family and has kept since centuries the history.

We don’t know the origin of the name of the castle and of the contrada which surrounds it. The Castle of Marchione was the hunting lodge of the Acquaviva d’Aragona family, counts of Conversano, located along the provincial road towards Putignano, almost 6 kilometres away from the centre of Conversano.

The noble family usually lived inside the Castle of Conversano and used that of Marchione as hunting lodge, since it was surrounded by an oak forest and Mediterranean scrub, which covers almost 1,260 hectares.

Today there is only an oak, symbol of this wonderful forest, which is almost five hundred years old. According to the legend, there is an underground corridor which used to connect Marchione to the Castle of Conversano.

https://viaggiareinpuglia.it

