Castle del Monte (Castel del Monte) rises alone on a secluded hill of the Western Murge in the desert area of the city of Andria in the province of Bari, at an altitude of 560 meters above sea level. The castle complex received its modern name only at the end of the 15th century; the original name has not been preserved. The castle Castel del Monte was named after the ancient settlement of the same name at the foot of the hill, on which there was a small monastery of Santa Maria del Monte. Often the locals of Andria call it the "Crown of Puglia".
Historians believe that Castel del Monte was conceived as a hunting residence, but the interior decoration of the rooms was too richly decorated and furnished with luxurious furniture for such purposes.
Castel del Monte is a two-storey structure with a flat roof. Externally, the palace is a regular octagon with a length of each side equal to 16.5 meters.
At each of the corners rises a magnificent octagonal tower. Exactly in the center of the height along the entire perimeter of the castle complex, a narrow cornice stretched, which serves as a visual division of the floors. The upper cornice separates the plinth of the palace and is located at a height of 2 meters.
The courtyard of the Castel del Monte castle is shaped according to the outlines of the building itself. The height of the structure from the inner side of the courtyard is 20.5 meters, only the corner towers proudly protrude upwards. On the roof of the castle, a neatly paved terrace is laid out in the form of a herringbone, which offers stunning panoramic views of the sea.
The facade of the main entrance faces the east side. There is a second emergency entrance on the western wall. The building is built of polished limestone, and only round columns, decorative window frames and facades are made of high-quality marble. Each of the outer walls has two windows, on the first one - single-arch, on the second - two-arch. A bright decoration of the north side on the second floor is a single window with three arches. The interior apartments are shaped like a regular trapezoid. There are only 16 full-fledged rooms in the castle - eight on each floor. Despite the fact that all apartments have a similar shape, they differ in the location of the doors. Two large halls of Castel del Monte have exits on both sides of the building and are connected to neighboring halls, while they do not have an entrance to the courtyard. In addition to passage rooms, there are also end rooms in the fortress with one door to the corridor. The most striking of these rooms is the Throne Room.
Corner towers serve as wardrobes, bathrooms and spiral staircases. Moreover, the arrangement of the latrines of Castel del Monte proves the high level of sanitary standards in a civilized society of the Middle Ages. All toilets were well ventilated through slots in the walls and flushed with water from tanks installed on the roof. An interesting fact is that the stairs do not traditionally twist to the right, but to the left, similar to the physiology of nature, as, for example, the shell of a snail twists to the right.
There is a legend that the romantic and mysterious Castel del Monte has a secret underground eighteen-kilometer tunnel to the Ducale di Andria castle, and a four-kilometer passage to the Castello di Canosa fortress.
Castel del Monte was built by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, who thought of a bright and original design for the fortress. Until now, historians are arguing about the timing of the construction of the complex. According to some documents, it becomes clear that the decree of Frederick II was issued in 1237 and states the construction of a new castle in Santa Maria di Monte.
From other documents it follows that the decree of the king dates back to 1240 and prompted the restoration of the fortress, previously built by the Lombard Robert Giscard and his son Roger Norman in 1073. In any case, Castel del Monte acquired its modern form under Frederick II and resembles other fortifications of this era, designed to protect against an external enemy, such as Barletta, Bari, Brindisi, Cosenza, Gioia del Colle, etc.
In 1266, in the war for dominance over the territories of Sicily and Naples, Frederick's son Manfred was defeated and killed. This ended the rule of the Swabian dynasty in Italy. The winner of the Battle of Benevento, Charles of Anjou, imprisoned the underage children of Manfred - Friedrich, Heinrich and Enzo, where they spent as much as 33 years. After that, Castel del Monte was used from time to time for wedding ceremonies.
In 1459, the fortress passed into the possession of the noble Italian family of Senor Ferrante of Aragon. And in 1656, the castle last served as a residence for the noble families of Italy fleeing the plague, which raged in the city of Andria. And after some time, Castel del Monte was empty and only in the 19th century turned into a house of shepherds, local robbers and marauders. During this period, the castle was plundered, precious marble materials were stripped from the walls, and rich sculptures were sold.
In 1876, the fortification passed into the possession of the noble Carafa family, who took up its restoration and reconstruction.
Currently, Castel del Monte is a monument of medieval architecture and is open to all tourists.
The cost of excursions (when buying a ticket on the spot): adults - €3; children under 18 years old, visitors over 65 years old and disabled people (upon presentation of an identity card) - free of charge; students from 18 to 25 years old - €1.5.
Tour time: ~ 30 min. Opening hours: March - September from 10.45 - 19.45; October - February 09.45 - 18.45, closed on Christmas and New Year.
November 27th, 2013
Castle del Monte (Castel del Monte) rises alone on a secluded hill of the Western Murge in the desert area of the city of Andria in the province of Bari, at an altitude of 560 meters above sea level. The castle complex received its modern name only at the end of the 15th century; the original name has not been preserved. The castle Castel del Monte was named after the ancient settlement of the same name at the foot of the hill, on which there was a small monastery of Santa Maria del Monte. Often the locals of Andria call it the "Crown of Puglia".
The Middle Ages is a huge historical period associated with large-scale events and significant changes in all spheres of life, both individual states and entire nations of Europe and Asia. This is the time of the fall of the Roman Empire and the Great Migration of Peoples that began after this, which in the future, for many centuries, will serve as fertile ground for the emergence of countless cultural, linguistic and religious conflicts between the Germanic and Romanesque peoples who previously lived on the territory of the once united empire. The “Dark Ages”, as the famous Italian poet Petrarch rightly calls this era, despite the global upheavals, without which not a single civilization has ever managed in the history of its development, will also become a time of great transformations.
As never before, the church in the person of the Pope will gain unprecedented power and power, which will have to be reckoned with by everyone, from the inhabitants of remote settlements and residents of enlightened cities to monarchs and kings. This is the heyday of the ideals of monasticism and the boundless power of the Inquisition, which sows the same horror in the souls of hardened heretics and the most devout parishioners. The time of chivalry and incessant clashes, when Christians shed each other's blood in constant internecine wars, and the time of the Great Crusades, when the blood of Muslims and crusaders was shed no less on the battlefields in the struggle for holy Jerusalem. 
Of course, in order to get even an approximate idea of the Middle Ages, which took almost nine centuries in the history of mankind, it will be necessary to get acquainted with much more extensive information. But even the mention of these several significant events allows us to get an idea of the time and conditions in which the largely mysterious and in its own way unique Castel del Monte castle was built. And in order to better understand the features of the architecture of the castle or its true purpose, and perhaps try to find clues to some of the secrets that Castel del Monte is generously shrouded in, it is worth paying attention to the direct owner of the castle, whose personality seems to be just as colorful how contradictory.
A lot can be said about this man, whose lust for power and cruelty knew no bounds, but the mention of only one fact from his turbulent life gives a very clear and visual idea of the ambiguous character and disposition of this person. So, never having deep religious feelings and in every possible way delaying his participation in the next Crusade, this man nevertheless managed to achieve the seemingly impossible - to be excommunicated from the church and, despite the papal anathema, to win the Crusade and return to the Christian world Jerusalem. We are talking about none other than the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, the ruler of Germany, King of Sicily and Jerusalem Frederick II Hohenstaufen.
The construction of the castle is mentioned in only one document that has survived to this day. It is dated January 29th, 1240 and it states that the Holy Roman Emperor Empire Friedrich II Staufen ( German Friedrich II von Hohenstaufen) orders the governor and the judge Richard de Montefuscolo buy lime, stone and everything you need ...
…pro castro quod apud Sanctam Mariam de Monte fieri volumus…
(for the castle that we want to build next to the church of St. Mary on the hill).
However, further from the document it is not entirely clear what is meant - the beginning of construction or some final work. In favor of the latest version is another document released by in 1241-1246. - Statutum de reparatione castrorum ( list of fortifications that require repair). It lists Castel del Monte as a castle already built.
As a place for the future construction of the next castle, Frederick II chooses Apulia, a region that was part of the Kingdom of Sicily at that time (now a region of the province of Bari in southern Italy), where he, in fact, grew up and lived all his childhood and youth. According to the current legend, Castel del Monte (from Italian "castle on the mountain" or "castle of the mountain") was built on the site of the ruins of the abandoned monastery of St. Mary, or rather, on a small hill-like elevation located in the middle of a deserted flat area (16 km from the city of Andria), later called Terra di Bari. Hence the origin of the original name of the castle Castrum Santa Maria de Monte, which has been preserved for him for a long time.
The construction of the castle began in 1240, and the completion of work dates back to 1250, that is, by a strange (and possibly purely accidental) coincidence, the completion of Castel del Monte coincided with the year of the death of Frederick II. Which, even discarding the pretense of mystery, involuntarily suggests a certain symbolism, because after the death of the emperor, the entire house of Hohenstaufen will soon disappear. And one of the most striking reminders of the great dynasty of the South German kings and emperors of the Holy Roman Empire remains just the same castle of Castel del Monte, which has invariably towered over the plains of Puglia for almost 800 years.
According to the surviving written evidence, it is known that Frederick II preferred the construction of facilities and structures for exclusively military purposes. Therefore, it is not surprising that during his reign he managed to rebuild more than 200 castles and fortresses and at the same time was mentioned as the founder of only one church in Altamura. There were even legends about the emperor’s passion for defensive fortifications, as if court nobles sometimes begged their ruler to finally take a break and not build so many new castles. But it is not difficult to explain such a sacrifice of the spiritual needs of one's people for the sake of purely practical military goals, it is enough just to recall the difficult and irreconcilable relationship between the emperor and the Pope.
In those days, the Papal States, by all means, sought to protect itself and its possessions from the encroachments of the Holy Roman Empire, and therefore extremely tense relations always remained between each newly elected pope and the emperor. And even the first and second excommunications from the Church of Frederick II (in 1227 and 1239) and the nickname of the “real Antichrist”, firmly entrenched in the emperor, are hardly able to show the hostility and hatred that they had for each other, perhaps, at that time two of the most powerful rulers of the Catholic world. Therefore, the struggle of Frederick II and Pope Gregory IX for the central part of Italy, which eventually developed into an open and fierce confrontation, simply could not but affect the policy pursued by the emperor. The more mysterious against the backdrop of constant wars and uprisings that Frederick II waged and suppressed, his idea of \u200b\u200bbuilding the Castel del Monte castle looks like, which, in fact, is neither a castle nor a fortress.
The completely non-standard form of a regular octagon was taken as the basis for the two-story structure of Castel del Monte, thanks to which the castle remains the only fortification with such an unusual layout. And among all the medieval castles of Western Europe. Which, in fact, makes it difficult, and often baffles modern researchers who are looking for reliable analogues that in the 13th century could inspire Frederick II to build such an unusual building for his era. But knowing that the emperor was well acquainted with the mentality of the Eastern people (especially the Saracens), his tolerance for foreign cultures and religions, and his extreme free-thinking, one can assume that the prototypes of the future Castel del Monte could be borrowed by Frederick II from the Muslim world, during his crusade to the Holy Land.
The Dome of the Rock Mosque, built in Jerusalem as early as the 7th century AD, is often associated with this version. and also shaped like an octagon. Returning to the castle, it is worth paying attention that in addition to the octagonal walls 25 meters high, octagonal towers adjoin each of the corners of the castle, whose peaks rise above the ground a little higher - 26 meters. As you can easily see, the number of corners and, accordingly, the towers of Castel del Monte is eight, but on each of the two floors of the castle there are eight identical halls, and looking at the decorations of the rooms, you can also find a frequent eightfold repetition of the details of the internal ornament.
And as if this repetition of the number 8 seemed small, the courtyard of the castle, which could well have the shape of a circle or square, also represents the same octagon. Hence, it is not surprising that the strong association of the Castel del Monte castle with the mysterious number 8, which constantly serves as an object of increased interest for both historians, adherents of numerology, and ordinary lovers of secrets and mysteries, is not surprising.
Because of its external similarity, Castel del Monte is often called the "crown of Puglia". Indeed, this comparison seems to be fair, and not only because of the external similarity, but also because Frederick II wore the eight-pointed crown. So the castle and its characteristic shape could serve as a symbol of the emperor's power, which he wished to capture "in stone." Strictly speaking, only limestone (base) and marble (columns, window and portal decoration) were used in the construction of the castle, but this does not in the least violate the version of the castle-symbol, but rather, on the contrary, only once again confirms it. Marble as a building material, no doubt, has a lot of advantages, but it is hardly suitable for the construction of such powerful defensive fortifications as castles, fortresses or forts.
Thus, the origin of the number 8 is largely associated directly with the architecture of Castell del Monte. True, there are other assumptions, because the same figure can also be seen in the ring of Frederick II decorated with eight petals, and looking into the history of various cultures and teachings, you can also find your own interpretation of the symbolism of the number 8, as the personification of power, wealth, success or good luck . But let's finally leave the numbers and go directly to the features of the arrangement of the castle, which could equally well be called a hunting residence, a monument, a kind of observatory, or even a religious building.
During the construction of fortifications of the Middle Ages, paramount importance has always been given to the ability of a castle or fortress to withstand any attacks and their ability to withstand long sieges. But, turning to the history of Castel del Monte, you can find a strange feature - ditches have never been dug around the castle and earthen ramparts have not even been piled up. In addition, there are no storage facilities in the castle where, in the event of a siege, food supplies should be saved. On the other hand, looking closely at the castle, along with small windows, one can also notice the narrow slots of the loopholes arranged along the perimeter of all the towers. This means that the small garrison that could be accommodated in the interior could still count on at least some advantage (in addition to impressive walls) during the defense of the castle. But then it becomes completely incomprehensible why the spiral staircases in the towers of Castel del Monte are twisted "in the wrong direction." According to one of the rules of "castle building", spiral staircases must rise from floor to floor in a clockwise direction.
This provides the defenders of the castles with a better position, as the attacking soldiers have to climb stairs and fight in an awkward position. But the thing is that the soldiers going to storm the castle are deprived of the opportunity to inflict the most powerful blows with their main weapon - swords, because this requires swinging from right to left, while the soldiers defending the castle, due to the twisting of the stairs and the higher her position will always be slightly to the right. So the non-standard (counter-clockwise) direction of the spiral staircases of Castell del Monte would have received at least some justification only if the castle was besieged by troops consisting exclusively of left-handers. Or, more obviously, Frederick II in this way once again emphasized the non-defensive purpose of the castle.
Among the emperor's hobbies, falconry occupied a special place, to which he devoted a lot of his free time. And based on his own observations and experiments, Frederick II even wrote a treatise "The Art of Hunting with Birds." So, based on the passion of the emperor for hunting, there is an assumption about the construction of Castel del Monte as a hunting residence. But such an idea is called into question by the extreme luxury and exorbitant wealth of the interior, which the castle could boast at the time of its completion. Another purpose of Castel del Monte is associated with the peculiarities of the orientation of its entrances and windows to the cardinal points.
The main gate of the castle goes exactly to the east, and the spare gates are located strictly in the opposite - western - direction. As for the windows, both external and overlooking the courtyard, they are arranged in such a way that the premises of the second floor are illuminated by direct sunlight throughout the year, and the eight halls of the first floor receive natural and, interestingly, during the summer and winter solstices. , absolutely uniform illumination. Hence the version about the castle as a medieval observatory or a huge astronomical calendar was born.
Supporters of the occult and mysticism make their contribution to the birth of much more sacred reasons for the construction, as well as the very purpose of Castel del Monte. They hold the view that the followers of some secret teachings or societies hidden from the eyes of the uninitiated (to which Frederick II could belong) used the castle for their ritual or religious rites.
Of course, direct evidence of such a version cannot be found, but after visiting the castle, many tourists often point out the strange and unusual sensations that they experience when they first find themselves inside Castel del Monte. Perhaps people are impressed by the massiveness and imposingness of the structure or the antiquity of the castle and its centuries-old history, from which one must necessarily take one's breath away. But who knows, if some mysterious energy, which has not yet lost its strength and is still stored within the walls of Castel del Monte, makes itself felt?
Well, at the end of only a brief acquaintance with the most famous medieval castle in Italy, if we still digress from otherworldly forces, it is worth recalling that Castel del Monte soon after the death of Frederick II will serve as a prison for his grandchildren. Then, having lost its former significance and grandeur, after numerous looting, the castle will lose both its former splendor and its austere beauty. Over the centuries, the octagonal fortress, a monument to the power of the Hohenstaufen family, the hunting residence of the emperor, a cult-astronomical structure will become a refuge where the local nobility will seek salvation from plague epidemics that break out more than once throughout Europe and reach the southernmost regions of Italy.
Around the 17th century, the castle will suffer the unenviable fate of being abandoned and living out its last days in complete desolation. But, fortunately, after almost 200 years of slow and therefore imperceptible destruction, the abandoned castle will be remembered again. In 1876, following the unification of Italy into a single state, restoration work will begin in the Castel del Monte castle, and in 1996 the castle will become one of the historical sites protected by the UNESCO World Heritage Fund. (www.unesco.org/en/list/398)
And although today Castell del Monte has become a historical and tourist attraction, it still serves as a living reminder of the entire Hohenstaufen dynasty, which gave the world such great rulers as Conrad III, Frederick I Barbarossa and Henry VI.
Castel del Monte is one of the most famous and visited places in Puglia; Still, it is included in the UNESCO list of World Cultural Heritage Sites. The Romanesque cathedrals of Apulia have just entered the fight for getting into this list, and therefore most of these cathedrals can still be viewed in silence and splendid isolation. Castel del Monte is filled with tourists, as well as Matera. It's amazing that people so blindly trust the uncles and aunts from UNESCO that they are ready to drag themselves into the wilderness, not paying attention to the masterpieces at their side)))
Once the courtyard was decorated with statues of ancient and medieval masters, but the castle was tirelessly plundered after the destruction of the Hohenstaufen family and until the end of the Bourbon monarchy; some statues even ended up in Caserta. So now in the courtyard you can see several bas-reliefs (high, my camera did not master it), two portals - the entrance to the rooms on the first floor, as well as three windows on the second floor.
One of the portals on the first floor: 
Inside the castle is empty - everything was stolen before us. Bare walls are decorated only with coral limestone portals, fireplaces and columns. 
These were all photos of the first floor, followed by the second.
You can also lean out of the windows and try to examine at close range those details of the courtyard that are poorly visible from below. 
Actually, that's all.
From Castel del Monte, I had conflicting impressions. On the one hand, so much was written about him by smart people (and read by stupid people, that is, by me), that reality disappointed. Dragging this far, guessing bus schedules - and all this for the sake of bare walls. But, on the other hand, if I missed the UNESCO monument, then I would methodically eat out my bald patch for the rest of my life))) On the third hand, from the fortresses I saw on the trip (Bari, Trani, Barletta, Melfi), Castel del Monte the most interesting.
In any case, there is nothing to watch here for more than an hour (I arrived at 12-15 and left at 15-00), so choose the right pair of buses "back and forth". If I had imagined that the strike on the coming Friday would be so serious, I would still risk my baldness, omit the visit to Castel del Monte and rearrange the program in such a way that at least I could get to Conversano. But what's done is done.
Perhaps my mood was affected by the weather. In the photographs you see the sun, but this is all a lie))) Although it was above 20 degrees, the sun really shone, but at the same time a piercing cold wind blew, and I was in one shirt. It was the same hurricane-force wind that had caused us to land at Bari airport several times the day before. in the following days, the jacket always had to be taken, as it was cool in the morning and evening.
Next time we will run through Andria (looking ahead, pardon the pun, I’ll say that Andria can definitely be skipped if the vacation is short), we’ll look at the cathedral and the small church of Sant’Agostino.
Castell del Monte, which means "castle on the mountain" in Italian, is located in the province of Bari, the Italian region of Apulia. Sometimes the castle is called the "crown of Apulia". This is one of the most significant and most famous castle buildings from the reign of Emperor Frederick II. At the end of the 20th century, it was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The history of the castle is shrouded in a veil of secrecy. Built between 1240 and 1250, the "castle on the mountain" is the centerpiece of many legends and myths regarding the reasons for the construction of such an unusual structure, which are still unknown.
The twenty-five-meter walls of the castle build a regular octagon, in each corner of which there is a tower that is exactly one meter higher than the walls. It is interesting that the towers also have the shape of a regular octagon, and the central portal of the structure is directed strictly to the east.
Unlike the protective and defensive structures of those times, in Castel del Monte there is no artificial moat, bulk shaft and suspension bridge, and the spiral staircases inside the castle are not twisted to the right, as is customary in all buildings of this type, but to the left, by analogy with nature , which twists everything just like that, whether it's a snail shell or a funnel in a pond. The windows in the towers are located in such a way that the rays of the sun, passing through them, turn the castle into a huge sundial, calendar or some other astronomical device, the purpose of which remains a mystery even today.
Castel del Monte is one of the most famous and at the same time the most mysterious castles in the world. It stands on a high hill near the city of Andria and literally reigns over the surrounding landscape. It is from this location that the name of the fortress comes, which can be translated from Italian as “castle on the mountain” or Upland castle. And the locals proudly call it Crown Puglia, which means "Crown of Puglia", indeed, from afar, the castle is very reminiscent of a crown.
According to historical documents, the building, now called the Upland Castle, was founded by order of Emperor Frederick II of Hohenstaufen in 1240. Emperor Henry was one of the most mysterious figures of the Middle Ages. Unlike many of his predecessors and heirs, he was well educated and all his life was more interested in the sciences than in military affairs or state affairs.
The emperor was very friendly with Heinrich von Salz, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, and they say that he himself reached the highest degrees of initiation. In particular, there is evidence that in 1228 Frederick II presided over a secret "round table", the participants of which were representatives of all the major knightly orders of that era, including Islamic ones. What secrets were discussed at this meeting, one can only guess.
One way or another, Castel del Monte perfectly suited the tastes of this strange monarch. The structure is not too similar to a traditional castle. For example, it lacks a moat, a protective shaft and a drawbridge. One gets the impression that the castle was built for purposes other than defensive. In addition, in terms of plan, it is a regular octahedron, which is also uncharacteristic of castle architecture, not only of that time, but castle architecture in general. Religious buildings were often built in the shape of an octahedron, but not military ones.
Official historical sources claim that the Upland Castle served as a hunting residence for the emperor, however, this is hard to believe. There are no large stables in the castle, no places where supplies could be stored, and its interior was once buried in luxury, which had nothing to do with the traditional decoration of hunting lodges, even imperial ones.
Light gray limestone served as the building material for the castle, and all door and window openings were lined with marble of a similar color. The main entrance to the citadel was the eastern portal, but there was also a second one cut through in the opposite western wall.
From afar, Castel del Monte looks like a single gray monolith, since each of the eight walls of the castle has only two windows that look disproportionately small for such a bulk. On the first floor, the window openings are in the form of a single arch, and on the second - double. The widest window, which has as many as three arches, is located on the second floor of the northern wall.
Deaf, having neither windows nor doors, the towers of the castle previously served as utility rooms, they housed spiral staircases, as well as latrines, dressing rooms and storage rooms. All halls of the interior have the same shape and differ from each other only in the location of the doorways, forming a kind of labyrinth, the way out of which is not at all easy to find.
Scientists are still arguing about what such an unusual layout is connected with, and why it was necessary to confuse visitors to this geometrically flawless structure. Many researchers are inclined to think that Castel del Monte was a kind of scientific temple, where every detail carried a deep philosophical meaning.
For example, the spiral staircases of the castle are not twisted to the right, as required by the rules of combat, but to the left, like a snail's shell.
In addition, the external two-story building, as often happens, is just the tip of the iceberg. Traditions say that there was an extensive network of dungeons in the castle, from where many kilometers of underground passages connected Castel del Monte with neighboring cities and even very remote castles.
Castel del Monte is the only European castle built in the shape of an octahedron. Its eight towers have the same shape in plan. In the courtyard, of course also octagonal, there was once an octagonal pool. It was carved from a marble monolith and supposedly served for the so-called "Baptism in Wisdom" - a rite common among the Templars. (By the way, for an unknown reason, the architect of the castle committed suicide by opening his veins in this very pool).
There are 16 halls in the castle, 8 on each floor. All wall decorations also carry the number eight - 8 acanthus leaves on the capitals of each column, 8 four-leaf flowers on tympanums. In general, this number is presented here everywhere, in countless variations and combinations.
Where did such a love for the eight come from? In numerology, on the one hand, this number is associated with infinity, and on the other, it serves as a kind of mediator between the earthly and heavenly worlds. This is the key number of cosmic laws. In Christianity, the number 8 is associated with the second coming of Christ, which is often referred to as the Eighth Day of Creation. That is why baptismal fonts often have an octagonal shape. Also, the octagon is a symbol of the labyrinth, which means the eternal journey of man from birth to death.
But this is not all strangeness. There is a very convincing hypothesis that Castel del Monte could be a kind of astronomical laboratory. A strict orientation to the cardinal points and a well-calibrated arrangement of windows give a very interesting play of light and shadow, which is especially noticeable on the days of the autumn and spring equinoxes.
On September 23 and March 20, the shadow of the castle from 11 am to 1 pm is located exactly at an angle of 45 degrees to the walls, and on December 22 and June 22 (solstice days) the walls cast an even rectangular shadow. At the same time, the castle itself is located strictly in the center of an ideal rectangle.
The sun penetrates into all rooms on the second floor twice a day, and on the first floor only in summer. But on the days of the solstice, all the halls of the lower floor of the castle are illuminated equally in time and intensity. Thus, we can say that the first floor is an impromptu calendar, and the second is a kind of sundial.
After the discovery of these amazing patterns, scientists came to the conclusion that Castel del Monte embodies deep sacred knowledge. Another fact speaks in favor of this hypothesis - in the castle there are almost no large fireplaces intended for heating the halls or cooking, but small ones are found in abundance, suitable, perhaps, for magical rites and alchemical experiments.
However, after the death of Emperor Frederick II, the Upland Castle was rarely visited by crowned persons. From time to time it was used as a venue for weddings and other celebrations. By the 17th century, the castle was in complete disrepair, it was plundered, and then turned into a prison. Only in 1876 did it become the property of the Italian state, after which its long restoration began. At the beginning of the 20th century, Castel del Monte was opened to tourists.
With its unusual architecture, the castle attracts many people of art, in particular, it was its strange internal layout that served as the basis for creating the mysterious hall of the monastery library in the famous film “The Name of the Rose”.
Since 1996, the castle has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. But even now, having become one of the most popular attractions in southern Italy, Castel del Monte is in no hurry to reveal all its secrets to the curious. It remains to be hoped that one day there will be a scientist who will be able to link together all the oddities and patterns of architecture of this mysterious citadel and, finally, unravel its true purpose.
