Castles Of Italy: Castel Del Monte - Alternative View

2024 Author: Keith Bush | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-10 09:43

How many locks we have discussed here in the blog, but this one seems to me the most unusual.

Castle del Monte (Castel del Monte) stands alone on the secluded hill of West Murge in the desert area of Andria, 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 survived. The castle was named Castel del Monte in honor of 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 Apulia".

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 subsequent Great Migration of Peoples, which in the future, over the course of many centuries, will serve as a fertile ground for the emergence of countless cultural, linguistic and religious conflicts between the Germanic and Romanic peoples who previously lived on the territory of the once united empire. The "Dark Ages", as the famous Italian poet Petrarch will reasonably call this era, despite the global upheavals, without which no civilization has done in the history of its development, will become a time of great transformations.

As never before, the Church in the person of the Pope will acquire unprecedented power and power, which will have to be reckoned with for everyone, from the inhabitants of remote settlements and residents of enlightened cities to monarchs and kings. This is the time of the heyday of the ideals of monasticism and the unlimited power of the Inquisition, which sows the same horror in the souls of both inveterate 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, to get even a rough idea of the Middle Ages, which took almost nine centuries in the history of mankind, you will need to get acquainted with much more extensive information. But even the mention of these several significant events allows you to get an idea of the time and conditions in which the largely mysterious and in its own way unique Castel del Monte 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 are generously shrouded in Castel del Monte, you should pay attention to the direct owner of the castle, whose personality seems to be just as colorful how contradictory.

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Much can be said about this man, whose lust for power and cruelty knew no boundaries, but the mention of only one fact from his stormy life gives a very clear and vivid idea of the ambiguous nature and disposition of this person. So, never harboring deep religious feelings and in every possible way postponing his participation in the next Crusade, this man still 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 29, 1240 and indicates that the Holy Roman Emperor Friedrich II Staufen (German Friedrich II von Hohenstaufen) orders the governor and judge Richard de Montefuscolo to buy lime, stone and everything necessary …

However, further from the document it is not entirely clear what is meant - the beginning of construction or some final work. Another document, issued in 1241-1246, speaks in favor of the latest version. - Statutum de reparatione castrorum (list of fortifications that need to be repaired). It lists Castel del Monte as an already built castle.

As a place for the future construction of the next castle, Frederick II chose Apulia, a region that was part of the Kingdom of Sicily at that time (now the region of the province of Bari in southern Italy), where he actually grew up and lived all his childhood and youth. According to 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 elevation in the form of a hill, located in the middle of a deserted flat area (in 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 remained for him for a long time.

The construction of the castle began in 1240, and the end of the 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 Frederick II's death. That, even discarding the feigned 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 vivid reminders of the great dynasty of the South German kings and emperors of the Holy Roman Empire is the castle of Castel del Monte, invariably towering over the plains of Apulia for almost 800 years.

According to the surviving written evidence, it is known that Frederick II gave preference to the construction of objects and structures exclusively for 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 the 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 his people for the sake of purely practical military goals, it is enough just to remember the difficult and irreconcilable relationship between the emperor and the Pope.

In those days, the Papal States at all costs sought to protect themselves and their possessions from the encroachments of the Holy Roman Empire, and therefore extremely tense relations always remained between each newly elected pope and emperor. And even the first and second excommunication of Frederick II (in 1227 and 1239) and the nickname of "the real antichrist", firmly entrenched in the emperor, are hardly capable of showing the hostility and hatred that they had towards 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 grew into an open and fierce confrontation, simply could not but affect the policy pursued by the emperor. All the more mysterious against the background of constant wars and uprisings that Frederick II led and suppressed,looks like his idea of building the castle of Castel del Monte, which, in fact, is neither a castle nor a fortress.

The two-storey structure of Castel del Monte was based on a completely non-standard shape of a regular octagon, thanks to which the castle remains the only fortification with such an unusual layout. Moreover, among all the medieval castles in Western Europe. That, in fact, complicates, and often baffles modern researchers who are looking for reliable analogs that, in the 13th century, could have inspired Frederick II to build such an unusual structure for their era. But knowing about the good acquaintance of the emperor with the mentality of the Oriental people (especially the Saracens), his tolerance for foreign cultures and religions and his extreme freethinking, it can be assumed 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.

This version is often associated with the Dome of the Rock mosque, built in Jerusalem in the 7th century AD. and also in the shape of an octagon. Returning to the castle, it is worth noting that in addition to the octagonal walls 25 meters high, each corner of the castle is adjoined by octagonal towers, whose tops rise slightly higher above the ground - 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 closely at the decorations of the premises, 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 inner courtyard of the castle, which could well have been in the shape of a circle or a square, also represents the same octagon. Hence, it is not surprising that the strong association of the castle of Castel del Monte with the mysterious number 8, which constantly serves as an object of heightened interest of both historians and adherents of numerology, and ordinary lovers of secrets and riddles.

Because of its external similarity, Castel del Monte is often called the "crown of Apulia". Indeed, this comparison seems to be fair, and not only because of the external resemblance, but also because Frederick II wore an 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, decoration of windows and portals) were used during the construction of the castle, but this does not in the least violate the version of the castle-symbol, but rather the opposite, only confirms it once again. Undoubtedly, marble as a building material has many 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 the castle of Castel del Monte. True, there are other assumptions, because the same figure can be seen in Frederick II's ring 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 leave, finally, the numbers and go directly to the peculiarities of the arrangement of the castle, which with equal success could 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 was always given to the ability of a castle or fortress to withstand any attacks and their ability to withstand prolonged 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 poured. 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 the small windows, you can see 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 internal premises could still count on at least some advantage (besides the 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 construction", 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 still fight in an awkward position. And the thing is that the soldiers going to storm the castle are deprived of the opportunity to deliver the most powerful blows with their main weapons - swords, because this requires swinging from right to left, while the soldiers defending the castle, thanks to the twist of the stairs and a higher her position will always be somewhat to the right. So the non-standard (counterclockwise) direction of the spiral staircases of Castel del Monte would have at least some justification 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, a special place was occupied by falconry, to which he devoted a lot of his free time. And on the basis of his own observations and experiments, Frederick II even wrote a treatise "The Art of Hunting with Birds." So, based on the emperor's passion for hunting, there is an assumption about the construction of Castel del Monte as a hunting residence. But such a thought is questioned by the extreme luxury and exorbitant wealth of the interior, which the castle could boast of 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 faces exactly to the east, and the spare gate is located strictly in the opposite - west - 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 eight halls of the first floor, during the summer and winter solstice, receive a natural and, interestingly,, absolutely uniform illumination. Hence the version about the castle as a medieval observatory or a huge astronomical calendar was born.

Supporters of occultism 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 point of view that the followers of any 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.

Direct evidence of such a version, of course, cannot be found, but many tourists after visiting the castle often point to 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 impressiveness of the structure or the antiquity of the castle and its centuries-old history, from which one must inevitably 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, is making itself felt?

Well, at the end of just a short acquaintance with the most famous medieval castle in Italy, if you still get distracted from otherworldly forces, it is worth recalling that Castel del Monte will soon after the death of Frederick II serve as a prison for his grandchildren. Then, having lost its former significance and grandeur, after numerous plunders, the castle will lose both its former splendor and its strict beauty. Over the centuries, an octagonal fortress, a monument to the power of the Hohenstaufen family, a hunting residence of the emperor, a cult-astronomical building will become a refuge where the local nobility will seek salvation from plague epidemics that repeatedly flare up throughout Europe and reached the southernmost regions of Italy.

Since about 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 Castel del Monte, and in 1996 the castle will become one of the historical sites protected by the UNESCO World Heritage Fund.

And although today the Castel 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 Konrad III, Frederick I Barbarossa and Henry VI.

In 1459 the fortress passed into the possession of the noble Italian family of the lord Ferrante of Aragon. And in 1656 the castle last served as a residence for the noble families of Italy fleeing from the plague, which raged in the city of Andria. And after a while, Castel del Monte became empty and only in the 19th century it turned into the home 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.