Castello di Carlo V

Crotone's Castello di Carlo V stands on the high ground above the harbour, on the site of the Greek acropolis of Kroton. Its medieval towers and sixteenth-century bastions record the transition from arrow-based defence to artillery fortification.

Why it matters

Its round medieval towers and later low-angled bastions make the changing logic of fortification visible within one enclosure. Later cultural uses added another chapter to the fortress’s history.

What to notice

The late-fifteenth-century Torre Comandante and Torre Aiutante are attributed by the municipal portal to the circle of Francesco di Giorgio Martini. The Torre Comandante has four levels and an eighty-nine-step spiral staircase; the Torre Aiutante rises by internal ramps. The Bastione San Giacomo, begun in 1541 and attributed by the municipality to Gian Giacomo dell'Acaya, includes tunnels and a passage known as Le Sette Porte. The Bastione Santa Caterina dates to 1573 and is attributed to engineer Attendolo; nearby stands the thirteenth-century Torre Casicavallo.

Context and history

The earliest fortress was raised in the ninth century on the acropolis of ancient Kroton. After the Ottoman capture of Otranto in 1480, fortification works began at Crotone in 1484. In 1541 Charles V ordered a reconstruction suited to artillery warfare under viceroy Don Pedro di Toledo, with dell'Acaya overseeing the project. The complex continued to change in later centuries. The Torre Marchesana, damaged in the 1832 earthquake, collapsed and was demolished in 1873. Recent restoration and excavation of the ditch have brought the castle into the regional Antica Kroton cultural programme.