Castello Normanno-Svevo

Between Bari's old town and the sea stands a fortress repeatedly reshaped by the powers that held Puglia. Founded under Roger the Norman in 1131, it was remodelled under Frederick II, became a Renaissance residence, and later served as a prison and barracks. It now houses a museum and the Gipsoteca of Puglian Romanesque sculpture.

Why it matters

Excavations beneath the castle have revealed traces of Byzantine structures from the eighth to tenth centuries. The Norman fortress was later incorporated into Frederick II's network of royal castles; its entrance, vestibule and loggia retain a Swabian imprint. In the sixteenth century Isabella of Aragon and her daughter Bona Sforza made it a residence. The building opened to the public in 1957, and a major restoration returned the first floor to public use in 2017.

What to notice

The castle's sequence of spaces traces its changing roles, from the original entrance and vestibule to the courtyard and restored upper rooms. The Gipsoteca displays plaster casts of sculpture from Puglia's churches and monuments. Made in 1911 by Pasquale Duretti and Mario Sabatelli for the regional exhibition in Rome marking the fiftieth anniversary of Italian unification, the casts make Romanesque carving visible in three dimensions. In the Torre dei Minorenni, displays include glazed clay stove tiles and gold earrings with blue gems from the late-antique necropolis of Canosa's San Leucio basilica.

Context and history

The castle was besieged, damaged and rebuilt during the twelfth century. Frederick II reorganised the kingdom's defences around fortresses such as this one. Isabella of Aragon and Bona Sforza left a Renaissance imprint before the building's later decline. The Bourbons converted it first into a prison and then into barracks. After opening as a museum in 1957, it also housed heritage offices; restoration in 2017 completed the return of its first floor to public use.