The octagonal castle of Frederick II
Isolated on a hilltop at 540 metres in the Murgia, visible from tens of kilometres away, Castel del Monte is one of the most mysterious and fascinating buildings of the Middle Ages, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996 and the image on the Italian one-cent euro coin. It was built around 1240 at the wish of the emperor Frederick II of Swabia, "Stupor Mundi", the wonder of the world, a cultured sovereign passionate about science, astronomy, mathematics and falconry.
The castle is a perfect octagon, with an octagonal courtyard and eight octagonal towers at the corners, arranged on two floors of eight trapezoidal rooms each, with refined Gothic windows, marble columns and fireplaces. Its purpose remains a mystery: it has no moat, drawbridge or storerooms, so it was not a fortress; perhaps a hunting lodge, a temple of knowledge, or a symbolic building linked to astronomy, since on the equinoxes and solstices the shadows of the walls fall in precise positions. The number eight, symbol of the union between the square, the earth, and the circle, the sky, recurs everywhere. Its builders used sophisticated hydraulic systems, with cisterns collecting rainwater for the bathrooms.
Tip: from the car park a shuttle bus climbs to the castle; visit early in the morning or late in the afternoon, when the light makes the stone glow.
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