Swabian castle and the most famous mozzarella of the Murgia
In the heart of the Murgia, south of Bari, Gioia del Colle is dominated by its Norman-Swabian castle, one of the best preserved in Apulia, with a square plan, two of its four original towers, the Torre de' Rossi and the Torre Imperatrice, and a beautiful courtyard with a staircase and mullioned windows. Built by the Normans in the eleventh century, it was rebuilt by Frederick II, who loved hunting with falcons in the woods of the area. Legend says that his lover Bianca Lancia, mother of his son Manfred, was imprisoned in the tower, where she cut off her breasts and sent them to the emperor on a tray, to prove her fidelity; the "Throne Room" and the prison can be visited, and the castle houses the archaeological museum with finds from Monte Sannace, a Peucetian city nearby.
Gioia del Colle is also famous for its mozzarella, one of the most renowned in Apulia, made with cow's milk from the Murgia farms in the dairies of the town, and for its red wine, the Primitivo di Gioia del Colle, made from the same grape as the Primitivo di Manduria, but grown at higher altitude, producing more elegant wines.
Tip: taste the fresh mozzarella and burrata in the morning at one of the town's dairies; the castle is open every day.
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