One final post for Bari. The Castle!

October 29, 2023 · by Dano · in Bari

After wondering Old Town for a few hours and having our traditional fika of coffee & a pastry, we decided to find the castle we had read about earlier. Didn’t take long, pretty hard not to see a castle.

Temperature and humidity in the upper 70’s so not all that hot but really humid. The streets are cobblestone as with most all Old Towns so a little uneasy walking. But the saving grace is no tour groups and we got a senior discount on our entry tickets, 5EUR per person instead of 8EUR. We elected to do the self-guided tour and read the placards instead of the guided tour. Works out good since it’s really hard to remember all the information given by a tour guide.

The central part of the castle is of Byzantine-Norman origin, but was completely transformed by Emperor Frederick II between 1233 and 1240. It was again restored by Charles of Anjou in the following century, while the sloping balustrades with corner towers were added in the Aragonese period during the 16^th century.

Castle keep located inside the walls

Foundation of early Norman fortress

Balustrades

The Castello Normanno-Svevo (Norman-Swabian Castle) an moat

Norman fortress foundation with a well

As castles often do, this one fell into disrepair and was given to the Sforza family. Two ladies of the family, Isabella of Aragon (also known as the Widow of Glen Galeazzo Sforza, or Duchess of Bari) and her daughter Bona Sforza set out on a major restoration and update to the castle adding additional rooms and a grand staircase in the interior courtyard.

Grand Staircase

Sforza Coat-of-Arms

Ye ole well

Fresco inside the chapel

But once again the castle fell into disrepair and not until 2017 did extensive restoration and repairs bring back the grandeur of this medieval castle. Today the castle serves as a museum and the city’s cultural center. Numerous ancient artifacts have been discovered during the modern restoration.