CASTELLO NORMANNO SVEVO
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Castle built by the Norman king Roger II, housing the salon of the Gipsoteca in Bari.
A Norman-Swabian-Angevin-Aragonese castle, which underwent various construction phases between the 12th and 16th centuries. The original core, built by Norman king Roger II in 1131, included corner towers. Its role was not to defend the town, but to help the Norman occupiers quell the revolts of Bari's inhabitants who did not accept their domination. Destroyed several times, notably by the Norman William I the Bad in 1156, it was saved from abandonment by Emperor Frederick II of Swabia, who undertook a number of restoration works, including the ogival porch and the Minerrus de Canosa capitals. Between 1501 and 1549, two women, Isabella of Aragon and her daughter Bona Sforza (Duchess of Bari, later Queen of Poland), established a Renaissance court here. It was at this time that the castle was equipped with lanceolate bastions and separated from the town by a moat. After falling into oblivion and becoming a prison and barracks, the castle is now the headquarters of the region's Department of Monuments. It also houses the Gipsoteca, a collection of plaster reproductions of the finest examples of Apulian Romanesque sculpture. Projections recounting the history of Bari, its castle and the reign of Bona Sforza enhance visits to the building's rooms. In the archaeological zone, you can see the remains of Byzantine constructions that preceded the castle's construction. The castle also hosts temporary exhibitions.
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Entrée à 8€ et non 3€.