Castel Fiorentino

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Castel Fiorentino is a for centuries uninhabited castle in the Capitanata , the northern part of Apulia ; The Roman-German King and Emperor Friedrich II died in it on December 13, 1250 .

The castle - the location of which allowed control of the surrounding land - was of greatest importance between the 11th and 13th centuries. The building stands on a fortified elongated hill, at the end of which there is a Norman tower in the typical shape of a donjon and a castle , which is also of Norman origin but has been converted into an imperial residence.

Staufer stele next to the remains of the Torre Fiorentina

Today only ruins remain of the castle; Archaeological investigations, however, have brought to light the ground floor of the Frederician Palas . This was adorned with precious marble such as in Lucera , in Castel del Monte or the residence in Foggia, with sculpted decorations in excellent workmanship, but which were removed over centuries to adorn the church and houses of the neighboring village of Torremaggiore .

In the ruins that still exist there are two small chimneys, floors with herringbone paving, plastered masonry and arches with barrel and cross vaults . The wall thickness indicates that the building had one or two upper floors. Windows must have opened there, some decorated fragments of which could be restored: lifelike horns, small winding columns, capitals .

A table from the castle now serves as the main altar of the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in Lucera.

In memory of the Staufer Emperor Friedrich II. , Who died here , on the 750th anniversary of his death, on December 13, 2000, a Staufer stele was erected in the area of ​​the ruins .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Rotter: Apulia , p. 96.
  2. ↑ Fiorentino 2000 on stauferstelen.net. Retrieved October 27, 2019.

literature

  • Ekkehart Rotter: Apulia . Trips to Byzantine grotto churches, Norman cathedrals, Hohenstaufen forts and baroque buildings in Lecce. (=  DuMont art travel guide ). 6th edition. Dumont Reise Verlag, Ostfildern 2012, ISBN 3-7701-4314-0 .

Web links

Commons : Castel Fiorentino  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 41 ° 36 ′ 22 ″  N , 15 ° 15 ′ 44 ″  E