Castello Normanno (Anversa degli Abruzzi)
| Castello Normanno | ||
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 Ruins of the Norman tower of Anversa degli Abruzzi |
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| Alternative name (s): | Castello de Sangro | |
| Creation time : | 12th or 13th century | |
| Castle type : | Hilltop castle | |
| Conservation status: | ruin | |
| Construction: | Quarry stone | |
| Place: | Anversa degli Abruzzi | |
| Geographical location | 41 ° 59 '38.5 " N , 13 ° 48' 9.3" E | |
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The Castello Normanno is the ruin of a hilltop castle in the historic center of the Italian municipality of Anversa degli Abruzzi in the province of L'Aquila . It is in a dominant position above the village.
Today the medieval tower is in ruins, but the 18th century buildings are privately owned and can be viewed by appointment.
history
The beginnings were a tower from the 12th or 13th century. Its ruins were rebuilt and expanded by Antonio di Sangro in the 15th century. It passed into the possession of Simone di Teodino and, together with the Castello dell'Orsa, took part in a visibly defensive alignment that divided the diocese of Sulmona and the former diocese of Corfinio . Gabriele D'Annunzio , who visited the castle with Antonio de Nino , wrote the tragedy La fiaccola sotto il moggio there , a drama in which one finds elements from the Valle del Sagittario , including the ruins of the Castello Normanno in Anversa degli Abruzzi.
In 1706 the castle was badly damaged by an earthquake .
During the Majella earthquake , the walls and part of the Norman strut tower collapsed; only part of the building that had been the main residence of the Lords of Anversa for years remained, together with the irregularly shaped surrounding wall .
description
The castle consists of an ensemble of structures, including the strut tower, of which a ruin remained, and a block of flats with a rectangular floor plan, which was built later than the tower (15th century).
In the 15th century Antonio de Sangro had the castle rebuilt and it remained in the family throughout the Aragonese epoch as long as it was not sold to other noble families. The Sulmona earthquake in 1706 had badly damaged the structure, causing half of the Norman tower - still visible today - and other buildings to collapse, which were later combined into a single residential palace. In the early years of the 18th century, the poet Gabriele d'Annunzio visited the castle together with the archaeologist Antonio de Nino and the sight of the mansion in ruins inspired him to the tragedy La fiaccola sotto il moggio (English: The light under the bushel ), which tells of the ruinous end of the De Sangro family . The original fortification was the strut tower with a rectangular floor plan, then the residential palace came in the 16th century, the whole thing enclosed by a wall that can still be seen today, with a garden in it and the old private chapel, which is remarkable for its single tower . The Norman tower is connected to the residential building by a low walkway, like a passage. The block with a rectangular floor plan, which served as an aristocratic palace, is characterized by a number of windows with balconies , which alternate on all sides with smaller, square windows framed by marble slabs .
Norman tower (11th century)
The crowning can no longer be seen because of the collapse. The remaining sides of the strut tower are without any decorative elements. It can be found in the higher part of the castle and has a square floor plan. Only one full side of the tower and half of another side have been preserved.
Palace of the De Sangros (15th century)
The apartment block has windows, some framed in marble, others with balconies. The tower and the residential building are connected by an overhanging component with consoles .
Inside was the private chapel, which was dedicated to the Archangel Michael and in which the triptych of Anversa was.
The triptych was stolen in 1981 and replaced by a copy in the municipality of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Anversa degli Abruzzi. The Michaelskapelle in the castle is easily recognizable, because it is found on the wall side towards the village, has an irregular-rectangular ground plan; outside you can see the bell tower with a square floor plan.
The castle in literature: La fiaccola sotto il moggio by D'Annunzio
The castle is the main element of D'Annunzio's tragedy, which he wrote in 1905; the author and his friend De Nino visited the castle on a trip in 1896, which at that time already represented the miserable and desperate state of decay of the noble family Di Sangro. In the story, the protagonists make many hints about the nature of the castle and, at the end of their tether, fall into the popular superstition with which they ridicule themselves during the centuries of wealth. For the protagonist, the castle has a ghostly, Gothic aura and symbolizes the ruin of the family by having her father kill her mother to leave the legacy of an evil sorceress who clouded her spirit. The complete collapse of the castle corresponds in the tragedy to the end of the noble family and catharsis for the public.
Park of the literary arts by Gabriele d'Annunzio
The park was created in the 1990s in honor of D'Annunzio. It is a kind of museum inside the castle dedicated to the figure of D'Annunzios. It also includes an annual cultural event that takes place in the castle and in the garden during a certain period in the form of cultural gatherings and visits to a small museum in the building (it traces historical events of Anversa degli Abruzzi and the time of D'Annunzio ). The park also includes preparation for the poet's great tragedies.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Marialuce Latini: Guida ai Castelli d'Abruzzo . Carsa Edizioni, Pescara 2000. ISBN 88-85854-87-7 . P. 104: Anversa degli Abruzzi (AQ): Il castello .
- ↑ a b Anversa degli Abruzzi - Castello Di Sangro o Normanno . Mondi Medievali. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
- ↑ Anversa degli Abruzzi . Comunità montana Peligna. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
Web links
- Church and monument . Comune di Anversa degli Abruzzi. Archived from the original on January 3, 2008. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
- Benvenuti ad Anversa degli Abruzzi . Conca Peligna. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
- I Borghi più belli d'Italia . Borghiitalia. Retrieved February 28, 2020.