Caracciolo Castle

History

The first historical source on the castle is the Chronicon Casauriense, which cites the event where the heirs of Girardo, lord of Popoli, obtained possession of the Castrum Tocci from the abbot of the Abbey of San Clemente a Casauria in 1016; after conquering all the nearby villages, they built a pharum or tower and also a castle. However, the castle was soon destroyed by the abbot himself, and its ashes were sifted into round baskets called corbelli, which were then scattered over the valley below, henceforth known as the "valley of the corbellari".

The current castle is mentioned by the Chronicon Casauriense, which cites it in other documents dating from 1000 to 1100. The Chronicon also mentions a donation made on July 1, 1169, to Abbot Leonate, drafted in the castle of Tocco and in the Church of Sant'Eustachio, witnessed by a certain presbiter Alesius. Therefore, the castle existed before 1200 and before the reign of Frederick II, contrary to the belief of Francesco Filomusi Guelfi (later taken up by Samuele Iovenitti), who dated the castle's construction between 1215 and 1220.

Frederick II certainly used the pre-existing castle, having it rebuilt as it was strategically positioned for the defense of the entire Pescara Valley. According to Felice Virgilio di Virgilio, the reconstruction of the castle was influenced by two citizens of Tocco da Casauria who were serving at Frederick II's court in Naples at the time: court judge Simone da Tocco and court master of arms Enrico da Tocco. The fact that Frederick II deemed it necessary to rebuild the castle might indicate that the previous structure, after its initial destruction, was only partially rebuilt or was not substantial enough to serve a proper military function. …

Architecture

The castle consists of four wings connected to four square towers at the corners of the building that enclose a central courtyard.

The lower part of the building is made of large blocks of tuff, while the corners and the string course are made of harder, well-squared light gray stones. The upper part of the building, however, is made of brown stones that are almost not squared at all.

The structure has a battered base that reaches about halfway up the building, where a string course separates the batter from the upper part. Along the base are loopholes, while the upper part of the walls has rectangular windows framed by decorated moldings.

The southern tower still has some Ghibelline battlements, which are believed to have been present on all four towers. The eastern tower housed the "Lombard prison." The southeast façade features the entrance portal, characterized by a pointed arch supported by capitals of Renaissance style. To the left of the entrance portal is a staircase, while to the right is an inclined plane for carriages.