Castello svevo angioino

History

The castle was originally built in the 13th century when the Kingdom of Sicily was under Swabian rule. It is traditionally attested to have been built at the initiative of King Manfred and was completed during the reign of his Angevin successor Charles I of Anjou. The oldest known documentary evidence of the castle dates back to Angevin rule, with documents referring to the recruitment of specialised labourers for its construction in April 1279. The castle's architecture shows some Swabian influences, and it is possible that work which commenced in 1279 incorporated a pre-existing structure possibly built by Manfred.

During the second half of the 15th century, while under Aragonese rule, the castle was modified and enlarged and most of its present appearance dates back to this period. While under Spanish rule, the city successfully resisted a siege by a French army led by Odet de Foix, Viscount of Lautrec during the War of the League of Cognac in 1528. After the siege, in around the mid-16th century, a bastion as added and this gave the castle its present form.

On 16 August 1620, when the castle was under the command of castellan Fernando de Velasco, Manfredonia was attacked by an Ottoman force of at least 6,000 men led by Damat Halil Pasha. The Ottomans quickly took control of most of the city and proceeded to sack it, while many citizens took refuge within the castle and its small garrison of around 100 men (some of whom were unable to fight due to wounds or illness) resisted an assault from land and sea for around seven hours. The Ottomans retreated for the night but continued the attack at dawn on the following day. They seized the castle's guardhouse and entered its ditch, but attempts to scale the walls using ladders were repelled by the defenders. An army under governor Francesco Carafa attempted to relieve Manfredonia but failed to reach the city, and the outnumbered and exhausted defenders decided to surrender and raised a white flag during the afternoon of 17 August. …

Architecture

The castle originally had a quadrangular plan with square corner towers. During Aragonese rule, three of these were altered into cylindrical towers and a second series of curtain walls with cylindrical corner towers was constructed around the original nucleus, transforming it into a concentric castle. A fifth tower also existed but few remains of it have survived.

A pentagonal bastion known as the bastione dell'Annunziata was later constructed instead of one of the outer corner towers.