Castel del Monte di Andria

1. PUGLIA: Castel del Monte, Andria (Bari)
The castle was built directly on a rocky bank, and is well known for its
octagonal shape. Eight octagonal towers are inserted on each of the
eight corners. The wall curtains, built in the local calcareous stone, are
marked by a string-course moulding. Eight windows with one light
open on the lower floor, seven mullioned windows and only one three
mullioned window.
The octagonal shaped, courtyard is characterized, as the whole
building, by the chromatic contrast between the colours of the utilized
materials: coral crushed stone, limestone and marbles.
On the first floor three French windows open, under which some
jutting out elements and some holes utilized, maybe, to hold up a
wooden gallery. Very likely it rendered independent the halls,
otherwise all communicating in a ring route except the first and the
eighth one, separated by a wall in which a small round window was
probably used to communicate.
The 16 halls, eight on each floor, have a trapezoidal shape and have
been tiled with an ingenious technical solution. The space has been
divided into a square central span, covered by a ribbed cross vault held
up by semi-columns in coral crushed stone on the ground floor and
trilobite marble pillars on the first floor, while the remaining
triangularspaces are covered by pointed barrel vaults.
The different keystones of the crosses are decorated by
anthopomorphous, zoomorphous and phytomorphous elements.
Frederick II and his court used to have a great care for their body
according to the typical custom of the Arab culture, so beloved by the
King.