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Castel del Monte (Italian for "Castle of the Mountain"; Barese: Castìdde du Monte) is a 13th-century citadel and castle situated on a hill in Andria in the Apulia region of southeast Italy. It was built during the 1240s by King Frederick II, who had inherited the lands from his mother Constance of Sicily. In the 18th century, the castle's interior marbles and remaining furnishings were removed. It has neither a moat nor a drawbridge and some considered it never to have been intended as a defensive fortress. However, archaeological work has suggested that it originally had a curtain wall.
Described by the Enciclopedia Italiana as "the most fascinating castle built by Frederick II", the site is protected as a World Heritage Site. The octagonal plan is unusual in castle design. Historians have debated the purpose of the building and it has been suggested that it was intended as a hunting lodge. Another theory is that the octagon is an intermediate symbol between a square (representing the earth) and a circle (representing the sky). Frederick II may have been inspired to build to this shape by either the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, which he had seen during the Sixth Crusade, or by the Palatine Chapel of Aachen Cathedral.
Central to the plot of Umberto Eco's novel The Name of the Rose is an old fortress known as the 'Aedificium'. This was almost certainly inspired by Castel del Monte. It was also the set for the film Tale of Tales.
In 1996 Castel del Monte was named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, which described it as "a unique masterpiece of medieval military architecture". Castel del Monte is depicted on the reverse of the Italian-issue 1 Euro cent coin. [Wikipedia]
The name "Italy" is shrouded in mystery; some etymologists trace it to a Greek word meaning "the land of young cattle."Italy was fond of Jupiter and Mars from the very start, Jupiter for fatherly good luck and Mars for war!But it all began with Rome. Rome was founded by Romulus and Remus who were sons of Rhea and Mars.The twins were abandoned at birth out of a fear that they would grow up and later overthrow Amelius, usurper of their grandfather's rightful throne.Wrongful mis-doings most foul! Treachery and sabotage!! HOW would these two blessed infants make their way in such a world?As it turns out, the twins didn't have to make their way very far, because one of them killed the other one and then they weren't twins anymore. But that happens later.First they got rescued by a she-wolf who suckled them with her milk and raised them as her own until they were discovered by the shepherd Faustulus.Faustulus fed them meat and bread and also raised them as his own until they were old enough to return to Amelius and hack him up as planned. They reinstated the grandfather Numitor to his rightful throne and went off to celebrate by starting a town of their own.They chose a hilly area where the mama wolf had saved them from certain death in the barren wilderness and began scouting locations.Romulus liked one hill. Remus liked another. The circle of crows like Romulus' hill, so Romulus killed Remus and named the town after himself. Thus Rome was born and Italy with it.Text by Steve Smith.
