Castel del Monte, 15 km from Villa Gioia, is one of the most fascinating and mysterious places in Italy. Built around 1240 by Holy Roman Emperor Federico II, nicknamed “Stupor Mundi” for his eclecticism and his enormous culture, bequeathed his own mysterious air and enigmatic legacy to the Castle itself. The castle is situated on the peak of an isolated hill overlooking the Murgia Valley on one side, and with a sweeping view of the Adriatic Sea on the other.
Universally considered an example of genius medieval architecture, Castel del Monte actually unites elements of diverse styles and traditions from different epochs in history. Visitors can see this in the Romanic lines of the lions at the Castle’s entrance, in the Gothic cornice of the towers, in the Classical movement of its interior frieze, in the defensive grandeur of the structure in general and in the Islamic refinement of its mosaics.
The mathematical and astronomical rigor of the Castle’s design, based on eight as a guiding number, and its position, emphatically studied so as to create symmetries of light during the winter solstice and summer equinox, have merged into a symbolism appealing to scholars for centuries, and leaving its visitors both pleased and perplexed by its nature.
Its mystical essence is found throughout the constant use of the number 8. The castle is octagonal in shape. On each of its eight “corners” there is an octagonal tower. The building is constructed around an octagonal central courtyard open to the sky.
Eight are the sides of the Castle, and eight are the rooms on the ground floor as well as on the second floor; the rooms are trapezoidal, and placed in an order so as to form yet more octagons.
The solid compactness of the mixed limestone and quartz on its facades is grazed by mullioned windows (monofore on the second floor, bifore on the third, and in one case, trifore).
Castel del Monte, just 15 km from Villa Gioia, is one of the 54 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Italy.