Castello Angioino di Copertino

The fortified complex was built in the thirties of the '500 and completed in 1540 by architect Evangelista Menga Puglia by order of Marquis Alfonso Castriota Granai, General Charles V and overlord of the vast county, established by Charles I of Anjou in 1266. Set on a quadrilateral plan, the Renaissance building, enclosing earlier buildings including the keep Angevin, ancient defensive structure due to the first architectural structure. And 'surrounded by a wide moat, dug into the bedrock and four imposing angular bastions and two cords string course of the external architectural design corresponding to the same order of casemates, giving the whole a very defensive. The entrance is heralded by the magnificent Renaissance doorway, flanked by two columns supporting a culmination of composite form of dual-frame containing a series of rosettes, outfits, commemorative bas-reliefs and embossed medallions with effigies of famous people linked to local history. The decorative style complex that emerges from the door, is a prestigious wealth known as a triumphant hymn to the greatness of the feudal lord. The entrance also leads through a vaulted hall, in the courtyard overlooked by buildings of different eras. On the right, a portal with tympanum leads into a chapel dedicated to St. Mark Small, rectangular in plan, with a barrel vault. Inside you can see, the two sides of the altar, the sarcophagi of the Marquis, who succeeded the Castriota, made from Gallipoli THE Russian in 1568, and the frescoes that Squarciafico family, owners of the castle since 1557, rely on the painter from Copertino Gianserio Strafella and shop. The author, active in Copertino 1560-1577, decorates the environment with figures of saints and scenes from the Old and New Testament. On time, within frames decorated in imitation stucco, they were placed the four evangelists, of which only two are still visible. In the courtyard, also are located, respectively, a well and a portico with three arches, built later bearing the emblem of the Pinelli-Pignatelli family, the stables and the Angevin galleries. The upper floor, accessed from the courtyard via an outdoor staircase leads to the fifteenth and sixteenth century environments of the "old" palace, residence of the barons and comprising about twenty rooms. In mid-flight are the remains of frescoes of the Maddalena chapel. The Castle of Copertino, home to many noble families, is an important example of military architecture in Puglia. It stands both for the monumental dimension of the building, both for the type of architecture.