Castello Aragonese

Taranto, Italy

Open to visitors

The interior is normally open, possibly ticketed.

Strollie cannot guarantee access — always check before you travel.

Wheelchair access: Partly accessible

From OpenStreetMap — confirm before travelling

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The Castello Aragonese, officially known as Castel San Angelo, is a fortification in Taranto, Italy, built in 1496 for King Ferdinand II of Aragon to secure the low-lying passage connecting the old town to the mainland. Erected on the site of much older Greek and Byzantine fortifications, the seven-towered fortress was designed by Francesco di Giorgio Martini of Siena. A moated defensive position had been created in 1481 by excavating the ground in front of the site. The castle famously repelled an Ottoman attack in 1594, though it soon became obsolete for traditional warfare and was converted to an artillery platform with many interior spaces filled to support cannon emplacements. After serving as a prison under Habsburg rule in 1707, it returned to military use during the Napoleonic period, notably holding French generals Thomas-Alexandre Dumas and Jean-Baptiste Felix de Manscourt du Rozoy as prisoners in 1799. Multiple towers were demolished in the 1880s—one to make way for the Ponte Girevole—and the fortress has been occupied by the Italian Navy since 1883, which began restoration and archaeological investigations in 2003. The site is now open for public tours.

Built: 1486
Type: castle
Heritage: Italian national heritage
Place: Taranto, Italy

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Location

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