Gallipoli Castle — Attraction in Gallipoli

Place to guard the city and the port, once a crossroads of flourishing businesses, it has a quadrangular plan equipped with three circular towers and a polygonal tower. Built after 265 BC as a fortress for legionary housing and defense for the city, it was most likely destroyed or at least severely damaged in the 5th century by the Vandals and the Goths. It was rebuilt during the Byzantine rule and its existence is attested by a letter bearing the year 599 written by Pope Gregorio Magno who congratulated the new Byzantine Byzantine tribune and invited him not to abuse the castle of Gallipoli because it is owned by the Church of Rome. The castle of Gallipoli had only one tower (corresponding to the current polygonal tower) which was connected to the city through a strut structure in turn provided with fortifications and mouths of fire with a drawbridge at the end that connected it to the tower. It resisted the siege of Robert Guiscard of 1055-56 and in 1071 it was occupied by the Normans. During the Nordic presence the castle was inhabited by the Norman healing even if reduced to ruins, and the only reminder of that period is the engraving of the year 1132 on the current front door. Renovated in the first half of 1200 by Frederick II of Swabia, it was even more enhanced by the Angevins in 1320 (always engraved on the entrance door). Between the 15th and 16th centuries, under the dominion of the Angevins and the Aragonese, the castle was subject to substantial modifications: it was isolated from a ditch on all sides and, in 1522, the need to make the defense system become obsolete. , led to the realization of the eastern curtain, the Rivellino. Designed by the Sienese architect Francesco di Giorgio Martini, who worked on behalf of Alfonso II of Naples, it was built to defend the entrance to the city and to prevent a fixed encampment from any enemies that had attacked from the ground. Initially attached to the castle, in the 17th century it was detached from the fortification to add a square tower that was superimposed on the current flag tower, hiding a part of it. Next to the Rivellino another bridge was built that started from the opposite bank, near the church of Santa Cristina, to end up directly in a secondary entrance of the castle and of the same Rivellino. Its remains can still be seen next to the defensive tower of the Rivellino (in stone) and in the access of the latter (in wood).

The tower still houses the original catapults and cannons used to defend the city.

In the sixteenth century, the drawbridge that connected the castle to the city was replaced by a masonry one. The interior houses large rooms with barrel and cross vaults, various tunnels and walkways. The shape of the fortress remained unchanged until the second half of the nineteenth century; between 1870 and 1879 the moat was filled and the façade was covered with the construction of the fish market.

In the various ages they found refuge, among others, Corradino di Svevia (1268), Filippo and Roberto d'Angiò (1306-1327), the Queen of Naples Giovanna II (1414) Ferdinando I (1463) and Isabella of Aragon ( 1495). According to some historians, the Spagnoletto painter Giuseppe Ribera was born in the castle...

Beautiful old fort, located in the heart of the old town. The fort is simple but you certainly sense the history when you walk the space. Staff at the boutique and where they sell tickets were extremely friendly, knowledgeable and helpful!

They had an art expo when we visited showcasing the history of oil lamps, and the use of olive oil transported via the ports of Gallipoli and how that helped grow this city’s economy, including old lamp and lighting from Dublin to Spain. In addition, certain rooms showed the history of soap factories that formed by taking advantage of the left over raw materials of the olive oil trade. A lot of history on a small exhibit but nicely told.

Bathroom located about 50 feet away between a few cafes and...

I have no idea how they got this high rating (probably bought it). It's definitely the shortest museum I have ever been to! All thing takes about 25 minutes plus two short movies might be 35, but they charge 5€, no reduced options on the tickets.

If you don't speak Italian expect bad translations, one of the texts is literally Google translate copy-paste that makes no sense. Many English texts are 1/5 of what is written in Italian. Best thing is that they have warning signs, some of them say steep stairs other "step stairs", so they can't even be consistently bad.

Place is a total cash grab, hope they improve but...