On one of your Foggia tours, you must undoubtedly visit the Lucera Castle, Foggia. The thirteenth century Lucera Castle, Foggia was commissioned by Frederick II as prison quarters for the Sicily deported Muslim Saracens. It was built from 1223 to 1229. It is located on a flattened hill top, the former site of the Roman Lucera acropolis commanding over the Capitanata Tavoliere (tavalo is Italian for table), table with sheer cliff faces on all sides but one. The castle was an important part of Frederick's strategies to make the Saracens toe the line and bring about a economic transformation of the Capitanata. The Saracens on realizing that they were a honorable part of his long term strategy soon became his allies and Frederick's policies were a huge success.
The Lucera Castle, Foggia has two floors with one underground floor concealing a squarish courtyard. The upper reaches of the castle have ornate Gothic decorations and sculptures. As much as the castle exterior looked foreboding, the interiors were lavish. As Frederick's origin intent was for an imperial palace on the grounds, there were mints and shops for making armament, dresses and other necessities. A 900 meter long massive wall was built by Angevin's Charles I in 1269 as a castle guard. The wall had 15 towers, 13 square and two corner towers, cylindrical in shape, seven buttresses and two bastions pentagonal in shape. During the course of the next many centuries and till the beginning of the twentieth century, the castle was subject to damage by earthquake in 1456, building material cannibalized in 1700s which continued in the 1800s too. It was only in the beginning of the twentieth century proper excavations and restorations were carried out with notable Byzantine and Roman remains being unearthed of the Lucera Castle, Foggia - the key to Apulia. The Lucera Castle, Foggia will always remain one of the loftier Tourist Attractions in Foggia. You are requested to visit it while in Foggia.
Travel.mapsofworld.com provides description of Lucera Castle, Foggia.
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