Castel Manfrino

Castel Manfrino (Italian for Manfrino Castle) is a ruined Middle Ages castle located in Sella di Castel Manfrino, near the hamlet of Macchia da Sole, within the municipality of Valle Castellana in the province of Teramo, inside the Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park.

The castle was built on the remains of an ancient Roman fortress, constructed to defend the road that branched off from the Via Salaria near Amatrice and, through the so-called Pass of Hannibal, reached the plain of Campovalano. Built in the late Middle Ages between the 12th and 13th centuries, it owes its name to Manfred of Swabia, son of Frederick II. The historian from Ascoli, Secondo Balena, also cites the names "Castello di re Manfredi" and "Castel Manfredino," which over time became Castel Manfrino. In documents, it is also mentioned as Castrum Maccle, the castle of Macchia. In the Catalogus Baronum, it is indicated as the fief of Macclam in Asculo.

The fort served as a lookout and observation point to control the route that climbed up the southern slope of Montagna dei Fiori and, from the locality of Civitella del Tronto, reached the mountain from which it was possible to observe the northern slope where the city of Ascoli Piceno is located.

The castle was erected at the behest of Manfred of Sicily on earlier fortified constructions to control, along with the fortress of Civitella del Tronto, the only roads crossing the mountains that connected Ascoli Piceno to Teramo, better known as the "routes of Abruzzo Ascolano."

During the 13th century, after the disappearance of Manfred, the fort passed to Armellino di Macchia di Giacomo, who was later expelled and considered a rebel. He was succeeded by Pietro d'Isola, an Angevin, who was killed during the attack launched against him by the Ascoli inhabitants, commanded by his predecessor Armellino. The Ascoli inhabitants launched the attack following numerous conflicts generated with Charles of Anjou, and the castle was the subject of bitter disputes for long periods to assert "ancient rights". In 1273, it was granted as a fief to Riccardo di Agello.

In 1280 – 1281, Charles I commissioned the Master Pierre d'Angicourt, the same architect who designed the castle of Barletta, then active in Abruzzo, to design a defensive tower to be built within the Castro di Macchia and to study appropriate restoration works.

Text adapted from “Castel Manfrino” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Castel Manfrino ranks #5,890 of 7,044 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #392 of the 416 mapped in Italy. See how Italy compares in the castle statistics.

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