Castello di Monteodorisio

Castello di Monteodorisio (Italian for Castle of Monteodorisio) is a Middle Ages castle in Monteodorisio, Province of Chieti (Abruzzo).

The Castle of Monteodorisio is a medieval fortification dating back to the 11th century, likely built by the Normans, as it appears in a deed of gift from Count Robert of Loritello to Bishop Rainolfo of Chieti in 1095. This deed included the castle and the two churches associated with it: San Salvatore within the castle and San Pietro outside it, both given in perpetuity to the Diocese of Chieti. The castle later belonged to various families, including the Del Borgo, the D'Artus, the Barrile, the Caldora, and the D'Avalos. It is located in the eponymous town in the Province of Chieti.

The castle is situated at the highest point of the town, on the western edge of the hill, which descends steeply towards the Sinello River, providing a clear view over the entire valley below for spotting enemies and allowing for a possible escape.

Of its original rectangular shape, only the southwest curtain, used as a residence, the northwest curtain, consisting of a high wall, and three of the four towers oriented to the cardinal points, remain. Archival sources suggest that the degradation of the castle began with the devastations brought by the Conspiracy of the Barons (1485) by the papal troops, leading to the definitive disappearance of two sides and the fourth tower in the first half of the 19th century. In the early 20th century, the courtyard was leveled to the adjacent square to accommodate a school building (1925), erected on the area of the original curtains.

The castle is constructed with river cobblestones, whole or worked, from the Sinello River, mixed with clay, visible mainly in the structure of the towers. The towers have a circular base with sloped walls and windows. The northern part consists of walls four meters thick, 14 meters high, with openings for cannons splayed. At the top of this facade, there is a large window with a round arch. This part, along with the towers, is the oldest. The four loopholes were served by a walking level. The main building is more recent. The walls show some reinforcement interventions from the 15th century and others, more recent, from 1960.

Text adapted from “Castello di Monteodorisio” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Castello di Monteodorisio ranks #6,155 of 7,044 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #402 of the 416 mapped in Italy. Founded 1250, it is older than 69% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 781 atlas entries founded in the 13th century. See how Italy compares in the castle statistics.

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