Castello di Septe: A Restored Castle in Italy
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.6
- Popularity
- Medium
- Country
- Italy
- Primary era
- Medieval
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Medieval, Early Modern
- Civilizations
- Lombard
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Castle
On this page6 sections
History
Castello di Septe is a castle in Mozzagrogna, Italy, traditionally attributed to the Lombards and dated to the end of the eighth century, although another chronology places its construction between the ninth and tenth centuries. The Lombards were a Germanic people who established a kingdom across much of Italy during the early medieval period. The castle later became a fief of the Counts of Chieti and remained under their control until the Norman conquest of the eleventh century.
Medieval lordship
In 1095, Robert of Loritello, the highest-ranking Norman count, permanently granted Castello di Septe to Rainolfo, Bishop of Chieti. The Normans were rulers and military elites of Scandinavian origin who expanded through southern Italy during the eleventh century. In 1259, King Manfred granted the castle and its fief to the city of Lanciano. Manfred was a thirteenth-century Hohenstaufen ruler of the Kingdom of Sicily. In 1268, Philip I, Count of Flanders, stayed at the castle with his family.
Philip was expelled in 1308 because of his arrogance, after which the castle entered a period of decline. In 1625, the fief was sold to private owners, first the Anfossos and later the Procaccinos. In 1721, Baroness Chiara de Osses, who had no heirs, gave the castle to Antonio Genoino. His family retained it until the middle of the twentieth century, and the family’s last heir disappeared under mysterious circumstances during the Second World War.
Modern transformation
The castle’s present appearance results from modern remodeling. The restored building now houses a hotel bearing the name Castello di Septe, continuing the use of the historic structure in an altered form.
Remains
Stone buildings and fortified facade
Castello di Septe is a restored lowland castle built of worked stone, with an appearance that combines late-medieval and Renaissance styles. Two large crenellated towers flank the main facade. Crenellations are the alternating raised sections and openings along the top of a fortified wall or tower. The central building has a protective roof structure, while the exterior walls are constructed entirely of stone.
Facade details and grounds
A rusticated cornice runs across the full main facade and rises above the entrance, where it is set higher than along the rest of the elevation. Rustication gives masonry a deliberately roughened or projecting surface. Several narrow, round-arched windows punctuate the facade, and a garden surrounds the castle.
