Orsini Castle: A Medieval Fortress at Massa d’Albe, Italy
Site at a Glance
- Country
- Italy
- Primary era
- Medieval
- Eras represented
- Medieval
- Civilizations
- Kingdom of Naples
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Castle
History
Orsini Castle is a medieval fortress near Massa d’Albe, Italy, where the Orsini family began rebuilding in 1372 to control the former route of the Via Tiburtina Valeria, an ancient Roman road running east from Rome toward the Adriatic. Nearby Alba Fucens began as a settlement of the Equi, an ancient Italic people, and became a Roman colony after the fourth-century BC Second Samnite War, a conflict between Rome and the Samnites. In the medieval period, Albe became the capital of the County of Albe.
The lords of Albe rebuilt the castle to command the road route. In 1268, Charles I of Anjou, a French prince who became king of Sicily and established Angevin rule in southern Italy, destroyed it in retaliation after his victory at the Battle of Tagliacozzo.
After the Orsini, a prominent Italian noble family, conquered the County of Albe, they began rebuilding the castle in 1372. The 1915 Avezzano earthquake almost completely destroyed Albe and severely damaged the castle.
During the Second World War, the castle housed the German headquarters for forces operating between the Gustav and Caesar Lines, German defensive positions in Italy.
Remains
The castle enclosure
At the foot of Monte Velino, near Albe Vecchia and the archaeological area of Alba Fucens, the castle has a rectangular plan built of rubble stone. Three sides of its surrounding wall survive. Circular towers with sloping bases stand at the northeast and southwest corners, while remains of a square tower occupy the northwest corner. The entrance has a pointed arch, suggesting a fourteenth-century date for that feature. A sloping outer base added to the wall indicates rebuilding in the fifteenth century.
