Lagopesole Castle (Italy)

With the discovery of the Statute Officiorum of the Kingdom of Sicily, it can be asserted that in 1242 the Emperor Frederick II of Swabia began the work of enlarging the Castle of Lagopesole, the last and largest of its constructions.

The castle, built on a Norman stronghold dominates the entire valley below Vitalba, made of sandstone blocks, still preserves the original structure.
Bearing in mind his love for hunting and for nature, Frederick II made this place a favorite residence.

Its large halls are characterized by the presence of sculptural shelves that held the pointed arches, also embellished with mullioned windows and single lancet windows.
A vast rectangle divided to the south by a curtain wall that internally connects the residential part through a matroneo that overlooks the chapel that preserves the original portal made perhaps by Mele di Stigliano who worked in the Sicilian shipyards of Frederick II.
From the Swabians to the Angevins to the Doria - Pamphili the castle has undergone various manipulations over the centuries.

Today, owned by the State Property Office, inserted within the "Coste Castello" National Anthropological Reserve managed by the State Forestry Corps, it has been completely restored.