PULSANO (Taranto) – It seems that there are different opinions and theories regarding the construction and history of the Pulsano Castle. Here we will present the one which, in our opinion, is the most plausible as it is also the most recent.
Pulsano Castle is known by the name of the family that more than any other made the major structural changes to the original nucleus. It was around the beginning of the 12th century that a large part of the coastal population moved further inland to seek refuge from the continuous incursions of Saracen pirates. It was the De Falconibus (Delli Falconi) family who purchased an old dilapidated fortress, probably dating back to the Byzantine era and consisting of a square tower, carrying out a restoration and expansion with the construction of four towers, each different from the others.
Subsequently the castle, used mostly as a hunting lodge, passed into the ownership of several other families, in 1274 it belonged to the Sambiasi, in 1357 to the Dell’Antoglietta who handed it over to Ercole Petugy, who in turn took steps to rebuild the Square Tower o Torre Massima, Meanwhile in 1326, in an attempt to defend the farmhouse from a Saracen assault coming from the sea, Renzo De Falconibus fell and in memory of this event the site of the clash was called Terra Rossa.
The De Falconibus family would have regained possession of the fiefdom after 1388, starting around 1400 a work of reconstruction of the castle, which had previously been destroyed, on the orders of Marino De Falconibus and, for this very reason, the fortress would also have taken on the name of the family. Following this rebuilding it took on its current appearance, except for the fact that at the time it was surrounded by a moat that could be crossed with a wooden drawbridge. In 1480 some militias from Pulsano, under the orders of Giovanni Antonio Delli Falconi, son of the aforementioned Marino, were sent to defend Otranto which had fallen into the hands of the Turks.
After changing several owners, the castle finally came to the Muscettola family and in 1819 Prince Giovanni Muscettola allowed some families to use the moat as a vegetable garden. As proof of this, the northern and eastern walls together with three of the five towers are adjacent to private homes. During the reign of Gioacchino Murat, three cannons supplied to the castle were transferred to Taranto. At the beginning of the 20th century the structure became the property of the Municipality.
Located in the center of the town, at the north-eastern corner of the ancient city walls, the castle has a quadrangular plan and is reinforced by five towers of different designs and sizes. The original nucleus, represented by the Square Tower, overlooks the square which from the manor takes its name. The structure is spread over three floors and presents the weapons of some families who lived there and preserves some fragments of small frescoes. It is said that a tunnel, now walled up, starts from its subsoil, which connected it to the Castle of Leporano.
But the surprises do not end, as in the best Scottish manors, Pulsano Castle also holds a ghost story. In fact, it is said that on full moon nights, a blonde girl dressed in white wanders around the rooms of the structure. It seems to be Angelica, the eighteen-year-old only daughter of Renzo De Falconibus who, after the death of her father in defense of the town, was captured, imprisoned, then beheaded and, finally, walled up in the tower…
Cosimo Enrico Marseglia
