SAN VITO DEI NORMANNI (Brindisi) – A first nucleus of the Castle of San Vito dei Normanni, consisting of the high Norman tower, dates back to the beginning of the 12th century on the initiative of Boemondo de Hauteville Prince of Taranto, son of Robert Guiscard, Duke of Puglia and of Calabria, at the time in which he disputed the dominion of the duchy with his half-brother Roger de Hauteville, known as Borsa. The village of San Vito dei Normanni would then arise around the fortress, once called San Vito degli Schiavoni due to the high concentration of Slavic exiles. At the time of the tower’s construction the surrounding area was heavily wooded and full of game, so its most plausible use must certainly have been that of a hunting lodge. From a strategic point of view, however, the tower controlled the road which, passing through the town, connected Carovigno with Oria.
The first family to live there was the Sambiasi who resided on site until the 15th century and who was succeeded first by the Orsini – del Balzo family, then by the Prince of Altamura Federico I of Aragon. Through various changes of ownership, the castle eventually came into the hands of the Dentice di Frasso family who still own it today.
The fortress as a whole has a quadrangular shape on which the Boemondo tower stands majestically. This, which directly overlooks the main square of the town, is divided into three floors and has a Guelph battlement on the terrace, as well as machicolations and slits on the walls. Inside the castle there is a courtyard overlooked by both the tower and the elegant building dating back to the 16th century, decorated with corbels and elegant windows. The access portal to the building is in Gothic style and bears the coat of arms of the current owners. Originally the entrance to the fortress was secured by a drawbridge which no longer exists. At the bottom of the tower there is a chapel on whose portal another shield is carved with the arms of the Dentice di Frasso family and the uniform: Noli Me Tangere, the phrase that Jesus said to Mary Magdalene immediately after the Resurrection and which means Do not touch me . A beautiful staircase leads from the courtyard to a loggia with columns that form three round arches.
Inside, the castle has around thirty richly decorated and furnished rooms. The King of Italy Vittorio Emanuele III and Queen Elena were hosted here.
Cosimo Enrico Marseglia
