MESAGNE (Brindisi) – Many historians assume that already under Byzantine domination there was a fortified military garrison or Castrum in Mesagne, with functions of defense and control of the communication routes of the territory. However, the construction of the first nucleus of the castle probably dates back to the Norman domination towards the second half of the 11th century. Around 1195 Mesagne was assigned as a fiefdom to the Order of the Teutonic Knights and some deeds signed by Frederick II of Swabia established the obligation for the people of Mesagne to renovate the tower at their expense.
In 1256 Manfredi, son of Federico, to fight a league hostile to him formed by the cities of Brindisi, Lecce, Oria and Mesagne, first besieged the latter, then took it and devastated it. The fortress also suffered serious damage, however it was used by Manfredi himself as a logistical base for the subsequent offensive maneuver against Brindisi.
It was the Angevins, in 1276, who rebuilt the town and restored its castle, however, in a manuscript dating back to the end of the 16th century, the historian Cataldo Antonio Mannarino informs us that in the first half of the 15th century the ancient nucleus of the castle was demolished at the behest of the Prince of Taranto and Count of Lecce Giovanni Antonio Orsini del Balzo because it was judged unsafe and in its place the tower was built, surrounded by a ditch that could be climbed over with a wooden drawbridge which no longer exists and was probably placed on the southern side, since precisely on this side are the only slits and machicolations through which various objects were thrown to slow down or stop the enemy assault. From a map reported by the same historian it can be seen that at the end of the 16th century Mesagne had a city wall reinforced by 22 turrets.
In the 17th century, under the lordship of the De Angelis family who entrusted the work to the architect and priest Francesco Capodieci, the Castle of Mesagne underwent expansion and modifications, taking on its current appearance. Capodieci was responsible for the design of the upper floors, as well as the ability to harmonize the new rooms with the previous ones with a typically Baroque style. The tower was also enriched with the addition of baroque windows.
During the first years of the 20th century in some rooms on the southern side there was a nursery run by the Antoniane nuns, later the same rooms were used as a laboratory for tobacco processing. During some archaeological excavations, a tomb from the Messapian era was found in the structure.
Since 1973 the Castle has been the property of the Municipality which purchased it from the Marquis Granafei.
The oldest part of the structure, as we have seen, is the tower rebuilt on the orders of Giovanni Antonio Orsini del Balzo, which has a quadrangular plan and is equipped with corbels and battlements at the top, furthermore the aforementioned loopholes and machicolations can be seen. The structure of the remaining part is rectangular, but is extremely tampered with following the Baroque additions and modifications. The castle has in fact completely lost its original structure, acquiring the appearance of a fortified noble residence.
Cosimo Enrico Marseglia
