Castello di Copertino
Copertino’s Renaissance fortress with star-shaped bastions, a moat and the frescoed Chapel of San Marco.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
The Castello di Copertino stands in the centre of the town, in Piazza Castello, and is today state-owned. Its oldest nucleus is probably a square tower of the 13th or 14th century; the coat of arms on the keep is linked to Ladislaus of Anjou-Durazzo. In 1419 Maria d’Enghien gave it as a dowry to Caterina Orsini, and the castle then passed by inheritance to other families.
The present appearance is due to a rebuilding attributed to the military architect Evangelista Menga, completed around 1540 at the wish of Alfonso Castriota Granai: a square enclosure with four corner bastions of star-shaped plan, with the keep surrounded by a moat and an entrance portal in the Catalan-Durazzo style. In 1557 the castle passed to the Squarciafico, Genoese marquises, who had the Chapel of San Marco frescoed by Gianserio Strafella. The cellars were used for wine production until the 1950s.
Declared a national monument in 1886, the castle has been managed by the Ministry of Culture since December 2014, now through the Regional Directorate of the National Museums of Puglia. Restoration work was carried out in 2017-2018, and in 2019 a spiral staircase was rediscovered. The route includes, in addition to the portal and the Chapel of San Marco with the sarcophagi of the Squarciafico marquises, the Chapel of the Magdalene with 15th-century frescoes, the underground rooms and a small collection of archaeological finds and Russian and Albanian icons.
Highlights
- Entrance portal in the Catalan-Durazzo style
- Chapel of San Marco with frescoes by Gianserio Strafella
- Chapel of the Magdalene with 15th-century frescoes
- Star-shaped corner bastions with moat
- Underground rooms and wine silos
Permanent exhibition
- Percorso nel castello – Portal, the Chapels of San Marco and of the Magdalene, underground rooms, and a small collection of archaeological finds and Russian and Albanian icons.
- Operated by
- Direzione regionale Musei nazionali Puglia (Ministero della Cultura)
- Visitors per year
- approx. 11,026
Admission & discounts
| Adults | €7 |
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| Reduced | €2young people aged 18 to 25 |
| Children & teens | freefree up to age 17 · Free admission for under-18s, in line with the rules of state museums. |
Free admission: Free admission on the first Sunday of the month (“Domenica al museo”).
Optional online booking.
Accessibility
- Wheelchair accessible: no information
- Elevator: no information
- Accessible restroom: no information
- Accessible parking: no information
- Service dogs welcome: no information
- Tactile models & exhibits: no information
- Sign language tours: no information
- Easy-to-read materials: no information
- Audio description: no information
The website lists assistance for people with disabilities among its services, without further detail. A walled-up prison cave in the underground rooms is not accessible.
Kids & families
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Getting there & parking
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Amenities & dining
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Plan your visit
| Good to know | Services listed include an educational room, marked routes, captions, multimedia stations and exhibition spaces. A floor plan is available to download. |
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