Castles

Castle of Civitacampomarano

The village lies on a block of sandstone at the confluence of two streams and is divided into two sections, Civita di sotto and Civita di sopra, with the castle (Angevin?) occupying the intermediate area. The general layout, four-sided and irregular, is well adapted to the natural morphology of the terrain. The southern face is 36 metres long and characterised by a steep escarpment approximately 25 metres in height. Of the four original circular corner towers, only the two western ones remain; the base of a third tower is barely visible while the fourth collapsed in 1805. The well-laid mixed stonemasonry still bears witness to an interesting case history of wall joints, construction solutions and defence apparatuses (in particular, loopholes for arrows and firearms, while the murder hole arches seem to have a purely decorative function). The castle preserves a large cistern, an oven and a large number of basement rooms which were designed for various functions.