Pope Nicholas II appoints Robert Guiscard Duke of Apulia and Calabria, depiction from the Nuova Cronica by Giovanni Villani, 14th century. The story takes place in the Rocca di Melfi, at the base of the castle.
The castle was built in the late 11th century by the Normans in a strategic location that serves as a gateway between Campania and Apulia. Its placement was essential to defend itself from external attacks and as a refuge for Norman allies. The structure was a place of several "historic" events during the Norman period.
In Melfi, the residential seat of the County of Apulia (Contea di Puglia), there were five ecumenical councils, organized by five different Popes between 1059 and 1137. In the summer of 1059, Pope Nicholas II stayed at the fortress: on 24 June he concluded an agreement with Count Robert Guiscard and Prince Richard I of Capua, in preparation of the First Council of Melfi, which he celebrated there from 3 to 25 August finally recognizing the Norman conquests by the Concordat of Melfi. The Pope named Robert Guiscard Duke of Apulia and Calabria and the town of Melfi on that occasion was promoted to the capital of his duchy. Guiscard had exiled his first wife Alberada of Buonalbergo, to marry the Lombard princess Sikelgaita of Salerno.
Further synods were held at the castle: Pope Alexander II from 1 August 1067 chaired the Second Council of Melfi, received the Lombard prince Gisulf II of Salerno as well as Robert Guiscard and his younger brother Roger I. During the Third Council of Melfi, in 1089, Pope Urban II summoned the First Crusade, in 1101 Paschal II called the Fourth Council of Melfi IV and finally Innocent II in 1137 celebrated the Fifth Council of Melfi, last of the series. Also in 1130 Antipope Anacletus II, who established the Norman Kingdom of Sicily, organized a Council of Melfi, which however was not recognized by the Church.
Hohenstaufen
Upon the arrival of the Hohenstaufen dynasty in 1194, Emperor Frederick II gave great importance to the Castle of Melfi, and ordered several modifications. In 1231 he promulgated the Constitutions of Melfi (Liber Augustalis) at the manor, code of laws of the Kingdom of Sicily, to which the emperor personally took part in the writing together with people like his notary Pietro della Vigna and the philosopher and mathematician Michael Scot. The structure was also a deposit for taxes collected in Basilicata and a prison for captives like the "Saracen" Uthman of Lucera, who was released after the payment of 50 ounces of gold.
In 1232, Frederick II hosted in the castle Margrave Boniface II of Montferrat and Bianca Lancia, with whom he had his son Manfred and who became his wife just before her death. After his excommunication by Pope Gregory IX, the Hohenstaufen emperor in 1241 had imprisoned in the building two cardinals and several French and German bishops, who should have been part of a papal council for his dismissal.
With the demise of the Staufer and the arrival of the Anjou (Angevin) rulers, the Castle of Melfi underwent comprehensive renovations and expansions. In 1284 it became the official residence of Mary of Hungary, the wife of Charles II of Anjou. It was still subject to changes in the 16th century under the Aragon government and became the property of the noble Acciaioli family first, then of the Marzano, Caracciolo and finally, Doria dynasty, to which belonged until 1950. The castle had to undergo two violent earthquakes in 1851 and 1930 but, unlike the other Melfi monuments that were severely damaged, the castle came out almost unscathed. Today, the building houses the National Archaeological Museum of Melfi, which opened in 1976.
Structure
The castle of Melfi, having witnessed several construction phases over time, has a multi-style architectural form, although it still looks purely medieval. It is composed of ten towers of which seven rectangular and three pentagonal:
Tower entrance
Tower of the banner or of the Cypress
Tower of the Secretaria or of the Terrace
Tower of the Bulwark of the Lion
Tower Emperor or of the Seven Winds
Unnamed Tower, only the ruins remain
North East Tower or Torrita Parvula
Tower of the Jail or of Marcangione
Church Tower
Clocktower
Castle entrance
The castle of Melfi has four entrances, of which only one is still usable. The first, situated in the northeast near the Tower parvula, was directly connected with the country and is now walled up; the second, also walled and located near the church tower, opens to the courtyard; the third to the south-west, close to the bulwark of the Lion, was the main entrance during Angevin age and allowed to reach the moat and the city. The fourth, the only active, was opened by the Doria and serves as access to the country via a bridge, a drawbridge in ancient times. The interior, though transformed by Doria, between the 16th and 18th century in a baronial palace, still retains some structural features in Norman-Swabian style.
After crossing the bridge is visible a portal that contains an 18th-century inscription that honours the deeds of Emperor Charles V and his admiral Andrea Doria. Then entering the courtyard, it is possible to access the stables and the yards of the "lairage" and "the Mortorio", all Angevin works created between 1278 and 1281 at the behest of Charles II of Anjou. Always in Angevin style are the "Throne Room" (which houses the museum), built on the north side, below the "Hall of Armigeri." Worth mentioning also the "Hall of the bowl," where were proclaimed the Constitutions of Melfi.
Bibliography
Canino, Antonio (1980). Basilicata Calabria. Touring Editore. ISBN88-365-0021-8.
Basilicata, also known by its ancient name Lucania, is an administrative region in Southern Italy, bordering on Campania to the west, Apulia to the north and east, and Calabria to the south. It has two coastlines: a 30-km stretch on the Tyrrhenian Sea between Campania and Calabria, and a longer coastline along the Gulf of Taranto between Calabria and Apulia. The region can be thought of as the "instep" of Italy, with Calabria functioning as the "toe" and Apulia the "heel".
Robert "Guiscard" de Hauteville, sometimes Robert "the Guiscard", was a Norman adventurer remembered for his conquest of southern Italy and Sicily in the 11th century.
The Kingdom of Sicily was a state that existed in the south of the Italian Peninsula and for a time the region of Ifriqiya from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 until 1816. It was a successor state of the County of Sicily, which had been founded in 1071 during the Norman conquest of the southern peninsula. The island was divided into three regions: Val di Mazara, Val Demone and Val di Noto.
Melfi is a town and comune in the Vulture area of the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. Geographically, it is midway between Naples and Bari. In 2015 it had a population of 17,768.
Venosa is a town and comune in the province of Potenza, in the southern Italian region of Basilicata, in the Vulture area. It is bounded by the comuni of Barile, Ginestra, Lavello, Maschito, Montemilone, Palazzo San Gervasio, Rapolla and Spinazzola. It is a member of the I Borghi più belli d'Italia association.
Drogo of Hauteville was the second Count of Apulia and Calabria (1046–51) in southern Italy. Initially he was only the leader of those Normans in the service of Prince Guaimar IV of Salerno, but after 1047 he was a territorial prince owing fealty directly to the Emperor.
Guaimar IV was Prince of Salerno (1027–1052), Duke of Amalfi (1039–1052), Duke of Gaeta (1040–1041), and Prince of Capua (1038–1047) in Southern Italy over the period from 1027 to 1052. From 1041 to 1052 the Duke of Napoli was his vassal. He was an important figure in the final phase of Byzantine authority in the Mezzogiorno and the commencement of Norman power. He was, according to Amatus of Montecassino, "more courageous than his father, more generous and more courteous; indeed he possessed all the qualities a layman should have—except that he took an excessive delight in women."
Richard Drengot was the count of Aversa (1049–1078), prince of Capua and duke of Gaeta (1064–1078).
William of Hauteville was one of the younger sons of Tancred of Hauteville by his second wife Fressenda. He is usually called Willermus instead of Wilelmus in Latin annals and so is often called Guillerm instead of Guillaume in French.
Ranulf II was the count of Alife and Caiazzo, and duke of Apulia. He was a member of the Italo-Norman Drengot family which dominated the Principality of Capua for most of the century between 1050 and 1150. Ranulf's wife, Matilda, was the sister of King Roger II of Sicily.
Alberada of Buonalbergo was a duchess of Apulia as the first wife of Robert Guiscard, duke of Apulia (1059–1085).
The Hauteville was a Norman family originally of seigneurial rank from the Cotentin. The Hautevilles rose to prominence through their part in the Norman conquest of southern Italy. By 1130, one of their members, Roger II, was made the first King of Sicily. His male-line descendants ruled Sicily until 1194. Some Italian Hautevilles took part in the First Crusade and the founding of the Principality of Antioch (1098).
The Treaty of Melfi or Concordat of Melfi was signed on 23 August 1059 between Pope Nicholas II and the Norman princes Robert Guiscard and Richard I of Capua. Based on the terms of the accord, the Pope recognized the Norman conquest of Southern Italy. Moreover, the Pope recognized Robert Guiscard as Duke of Apulia and Calabria, and as Count of Sicily.
The Norman conquest of southern Italy lasted from 999 to 1139, involving many battles and independent conquerors.
The County of Sicily, also known as County of Sicily and Calabria, was a Norman state comprising the islands of Sicily and Malta and part of Calabria from 1071 until 1130. The county began to form during the Christian reconquest of Sicily (1061–91) from the Muslim Emirate, established by conquest in 965. The county is thus a transitional period in the history of Sicily. After the Muslims had been defeated and either forced out or incorporated into the Norman military, a further period of transition took place for the county and the Sicilians.
Peter II was the third Italo-Norman count of Trani. He was the youngest of three sons of Peter I; his elder brothers were Amico and Geoffrey.
The County of Apulia and Calabria, later the Duchy of Apulia and Calabria, was a Norman state founded by William of Hauteville in 1042 in the territories of Gargano, Capitanata, Apulia, Vulture, and most of Campania. It became a duchy when Robert Guiscard was raised to the rank of duke by Pope Nicholas II in 1059.
The Abbey of Santissima Trinità or Abbey of the Most Holy Trinity, Italian: Abbazia della Santissima Trinità, is a Roman Catholic abbey complex at Venosa, in the Vulture area of the province of Potenza, in the southern Italian region of Basilicata. The architecture of the abbey shows Roman, Lombard, and Norman influences. The complex lies within the Parco Archeologico of Venosa, approximately 1.5 km north-east of the town; it falls under the Roman Catholic Diocese of Melfi-Rapolla-Venosa. It consists of the old church, of uncertain date; the monastery buildings; and the Incompiuta, the unfinished or new church, begun in the last quarter of the eleventh century and never completed. The complex was declared a National Monument by Royal Decree on 20 November 1897. It is no longer a monastery, but is used by the Trinitarian Order.
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