Italy · Restored
Castle of Melfi
The Castle of Melfi is a multi-phase medieval fortress in Basilicata, southern Italy, with major Norman, Hohenstaufen and Angevin building phases. It preserves a largely medieval silhouette of interconnected towers and fortified courts and today houses the National Archaeological Museum of Melfi.
Its prime
1281
Today
Restored
As it stood in 1281
The shape it held in its prime.
A compact medieval keep complex composed of ten towers—seven rectangular and three pentagonal—linked by curtain walls and enclosing a paved central courtyard; a prominent church tower and a clocktower rise above the roofline. The southwest approaches include a bulwark (the Bulwark of the Lion) and an entrance that in earlier times was reached by a bridge and wooden drawbridge across a moat. Angevin-era additions open onto the courtyard: stables and yards, the Throne Room on the north side below the Hall of Armigeri, and the Hall of the Bowl.
Its story
The story of Castle of Melfi.
The visible castle of Melfi dates back to the Norman conquest of southern Italy. In the summer of 1059 Pope Nicholas II stayed at the fortress, concluded an agreement with Count Robert Guiscard and Prince Richard I of Capua, and at the First Council of Melfi named Guiscard Duke of Apulia and Calabria — Melfi being promoted to capital of his duchy. Five ecumenical councils were held here by five different popes between 1059 and 1137.
With the arrival of the Hohenstaufen in 1194, Emperor Frederick II gave the castle great importance and ordered several modifications. Under the Angevins, Charles II added the stables and yards between 1278 and 1281, and in 1284 the castle became the official residence of his wife, Mary of Hungary. Ten towers — seven rectangular, three pentagonal — still ring the complex.
Under the Aragonese government the castle became the property of the noble Acciaioli family, then the Marzano, the Caracciolo and finally the Doria, who held it until 1950 and transformed the interior into a baronial palace between the 16th and 18th centuries. A portal inscription honours Emperor Charles V and his admiral Andrea Doria; the castle, now owned by the Italian State, houses the National Archaeological Museum of Melfi.
Step inside
10 places to explore in 1281.
The record describes 10 distinct spots at Castle of Melfi — including 5 interiors: throne room (north side), hall of the armigeri, hall of the bowl and more. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and walk through every one — more scenes means more photos, more angles and more rooms of the immersive experience.
Create History
Recreate Castle of Melfi with AI to explore it.
The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1281 — a photoreal walk that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.
Recreate Castle to Explore →Whose castle
Clans who held Castle of Melfi.
The families that held Castle of Melfi for a decade or more across its history — follow a name to its clan.
Doria
Held by the Doria, who remade the interior as a baronial palace, until 1950.
