GUIDED TOURS CASTEL DEL MONTE – TRAIL AROUND THE ALTA MURGIA
TOUR DURATION: FULL DAY TOUR
GUIDED TOURS CASTEL DEL MONTE DESCRIPTION
We are about 18 kilometers from Andria where we will discover one of the most important architectural masterpiece of the whole region: the site of Castel del Monte, the famous octagonal monument commissioned in the 13th century by Frederick II during the Swabian domination. Declared in 1996 World Heritage site by UNESCO for its historical and architectural value, the castle is situated at 540 meters of altitude on an isolated hill and dominates the Alta Murgia’s plateau. This will be an emotional visit, characterized by a veil of secrecy due to the several unanswered questions linked to the castle’s main function which is still unclear so far. When we will look at the details of the structure, as the most passionate researchers and experts, we could not come to a definitive hypothesis but anyway we will be pushed to make some reflections and come to other possible assumptions: this is the aspect that makes even more attractive the visit of the Castel del Monte. We will then have our lunch in the heart of the Alta Murgia where our walking tour of about two hours will take place; this trail, easy and accessible for everyone, is on a gravel of about 3 kilometers, without significant declivities in the middle of the Finizio Wood: a forest of conifers, pastures and farms of about 110 hectares, connecting Castel del Monte to Montegrosso. The forest is part of the National Park of the Alta Murgia, which generally shows a less verdant landscape than the southern Murgia but it has a more intense visual impact with its bare limestone stones, its Mediterranean steppes and a spontaneous vegetation growing despite the very small presence of water. The “jazzi”, sheep tracks and the “tratturi”, ancient herbal paths for the transhumance features the landscape and recall slow rhythms.
