Castello Tramontano is a 16th-century fortification situated on Lapellio Hill, above the historical city of

Matera Matera (, ; Neapolitan language, Materano: ) is a city and the capital of the Province of Matera in the regions of Italy, region of Basilicata, in Southern Italy. With a history of continuous occupation dating back to the Palaeolithic (10th mi ...

with in the Basilicata Administrative Region. It was built to control the local population. The city has been used many times as a set to represent the

Holy Land The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...

in films including: Pier Paolo Pasolini's "The Gospel According to St. Matthew" and Mel Gibson's "

The Passion of the Christ ''The Passion of the Christ'' is a 2004 American epic biblical drama film co-produced and directed by Mel Gibson from a screenplay he wrote with Benedict Fitzgerald. It stars Jim Caviezel as Jesus of Nazareth, Maia Morgenstern as the Bl ...

History

The Castello was constructed in an Aragonese style, with a taller central tower and two lower side towers, both round,

crenellated A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals ...

, and equipped with loops. Construction began in 1501, by

Giovanni Carlo Tramontano, Count of Matera Giovanni Carlo Tramontano, Baron of Sorrento, Count of Matera (born in 1451 as Giovanni Carlo Tramontano, Baron of Sorrento, died in 1514) was an Italian nobleman who belonged to the ancient feudal noble family of the barons of the House of Tra ...

. King

Ferdinand II of Naples Ferdinand II (; 26 June 1467 – 7 September 1496) was Kingdom of Naples, King of Naples from 1495 to 1496. He was the son of Alfonso II of Naples and the grandson of Ferrante I of Naples. At the start of the Italian Wars in 1495, Alfonso abdic ...

, had promised the Materrani people that he would keep the hands of the feudal lords off the city, after

had already freed itself several times from the feudal yoke by paying various ransoms to remain a free city. Recognition of such a status is directly dependent on the crown. Instead, Count Tramontano, who boasted claims against the royal treasury, asked and obtained the County of Matera in 1496. Due to the heavy debts the county was burdened with, he taxed the Materani people, leading to a decline in the public opinion. This taxation allowed for the construction of the castle that was situated on a hill dominating the city outside the city walls, with the purpose of feudal control of the surrounding lands rather than defense of the city itself. 25,000

ducat The ducat ( ) coin was used as a trade coin in Europe from the later Middle Ages to the 19th century. Its most familiar version, the gold ducat or sequin containing around of 98.6% fine gold, originated in Venice in 1284 and gained wide inter ...

s were spent in total on the construction. The latter, at the time, was believed to include other defensive towers, one of which was found under the central Piazza Vittorio Veneto in Matera, together with other underground developments. In response, some dissatisfied citizens gathered together and hid behind a stone, which has since been called "la pietra del mal consiglio" (), and organized a coup against the Count. On 29 December 1514, the Count was assassinated in a side street leaving the

Cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

of the same name, which was later called "Way of Ransom". The castle thus remained unfinished. Restoration work began in 2008, owing to the castle and surrounding park falling into disrepair. Notably, these restorations, financed by lottery funds, aim to renovate the

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...

alongside the

tufa Tufa is a variety of limestone formed when carbonate minerals precipitation (chemistry), precipitate out of water in ambient temperature, unheated rivers or lakes. hot spring, Geothermally heated hot springs sometimes produce similar (but less ...

walls, but it is currently closed to the public.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Matera Castles in Basilicata

Castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

Buildings and structures in the Province of Matera

History

See also

References

Bibliography