Castello Caldora (
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
for ''Caldora Castle'') is a
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
castle in
Civitaluparella
Civitaluparella ( Abruzzese: ') is a ''comune'' and town in the Province of Chieti in the Abruzzo region of Italy
See also
*Castello Caldora
Castello Cantelmo-Caldora (Italian for ''Cantelmo-Caldora Castle'') is a Middle Ages castle in Pacentro ...
,
Province of Chieti
The province of Chieti ( it, provincia di Chieti; Abruzzese: ') is a province in the Abruzzo region of Italy. Its provincial capital is the city Chieti, which has a population of 50,770 inhabitants. The province has a total population of 387,649 ...
(
Abruzzo
Abruzzo (, , ; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Abruzzese Neapolitan, Abbrùzze , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; nap, label=Sabino dialect, Aquilano, Abbrùzzu; #History, historically Abruzzi) is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy wi ...
).
History
There is no reliable information about the foundation of the castle. The first historical source is a
papal bull of
Pope Alexander III
Pope Alexander III (c. 1100/1105 – 30 August 1181), born Roland ( it, Rolando), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 September 1159 until his death in 1181.
A native of Siena, Alexander became pope after a con ...
in 1173 including the castle within the boundaries of the
diocese of Chieti.
The strategic location of the original fort, located on the highest part of the town in a controlling the entire valley of
Sangro
The Sangro is a river in eastern central Italy, known in ancient times as Sagrus from the Greek ''Sagros'' or ''Isagros'', ''Ισαγρος''.
It rises in the middle of Abruzzo National Park near Pescasseroli in the Apennine Mountains. It flows ...
river, pushed
Jacopo Caldora {{Infobox noble, type
, name = Jacopo Caldora
, title = Duke of Bari
, image = Il Condottiere.jpg
, caption =
, alt =
, CoA =
, more = no
, succession = Duke of Bari
, reign = {{nowrap, 11 October 1432 – 15 November 1439
, predecessor = Raimon ...
to build a new castle, selected in the 15th century by his son Antonio as base during his battles against Ferdinand of Aragon, who conquered the castle at the end of the military campaign.
Architecture
The castle is in ruins now: there are just few walls less than a meter high in the highest part of the town that don’t allow to reconstruct its architecture.
In addition to the building, the cliff leading to the castle was also demolished in several points to hinder the passage of any assailant.
References
{{coord, 41.9448, N, 14.3010, E, source:wikidata, display=title
Caldora