Castello ducale di Crecchio (

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 ''Ducal Castle of Crecchio'') 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

Crecchio Crecchio is a ''comune'' and village in the province of Chieti, part of the Abruzzo region in central Italy. The village preserves its medieval aspect and is dominated by its castle. Its main activities are agriculture and tourism, yet small fami ...

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

The castle was built by the

Lombards The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 and ...

in the eighth century, and later went into the possession of the

Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Fran ...

. In the fifteenth century the castle was restored by the Aragona family, and then went into the possession of the family De Riseis. In 1943 the castle was home to the King

Vittorio Emanuele III Victor Emmanuel III (Vittorio Emanuele Ferdinando Maria Gennaro di Savoia; 11 November 1869 – 28 December 1947) was King of Italy from 29 July 1900 until his abdication on 9 May 1946. He also reigned as Emperor of Ethiopia (1936–1941) and ...

, fleeing towards

Brindisi Brindisi ( , ) ; la, Brundisium; grc, Βρεντέσιον, translit=Brentésion; cms, Brunda), group=pron is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Histo ...

, and then, in World War II, it was bombed by the Allies. The castle was later rebuilt completely, respecting its original appearance, and houses a museum of Byzantine Abruzzo finds.

Architecture

The castle has a square plan, with walls, and an access bridge. The oldest tower is built by the Lombards (8th century), while the other three corner towers date back to the Aragonese period. The structure, outside, has compared the mansion, with balconies and highly decorated windows. The interior has only an old room, the one that hosted the King Vittorio Emanuele, with its original bed, because the others were destroyed in World War II, and later rebuilt as exhibition rooms for the Byzantine museum.

References

Crecchio {{Italy-castle-stub