Castello Barbarossa
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Castello Barbarossa is an archaeological ruin and ornithological station in
Anacapri Anacapri () is a ''comune'' on the island of Capri, in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Italy. Anacapri is located higher on the island than Capri (about higher on average)http://www.capritourism.com/imgg/download/capri_map_en.pdf —the Anc ...
, on the island of
Capri Capri ( , ; ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. The main town of Capri that is located on the island shares the name. It has been ...
,
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. It is named after the former corsair and Ottoman
Kapudan Pasha The Kapudan Pasha ( ota, قپودان پاشا, modern Turkish: ), was the Grand Admiral of the navy of the Ottoman Empire. He was also known as the ( ota, قپودان دریا, links=no, modern: , "Captain of the Sea"). Typically, he was based ...
(Admiral)
Hayreddin Barbarossa Hayreddin Barbarossa ( ar, خير الدين بربروس, Khayr al-Din Barbarus, original name: Khiḍr; tr, Barbaros Hayrettin Paşa), also known as Hızır Hayrettin Pasha, and simply Hızır Reis (c. 1466/1478 – 4 July 1546), was an Ot ...
, who stormed it in 1535 and destroyed it in 1544. The construction date is uncertain but it perhaps dates back to the late ninth century. From 1898, the structure, now in ruins, was owned by the Swedish psychiatrist
Axel Munthe Axel Martin Fredrik Munthe (31 October 1857 – 11 February 1949) was a Swedish-born medical doctor and psychiatrist, best known as the author of ''The Story of San Michele'', an autobiographical account of his life and work. He spoke several la ...
who donated it to his foundation. The surroundings, interesting for their botanical features, are home to the island's ornithological station.


History

The castle's construction date (ca. late ninth century) is uncertain. It is known to have existed at the end of the tenth century. Taking advantage of local labour, the
Dukes of Amalfi Medieval Amalfi was ruled, in the tenth and eleventh centuries, by a series of dukes ( la, duces), sometimes called ''dogi'' (singular: ''doge''), corresponding with the republic of Venice, a maritime rival throughout the Middle Ages. Before the t ...
built it in order to gain full control over the island of Capri.Oebalus (2006), p. 175. The manor house was originally owned by Adelferio, son of Sergius II (d. 1028), who called the area ''Anglum ad Castellum'' ("the corner near the castle").Oebalus (2008), p. 28. On 15 November 988, Adelferio donated the castle, as well as his other possessions in Anacapri (including Artimo, Orrico and Gradola), to Giovanni, Count of Capri. The document refers to "unam silvam ad angulum ipsum castellum" (a wood at the corner of the castle). Protected by the fortress, the area enjoyed a period of stability in the tenth and eleventh centuries.Oebalus (2006), p. 176. The
Norman conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...
of
Campania Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the i ...
forced the Dukes of Amalfi to modernize the structure to provide greater resistance to the enemy. The interior of the fortress was then extended with new features, including a chapel with a buttressed vault. Other additions from the thirteenth century included a cylindrical tower, two protective walls and other items necessitated by the development of siege techniques and firearms. In the fifteenth century, the island of Capri was subjected to attacks by Muslim pirates. Consequently, the population often used the fortress as a refuge. But after the raids in 1535, led by Ottoman pirates
Hayreddin Barbarossa Hayreddin Barbarossa ( ar, خير الدين بربروس, Khayr al-Din Barbarus, original name: Khiḍr; tr, Barbaros Hayrettin Paşa), also known as Hızır Hayrettin Pasha, and simply Hızır Reis (c. 1466/1478 – 4 July 1546), was an Ot ...
and
Dragut Dragut ( tr, Turgut Reis) (1485 – 23 June 1565), known as "The Drawn Sword of Islam", was a Muslim Ottoman naval commander, governor, and noble, of Turkish or Greek descent. Under his command, the Ottoman Empire's maritime power was extended ...
, the fortress was destroyed in 1544, and those who had taken shelter there were kidnapped or robbed. Rather than being named after its builder, the castle derives its name from its pirate destroyer. The Angevins attempted to reconstruct the fortress, but without success as the Neapolitans had little building experience. It therefore fell on the inhabitants of Anacapri to care for the fortress which, as a result, was never rebuilt. Barbarossa Castle was then almost totally forgotten until the eighteenth century when the manor was included in some geographical treaties.Oebalus (2006), p. 174. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, it was however used for military purposes after reinforcement by both the British (1806), who built embrasures for riflemen and a powder house, and by the French (1808), who built a defensive wall which extended from the castle to the Phoenician Steps. In the mid-nineteenth century, after the growing interest of literary circles in the Mediterranean environment and archaeological findings, itinerant scholars described the castle as "a ruin immersed in wonderfully wild surroundings", and in the first half of the twentieth century the site became a must in all Capri's maps and travel guides. As already mentioned, the castle with the surrounding land was purchased by Munthe who, as he hated hunting, made it a sanctuary for birds. Throughout his life, Munthe campaigned to abolish hunting and was able to convince
Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...
himself to draw up legislation denying hunters access to the island. As of 1950, a year after Munthe's death, the castle became part of the Axel Munthe Foundation under the ownership of the Swedish Consulate.


Architecture and fittings

The plan of the castle is quadrangular with a semicircular wall. The ruins of the highest part, as well as forming the core of the building, belong to what was once the residential area of the castle. Indeed, there is a chapel with a vaulted apse, a belfry and a cistern that was used as a warehouse Another area, offset from the chapel, retains many features, including a vaulted roof, a small partly walled embrasure, and an arched opening. Finally, there is a room with an iron-beamed roof. Built of local stone, the fort has vaulted roofs and tiled floors. The most significant architectural features are its two towers, indicating the military function of the castle. One of them, square-shaped, was built in the Swabian period, the other, however, is circular and was built in the Angevin period..


Grounds

Barbarossa Castle is located in Anacapri's
Villa San Michele The Villa San Michele was built about the end of the 19th century on the isle of Capri, Italy, by the Swedish physician and author Axel Munthe. Description The villa's gardens have panoramic views of the town of Capri and its harbour, the Sor ...
district, not far from the Grotta dell' Arco. It is situated
above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...
on a plateau of , on one side of Mount Solaro. The area in front of the fort is characterized by low bush or
garrigue Garrigue or garigue ( ), also known as phrygana ( el, φρύγανα , n. pl.), is a type of low scrubland ecoregion and plant community in the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome. It is found on limestone soils in southern Fra ...
and by vegetation that can withstand drought as a result of low nutritional requirements. Plants include strawberry tree,
coronilla The genus ''Coronilla'' contains 8 species of flowering plants native to Europe and North Africa. It cointained about 20 species before being split into ''Securigera''. Species include: * '' Coronilla coronata'' * ''Coronilla juncea'' * ''Coro ...
,
euphorbia ''Euphorbia'' is a very large and diverse genus of flowering plants, commonly called spurge, in the family Euphorbiaceae. "Euphorbia" is sometimes used in ordinary English to collectively refer to all members of Euphorbiaceae (in deference to t ...
, heathers, gorse and myrtle. In the winter, the anemone, asphodel,
brassica ''Brassica'' () is a genus of plants in the cabbage and mustard family (Brassicaceae). The members of the genus are informally known as cruciferous vegetables, cabbages, or mustard plants. Crops from this genus are sometimes called ''cole cr ...
, honeysuckle, crocus, and
rock rose Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
bloom. Near the castle, there are some Aleppo pines. Indeed, in 1901, Munthe planted a pine forest, part of which was lost during the fires of 1972 and 1987.


Ornithological station

Having become the ornithological station of Capri,
ornithologists __NOTOC__ This is a list of ornithologists who have articles, in alphabetical order by surname. See also :Ornithologists. A * John Abbot – US *Clinton Gilbert Abbott – US *William Louis Abbott – US * Joseph H. Acklen – US *Humayun Abdul ...
live and work at Barbarossa in the present day. It is a useful location as Mount Solaro is an important stop for migratory birds that nest in Europe and fly to Africa for the winter.. The station was started by the
Italian League for Bird Protection LIPU, the Lega italiana protezione uccelli (En. “Italian League for Bird Protection”) is an Italian charitable organisation, founded in 1965 and devoted to the protection of the country's wildlife with a particular focus on birds. It has a memb ...
in the early 1980s and was subsequently continued by the Ringing Centre of the Institute for the Protection and Environmental Research of Bologna. In order to facilitate their study, migratory birds are caught in a net, classified by sex, age and species, and then weighed and measured. Their "fat reserve" is also observed as it reveals how much they have consumed during their journey. Each bird is then ringed for future monitoring, with a view to discovering its travels and place of origin. The Swedish experts are attached to the bird station on the island of
Öland Öland (, ; ; sometimes written ''Øland'' in other Scandinavian languages, and often ''Oland'' internationally; la, Oelandia) is the second-largest Swedish island and the smallest of the traditional provinces of Sweden. Öland has an area ...
and although they initially concentrated on spring and autumn migrations, they are now involved in specific projects such as the birds' aptitude for orientation during the longest migrations and the causes of diseases transmitted by birds as well as studies on the migration of butterflies.


References


Bibliography

*''Conoscere Capri: Studi e materiali per la storia di Capri''. (2006). Capri: Oebalus. Vol. 4. (in Italian) *''Conoscere Capri: Studi e materiali per la storia di Capri''. (2008). Capri: Oebalus. Vol. 7. (in Italian) {{authority control Buildings and structures in Capri, Campania Archaeological sites in Campania Biological stations Castles in Campania