Gioia Sannitica Castle

On an isolated hill in the Caselle district stand the substantial remains of Gioia Sannitica Castle, built in the Norman period and strengthened under the Swabians and Angevins with a new curtain wall, a gate with Gothic arches and a masonry glacis. We like reading in its walls the different building phases, which tell of centuries of adaptations and defences.The 1394 earthquake and plague epidemics drove the inhabitants to abandon the castle and village, which have never been lived in since. Today the area is an evocative archaeological site: we recommend following the narrow path between the walls and the cliff, past the old portal, up to the cylindrical tower and the large room with a fireplace that may have been the great hall.