Andria Travel Guide

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The castle has two floors of rooms to visit. There are limited stairs between the floors for youto use, so that you cannot get lost. (Many rooms and the attic level where the servants and retainers lived are off limits). The roof is not open for visits (where there was a cistern and the falconry and maybe Fred's hunting leopards). The room are large trapezoids with a recessed double-light outside window which does not provide much light but does give views. They have marble walls and beches and many still have mosaic floors. There are drainage channels along the floors at the walls,to carry off condensation. Each set of tower rooms is thus of 2 levels, The towers connect by wide passages. I imagine that this was guarded to assure privacy and limited access. The ceilings and window casements are the latest (13C) Gothic with ribbed vaulting and central bosses. Unfortunately there is no furniture or wall drapings, so the starkness is emphasized. After all this is 1240.

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After climbing up to the castle take time to notice the finer details of its structure. (A background is in my Intro).Realize that this is a monumental classical (Roman triumphal) gateway entirely out of keeping with the severely elevated minimal windows of the outer wall. It was finished in 1240 at the height of the defensive castle craze in feudal Europe and has many Gothic traits and retains a lot of carved stonework. There are the standard two lions at the door.