Castel del Monte, whose name means "castle on the hill," is located in Andria in the Italian region of Puglia. Once he was named Castrum Sancta Maria del Monte, because it was built on the site of the earlier monastery of St. Mary's on the Hill. However, by the time of construction of the castle in the middle of the 13th century, from the monastery there was nothing left.

Construction of the castle was begun by order of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and lasted for about ten years. Already in 1250, the year the powerful structure was ready, although interior continued.

Shaped regular octagon Castel del Monte is located 16 km from Andria, in a place which is called Terra di Bari - Bari Earth. At the corners are built the same octagonal tower. The height of the castle reaches 25 meters, the length of the walls - 16, 5 meters, and the width of the walls of the towers - 3, 1 meter. The main entrance is located on the east side and the west have a spare portal. An interesting feature of the lock is that the two towers of the side in contact with one side of the main building.

I must say that the two-storey Castel del Monte is not really a castle in the full sense of the word, because it has no moat, ramparts and drawbridge. There are no here and warehouses, stables and a separate kitchen. Therefore, the purpose of Castel del Monte is still a matter of controversy among scientists. It is generally accepted version is that the castle was a hunting residence of Emperor Frederick II. However, richly decorated interior make scientists argue further - too lush and elegant decoration for it was a hunting lodge.

Inside the castle is made up of 16 buildings, eight on each floor. Corner towers occupy wardrobes, toilets and spiral staircases, the latter are not twisted to the right and to the left. Interestingly interlocking arrangement of rooms, for example, two ground floor rooms have access to the courtyard. Four rooms have only one door and communicating rooms - 2-3 portal. All the rooms of the second floor throughout the year twice a day highlighted by sunlight, and the ground floor rooms - only in the summer. This strange design suggests that Castel del Monte was a kind of astronomical instrument: the upper part is a giant sundial, while the first floor serves as a calendar, which is uniformly illuminated space for the summer and winter solstice. This is another unsolved mystery of the ancient castle, which locals call the "crown of Apulia".