Architectural pride of the Land of Apulia and pearl of Salento
In terms of dimensions and type of structure, Copertino Castle is one of the finest examples of Apulian Renaissance military architecture, home to important figures who wrote the history of the region.
Notices(3)
- Respect of the chosen entry time
We remind visitors that it is mandatory to show up at the site’s entrance exactly at the time chosen during the purchase.
- free admission
The first Sunday of each month access to all institutes and places of culture is free, including, in the absence of a separate exhibition itinerary or of a separate ticket, the spaces in which exhibitions or temporary exhibitions are held. Admission will also be free on the following days: 25th April; 2nd June; 4th November.
- SUNDAY OPENINGS
The Castelo di Copertino is open on the first and second Sunday of the month at the following times: 8.30 -13.30 (last entry at the ticket office at 1 pm) On other Sundays the Castle is CLOSED to the public
By purchasing online you will have
Services(5)
- Audioguide
- Disabled access
- Guided Tours
- Info Point
- Pets allowed with carrier
Reductions(4)
For REDUCED and FREE tickets, proof of the right to use these tickets will have to be shown. Where the visitor fails to produce such documentation at the ticket office, a FULL-PRICE ticket will have to be purchased.
Free
13types- •European Union tourist guides in the exercise of their professional activity, presenting a valid licence issued by the competent authority
- •Tour interpreters from the European Union working alongside the guide, upon presentation of a valid licence issued by the competent authority
- •To the staff of the Ministry of Culture
- •Members of I.C.O.M. (International Council of Museums)
- •Visitors under the age of eighteen. Under-twelves must be accompanied by an adult
- •To public and private school groups of the European Union alongside their teachers, subjected to booking and in the quota established by the head of the institution or cultural site.
- •Lecturers and students on degree courses, specialist degree courses or post-graduate specialisation and PhD courses in the following faculties: architecture, conservation of cultural heritage, education sciences or literature and philosophy with an archaeological or historical-artistic focus. The same benefits are due to teachers and students of corresponding universities or courses, present in the European Union States.
- •Teachers and students enrolled in Fine Arts Academies or corresponding institutes of the European Union, by showing their enrolment certificate for the current academic year
- •Teaching staff -permanent school or with a fixed-term contract- of the Italian school, upon presentation of a suitable certificate issued by the educational institutions. The certificate is annual and valid for the academic year in progress.
- •Disabled persons and one family member or companion who can show their membership to health and care services.
- •To the operators of voluntary associations who carry out, on the basis of existing agreements with the Ministry, activities to promote knowledge of cultural heritage.
- •Italian and foreign scholars for study or research purposes certified by Italian or foreign school or university institutions, academies, research and culture institutes as well as by the Ministry, for particular and justified needs, the Directors can allow individual subjects who request it free admission for specific periods.
- •Free entry to state cultural sites is permitted to teachers and students of AFAM (Higher Education in Art and Music) schools, upon presentation of the appropriate forms.
Reduced
2types- •EU citizens aged between 18 and 25 (the age limit is considered exceeded from the day following the completion of the 25th year of age).
- •To citizens of countries outside the European Union, on condition of reciprocity.
Puglia Musei Card
1Type- •The subscription is NAME-SPECIFIC. It allows unlimited admissions for 6 months in all the museums of the Regional Directorate of Museums of Puglia. The Taranto National Archaeological Museum (MArTA) is NOT included.
Museo Card
1Type- •The subscription is NAME-SPECIFIC. It allows unlimited entry for 6 months in ONE of the museums of the Regional Directorate of Museums of Puglia. Taranto National Archaeological Museum (MArTA) is NOT included.
Description
History of a National Monument
In 1266, Charles I of Anjou made Copertino the administrative seat of the county as part of his programmed military reorganisation of Apulia. The keep, the original core structure of the fortification, may date back to this period. In the 1630s Evangelista Menga was commissioned by Charles V's feudal lord Alfonso Granai Castriota to modernise the structure: the medieval part was incorporated into a quadrangular plan with the addition of four bastions in the corners and a moat. Between the 16th and 19th centuries, the castle had various owners: first came the Squarciafico family, followed by the Pinelli and Pignatelli families, and the Granito di Belmonte family in the 19th century. Declared a National Monument in 1885, it became State property in 1956.
The 16th-century building
The visitor enters the castle through a Renaissance portal carved in stone of Lecce, with reliefs celebrating the Castriota feudal lords and their military might, already evident in the massive walls rising from the moat. The 'Italian-style' fortress, with its profile strengthened by lanceolate bastions, incorporates the oldest elements - the tower and medieval halls - as well as the Renaissance palace built for the count's family at the end of the 16th century and the 18th-century portico framing the servants' quarters.
Timeless frescoes
Inside the castle are two frescoed chapels dating from the 15th and 16th centuries. The Magdalene Chapel is located halfway up the ramp leading to the Renaissance palace and features a cycle of frescoes dating from the late Gothic period, commissioned by the Countess of Lecce Maria d'Enghien, while the Chapel of St. Mark contains a cycle frescoed in 1568 by the painter Gianserio Strafella, with figures from the Old and New Testament. Inside the Chapel of St. Mark are the sarcophagi of Uberto and Stefano Squarciafico, feudal lords at the time of its construction.
Forecast
- Sun, 29 Jun24.6°/30.7°
- Mon, 30 Jun24.6°/33.1°
- Tue, 01 Jul24.8°/34°
Tour(1)
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