A castle for defending a displaced population
The Castle of Manfredonia was built to defend the town of the same name, built in the 13th century to accommodate the population of ancient Siponto, which had become inhospitable due to swamps around the town.
Notices(3)
- 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.
- 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.
- EXTRAORDINARY OPENING 08 AUGUST 2025
On the occasion of the "tribute to De André" event, the Museum and Castle of Manfredonia will be open to the public until midnight (last possible access at 11pm)
Services(5)
- Bookshop
- Disabled access
- Guided Tours
- Info Point
- Pets allowed
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
- •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
- •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.
- •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.
Cumulative Full Price
1Type- •Allows FULL PRICE entrance to Manfredonia Archaeological National Museum and Castle and to Siponto Archaeological Park.
Cumulative Reduced
1Type- •Allows REDUCED entrance to Manfredonia Archaeological National Museum and Castle and to Siponto Archaeological Park.
Description
The Castle structure
The town of Manfredonia was built at the behest of Manfredi, son of Frederick II of Swabia. When he died, the town still lacked defensive structures, and it was King Charles of Anjou who completed the city walls and the castle. The part dating back to the Angevin period had a quadrangular plan, with four square towers at the corners, and a fifth defending the entrance portal. During the Aragonese period (following the Angevin defeat in 1442), the towers became cylindrical and a second outer wall was built.
A further modification dates back to the period of the Spanish viceroys with the construction of the pentagonal bastion facing the city. After being sacked by the Turks in 1620, the Castle lost its defensive function and was used as a prison, barracks and was then occupied by public housing. In 1968, the municipality donated the Castle to the State to accommodate the Gargano National Museum.
The National Archaeological Museum of Manfredonia
The museum collection is linked to the Tuscan archaeologist Silvio Ferri. In the 1960s he launched an intense activity to recover the precious Daunian stelae found by chance due to ploughing in the countryside of the Sipontine district. Numerous stele fragments were recovered, catalogued, deposited on the premises of the Manfredonia Town Hall and transferred to the Castle as soon as it became National Museum. Today, the Museum's collection of Daunian stelae is the most important in the world.
A journey from Prehistory to the Dauni civilisation
The museum collections lead us to the discovery of traces of the ancient peoples of northern Apulia, from Prehistory to the 5th century BC. The narrative is developed in three thematic itineraries. The first is Prehistory. Winds of the Neolithic. Men of Copper; here the narrative starts with an account of the agricultural economy and animal husbandry during the Neolithic period, which flows naturally into Metropolis of the Bronze Age (2300-1000 B.C.), the path focusing on metallurgical innovations and the development of fortified settlements.
The last rooms are dedicated to the society of the Daunians. In The Dauni. The land of the foreign king - a name that evokes the myths and legends surrounding the formation of this society – funeral finds from the main centres inhabited in the pre-Roman age by the Dauni (including Monte Saraceno, Salapia, Cupola-Beccarini, Canosa Toppicelli) are illustrated, from 1000 BC.
An original artistic expression
The last part of the exhibition is dedicated to a particular artistic symbol of Daunia: the Daunian stelae. These are stone slabs with stylised male and female forms, produced between the 7th and 6th centuries B.C., mainly in the Sipontine plain. Attributable to high-ranking personages of Daunian civilisation, they are used as grave markers (elements outside the tombs to indicate their presence to passers-by) and decorated with red, black and yellow engravings and colours. They are distinguished by their ornaments and the rich set of decorative elements of the funerary garment (necklaces, fibulae, pendants, belts). There are also stelae with weapons, characterised by the presence of breastplates, swords and round shields.
Forecast
Tour(1)
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