Castello di Bisceglie, Hohenstaufen castle in Bisceglie, Italy

Castello di Bisceglie is a medieval fortress with three remaining towers, the northeastern one connected to the 12th century San Giovanni in Castro Church. The structure displays architectural layers from different periods, with characteristic windows and walls still visible today.

The oldest surviving element is the Norman maestra tower, about 24 metres high, attributed to Count Peter I around 1060, though some scholars date the castle's formation to the Swabian period in the first half of the 13th century. Angevin work is attested by Charles I of Anjou's coat of arms above the west tower door and an inscription on the pointed-arch portal of the palatium. The Aragonese rebuilt the fortifications, after which the complex lost its military role and was used for grain milling and later divided among private owners.

The castle's name comes from the Norman "maestra" tower, and the small church of San Giovanni in Castro is built into its northeast corner, with a simple gabled facade, a lunate portal and a single window above. From the early 20th century the complex housed woodworkers' workshops, the gabellieri tower held the local customs office, and the north corner tower had a bread oven on the ground floor.

The castle stands on a rocky bank near the old port area, at the corner between Corso Umberto I and Via Porto, where later buildings were erected after 18th-century demolitions. Restoration works begun in 1982, designed by the Soprintendenza per i Beni Architettonici e Paesaggistici della Puglia, have been interrupted several times and are still ongoing, so parts of the complex may be closed off. Look for the surviving stone corbels that once carried the walkways along the towers and outer wall.

From the early 20th century the northern corner tower housed a bread oven on the ground floor, with living quarters above, while the central gabellieri tower held the local customs office. Woodworkers' shops also occupied parts of the complex, and a cabinetmaker's workshop stood between the Purgatory church and the adjacent cemetery.