Ariano Irpino Norman Castle, Medieval castle at Colle Castello in Ariano Irpino, Italy.

Ariano Irpino Norman Castle is a ruined fortress on the summit of the hill of the same name, at 811 m above sea level. Its plan is nearly trapezoidal, with corner towers 13 to 16 m in diameter and curtain walls about 40 m (north), 56 m (south), 72 m (east) and 81 m (west); the entrance is on the east side. The Norman keep, the Torre Grande, survives only in fragments.

The fortress was originally built during the Lombard period and later underwent major reconstruction under the Normans who significantly reinforced its defenses. These improvements allowed them to maintain strategic control over the surrounding valleys and establish their dominance in the region.

The name Castellum Arianum appears in a 1585 document cited by historian Tommaso Vitale, which calls the keep Torre Grande, reachable only by a bridge. The Museo della civiltà normanna occupied the castle from 2009 to 2023, then moved to the 18th-century Palazzo Bevere-Gambacorta in the same town. Excavations found sugar-refining tools from the 13th-15th centuries, the only such find in the Kingdom of Naples.

The entrance is located at Via Castello in central Ariano Irpino, with a visitor information point near the Municipal Villa grounds. You should expect steep pathways since the site sits on a hilltop, and wearing sturdy shoes is advisable for safe walking.

Excavations at the castle between the late 20th and early 21st centuries found tools and vessels for refining sugar, dated to the 13th–15th centuries and described as a unicum in the Kingdom of Naples. The finds show that sugar was widely consumed inland under Angevin rule. Local pottery, including a single-handled jug from the Lombard era, was also unearthed.