Description of the attraction
The Norman castle of Castello Zvevo in Cosenza, also known as the Hohenstaufen castle, rises on the Colle Pancrazio hill and has long been considered a symbol of the Calabrian city. Despite its name, it was built by Saracen pirates on the ruins of the ancient fortress of Rocca Brutia around 1000. At the beginning of the 12th century, the building was fortified by order of the Norman ruler Ruggiero II, but this did not save him from the terrible earthquake of 1184. The castle was destroyed and rebuilt only in 1239 by order of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, when an octagonal tower was added to it. Then the castle had the shape of a rectangle with several floors and towers at the corners - two square and two polygonal. According to legend, the powerful and power-hungry Frederick imprisoned his own son Henry in Castello Zvevo, who dared to revolt against his father.
In 1433, the castle was turned from a military fortress into the aristocratic residence of Louis III of Anjou and his wife Margaret, daughter of the Savoy king Amedeo VIII. Despite this, even at the beginning of the 16th century, Castello Zvevo remained one of the most important military forts in southern Calabria. Around 1540, it housed an armory, and a little later - a prison. In 1630, a long period of decline began when several earthquakes destroyed the upper floors of the castle, the balustrades and the tower. Only in the middle of the 18th century, the building was transferred to the Archbishop of Cosenza to house a seminary, and at the beginning of the 19th century it was restored.
Today, all traces of the original Saracenic structure are lost. In the courtyard of Castello Zvevo, you can see traces of the reconstruction undertaken by the Bourbons, who in the 19th century turned the castle into a prison, and in the foyer there are engraved pointed arches. The wide corridor is decorated with the Anjou dynasty's family coat of arms with the fleur-de-lis (heraldic lily). From the top floor of the castle, which is accessed by a 17th century staircase, you can admire the panorama of the Valle del Crati, the Sila Mountains and the Pre-Pennine hills.
