Castel del Monte and Cannae

 [6 March 2004]

After breakfast Saturday morning we packed the car and got ready to leave for Cerignola and our night with the Tampone family. Wouldn't you know it, as soon as we gave our host the credit card the power went out and he had to spend the next 15 minutes or so digging out his (very) old credit card slider – but we were soon on our way north. 

There were two places in this corner of Puglia that I really wanted to see: Castel del Monte and the ancient Roman battlefield at Cannae. 

First off was the Castel del Monte, just south of Andria. An architectural mystery from the 14th century this is most definitely worth a visit. (No one knows why Frederick II built this very small castle with its identical towers and rooms none of which have a distinct purpose).

We come to find out from Luisa Tampone that we have missed what was probably one of the few toilets ever found in a castle.

Oh, and please by all means stay clear of the city of Andria since going “around” this rather large city means virtually going “through” it, which can take some time along with some serious traffic snarls.

view from the front entrance

interior of the courtyard

Next up was the ancient battlefield at Cannae where Hannibal destroyed a large Roman army. The museum in the ancient hill town of Cannae is quite pleasant and town itself is worth a stop – in any case you have to walk through the town ruins to view of the battlefield from atop the citadel. Although the terrain has changed substantially over the centuries it’s a most impressive sight.

From Cannae we made our way to Cerignola, a drive of about 30 minutes,