The Castle

The Castle

The Castle of Ugento, one of the most beautiful buildings in Salento, stands on the highest point of the city. It was probably built on the remains of a Roman military camp and on a Byzantine fortress from the 4th/5th century AD, but it was only under Norman rule, at the end of the year 1000, that the Castle of Ugento became a real fortress. In the Angevin period and in the Renaissance the whole structure was rebuilt. In 1537, after the Turkish occupation, the Castle was seriously damaged: two towers were destroyed as well as a large part of the western wing, the ground floor and the first floor. In 1564, Count Vincenzo Pandone resumed the reconstruction of the of the building to the best of his ability; the work was continued in 1642 by Count Emmanuele Vaaz de Andrada. In 1643, the castle was bought by the D'Amore Marquises, who built a new and sumptuous reception rooms on the so-called "piano nobile", decorated with a magnificent cycle of frescoes, with cycles of Greek and Roman mythology, scenes from the Old Testament and anecdotes from the history of ancient Rome.
Thanks to the D'Amore family, the castle was transformed from a defensive structure into a sumptuous marquis residence.
The frescoes in the large halls on the first floor were commissioned by Francesco and Nicola D'Amore in 1692. The style used is late Baroque, a decorative style that affected all contexts of artistic expression and was the cornerstone of a period of reconstruction that transformed the architectural image of the area. The theme that runs through the decorative elements of the castle is focused on a play on words featuring the family surname (d'Amore) and the figures of Venus and Cupid, classical divinities of Love, as well as the matrimonial inheritance established by Pietro Giacomo, founder of the House, to prevent the dynasty from dying out and the property from being divided. It should also be underlined that the iconography of the frescoes, especially in the so-called "Ancient Hall", is based on Ovid's 'Metamorphoses'. These are parables that illustrate the benefits of a good marriage and the protection of the family fortune. The family coat of arms, which can also be seen in one of the frescoed rooms, is represented by a pelican opening its beak to give its heart and entrails to its young. The three chicks rest on three hills representing the fiefdoms of Ugento, Ruffano and San Mango, of which the D'Amore were Marquises.
Over the years, Ugento Castle fell into a state of disrepair until 2013, when restoration work began to restore the building to its former glory.
Today, one area of the castle has been transformed into an elegant resort, while the old warehouses house an international school of Mediterranean and Salento cuisine.
Culture, art and gastronomy come together to give a new face to this historic place.