Italian castles Archives

The 10 most haunted places to visit in Italy

Photo CC-SA-BY by Pietro

Ghosts in Italy abound in its many haunted castles and old abandoned noble house, mingling gloomy stories of courtesans and old tyrants.

What are the 10 best places in Italy, where you can have direct contact with spirits and ghosts?
1. Turin

In Turin you can go to the Manor Moncalieri, an old abandoned castle in appearance, but still animated by the old legend of a macabre figure who prowl in the big rooms icy castle, witnessed several times by curious visitors who ventured to these areas. It is the austere figure of a dead monk, killed during a battle in the holy war,
2. Venice

Venice is definitely one of the Italian cities with the highest number of sightings of ghosts. One above all is near the Grand Canal near the Rialto Bridge, where on some days of the year you can see the ghost of Fosco Loredan, brandishing in his hands the head of the decapitated wife in the throes of a fit of jealousy.
3. Mantova

The castle of Mantova is the main character of a sad story. Here the rich landowner Francesco Gonzaga beheaded his wife Agnese Visconti, after discovering his betrayal. It is said that from the day of his death the lady to appear on the night of Christmas Day, wandering the castle and screaming forgive her husband for his betrayal.
4. Naples

In the beautiful Naples you can visit the monastery of St. Martin, which in addition to being an architectural gem is also home to many ghosts. In fact, legend has it that many who tried to attack the monastery were killed by royal guards. The bodies were never buried and just thrown to rot in the basement, with many still dying, and you can still hear the moans coming from icy underground.
5. La Spezia

In Scogna Sottana in the province of La Spezia, it is the famous “House of the Violin“, so called by the people, because it was inhabited by a famous musician. After his death, due to a long and serious illness, the house was empty for a long time and open to all who wish to stay for even one night. Many told that some nights, violin musician locked in a glass case began to play alone, and at the same time the walls of the house could be heard loud lamentations probably from the ghost violinist.
6. Palermo

The castle of Caccamo in Palermo is among the castles in Italy with more ghost sightings. In fact it is said that for anyone who visits it is not difficult to meet the old gentleman who ruled the castle, dressed in leather garments and with empty eye sockets still seeking revenge, as thrown alive in the dungeons of the castle after a conspiracy in him.
7. Milan

In the second half of the fourteenth century Bernarda, natural daughter of Bernabo Visconti, was locked in Rocchetta di Porta Nuova for adultery.
Bernarda died a few months after his imprisonment and seems to have reappeared on several occasions in the cloister of Saint Radegund in Milan, where you can still say you can see it while inveighing against the father.
8. Rome

The Phantom of Olimpia Pamphili still wanders through the square on a carriage pulled by beautiful horses blacks.
Many claim to have heard his laughter directed towards the people of Rome: her life was reserved a role of prestige and power, but never managed to make inroads in the hearts of Romans.
Today his revenge is to scare to death the unfortunate who walk at night to Piazza Navona.
9. Aosta

Aosta is one of the most beautiful castles in Italy, the Fenis castle, which is also open to visitors. Here many tourists claimed that they had heard noises and footsteps coming from the upper floor of the castle, but the strangeness is just that this plan has been fully sealed for centuries and therefore off-limits both for visitors and for the experts of the castle. The novelty is that a group of scholars of the paranormal has asked permission to the cultural heritage of the Valle d’Aosta region to investigate the phenomenon. We await further developments!
10. Genoa

Nearby Voltri near Genoa, there is one of Italy’s most famous haunted houses. It is called the house of their own souls, and was an old inn, where the managers – a family with serious mental problems – killed all those who stopped to refuel and then threw them in a mass grave. This abandoned building until the postwar period was then inhabited by a family who testified several times of strange facts and mysterious visions.

Italian castles and attraction for winter time

We love Italian castles as you already know; let’s go further with our seasonal trip discovering the beautiful architecture of this masterpiece (sometimes they are also UNESCO sites).

Today we go to Northen Italy and we will stop first to Soave. . This is a small wine town is enclosed by its medieval walls and topped by a castle. The town is in Veneto region, near Verona “the city of the lovers”. The scenario is breath-taking: the manor is surrounded by vineyards producing the famous Soave wine.
We can continue and land in Emilia Romagna, visiting Ferrara on the Po Delta. The walled Renaissance city brings about a lots of great examples of Romanesque and Gothic architecture. Its astonishing medieval castle, Castello Estense di Ferrara, is in the old town. Torrechiara Castle are instead located near Parma. Torrechiara is indeed very old and beautiful: the architecture and the structure traces back to the 15th century castle and inside we can find some unusual frescoes.

Going North?

Forte di Vinadio is located in the picturesque countryside inside the Stura Valley in the beautiful Piedmont, between Cuneo and France. The manor was built for King Carlo Alberto and it was an important 19th century fort. Forte di Vinadio is open mid-May through October.

Going South?
You can’t miss Castel dell’ Ovo (literally “EGG CASTLE”), which is the oldest castle in Naples. It dominates a beautiful position in a little island in Naples’ harbour. The original city was founded here in the 6th century BC. The castle nowadays is well-known for the international exhibitions and the numerous concerts. A curiosity: it is also a popular place for…weddings! The Castel Nuovo is a huge castle erected in 1279-1282, and it hosts the Civic Museum with 14th-15th century frescoes and paintings, silver, and bronzes from the 15th century to present.

Other gems from Puglia: manors and castles

The gems of Italy are its architectural imponent rocche, manors, castles spread a bit all over the place! Today we will go on tour inside Puglia, with its manors and castles overlooking the countryside or defending the sea from “li turchi”.

For example, Otranto is a lovely town on the east coast of the Salento Peninsula.

Otranto’s Castello Aragonese is exactly at the entrance to the town’s historic centre. The original castle was built before the 15th century, but in the Aragonese period it has been restructured. Nowadays it has been completely restored and open to tourists. Walk up to the top of the walls: a great view of the town and the sea is waiting for you! The first Gothic novel, the Castle of Otranto, written in 1764, has been inspired by this peculiar castle.

Another peculiar and charming castle is Castel Sant’Angelo, on the sea, located in the city of Taranto (located in the Puglia’s western coast). The King of Naples, Ferdinand of Aragon, built it in the fifteenth century. Originally it was acting as a main defensive system against water-based fights. The castle is currently a property of the Italian navy and you will not be able to visit the interior. The castle’s structure is pretty unique: the layout features large low turrets only slightly higher than the main castle walls.
Brindisi Castle is located on the opposite coast: commonly named as the “red castle” thanks to the color of the bricks, Brindisi castle shows two sections. The castle takes its starting point in 1227, during the reign of Emperor Frederick II. then it has been restored during the 15th century, but further extended during the 16th century.

During the Second World War, the castle became famous because it hosts King Victor Emanuel III while he was fleeing Rome.

Puglia medieval castles: a memory from the past

Puglia hosts numerous castles and medieval fortresses dating back to the 11th century and are a popular visit and trip among the visitors from all over the world to the southern Italy region. Castles are open to visitors often for no entrance fees as well, or they are housing art galleries or museums.

Many of Puglia’s castles are preserved and protected areas: for example the very famous Castel del Monte, open all year round and built in 1240 by Frederick II, well-known for its unusual octagonal shape and its architecture! A combination of classical Islamic and European Gothic styles, the castle is made up of a crown-like ring made of rooms and buildings. The rooms are all connected and there is a huge central octagonal courtyard.It is not a secret that this castle one of southern Italy’s UNESCO world heritage site.

The castle has a low entrance fee and it takes just an hour to visit it. The closest town? Andria with its 18 kilometers away. In the area you can visit several “masserie”, beautiful manor houses, where you can overnight.

Another gem is the Norman-Swabian castle (Castello Svevo) in Bari, the Puglia “capitale” called the Swabian Castle. Built by the Norman King Roger II in 1131 and later rebuilt by Frederik II, the castle has a working drawbridge and numerous ramparts. The Museum of Gypsum Works, sculptures and artifacts of Puglian history but also temporary art exhibitions are displayed here. This waterfront castle is near the harbor, just outside the beautiful and renovated Bari’s “citta’ vecchia”, that is the old town center. This glorious castle functioned as a guard for the city from the attacks of the pirates and the other armies.

In Bisceglie there is a 27 meter high Norman tower surrounded by walls. Built by Count Peter I in 1060, while the Normans originally constructed only the first floor, it was added later the castle as a last refuge for local inhabitants. The fisherman call the tower the Torre Maestra as it has been used by seafarers as a guide for ships. You will find now in the castle an ethnographic museum.