Castello di Monte San Giovanni Campano

About

The Castle of Monte San Giovanni is a medieval fortress in Monte San Giovanni Campano, Lazio, central Italy, built in the 11th century. The castle is known as the place where Thomas Aquinas was imprisoned by his family ca. 1240 to 1242 in an attempt to dissuade him from joining the Dominican Order. It is also the first fortification ever to be breached because of shelling from portable artillery, in 1495.

History and description: The castle is distinguished by two towers, one quadrangular and one pentagonal. The pentagonal shape is unusual in castles of this type. The towers are nearly unmodified examples of 11th century defensive architecture. The remaining walls are 3.5 meters thick, with two bartizans, double-width patrol walks, and communications passages within the walls. The rooms in which Thomas Aquinas had been held are at the base of the rectangular tower. These are remnants of a larger defensive structure that once included five towers and walls that entirely enclosed a ducal palace and supporting town. The palace was the home of the Count d'Aquino at the time of his son's imprisonment. The castle town could hold more than a thousand defenders and had been for...