Caracciolo Castle

Quadrangular-map building, with four angle towers, that develop him on two floors.
Certainly the building existed in 1504, as a registration attests it on a calcareous tablet that tells of a "Building called Centurione" and to its vassal Heronimo Centurione, whose family operated in Bari from the second halves the XV century. Nevertheless we can conjecture that the construction has had origin in Norman epoch as outpost of control and defense, and that has been turned then in agricultural house.

From 1609 the Centurione Building becomes ownership of Michele Vaaz, founder of the village, until 1667, year in which his nephew Simone sells the feud to the Regal Councilor Antonio de Ponte.
From this moment the Building suffers numerous rehashes.
Repaired because falling in 1675 by De Ponte, the castle passes by hereditary acquisition to the Caracciolos of Vietri in 1779, under which, around 1860, it comes completely turned into the building to vacation from the architect Ascanio Amenduni of Casamassima. He widened the portals of entry, he realized the crenelated towers, the prospectus covered with calcareous-stone ashlar, the bifore windows, the inside staircase. The Caracciolos tie their name to the ancient building for over two centuries: still, in fact, the castle is denominated Caracciolo.

Between the first and the second world war it suffers further interventions with the remaking of the attic of the second floor and with the construction of other two crenelated turrets.
From 1991 up to 2001 other interventions of repair have been realized by the architects Lorenzo Netti and Stefano Bianco, that they have tried to bring the structure, at least to the inside, to her native aspect.
In 1971 the Municipality purchases the Castle from the Caracciolos and in 1974 it deliberates the destination of it to center of the Museum of the Country Civilization.