Fortifications in Abruzzo's coastal territory: the Aragonese Castle of Ortona

Located on the southern coast of Abruzzo, the Aragonese Castle of Ortona dominates the Adriatic coast with its dramatic overhang overlooking the sea. The building is one of Abruzzo's most important examples of the transformation of a mediaeval fortification into a Renaissance ‘elevation’: in fact, the fortress was built in 1452 by the Aragonese on top of a 13 century angioine building, imposing itself in an area occupied from the Bronze Age to the Roman era, and still in the Byzantine age. The pentagonal layout, with angular cylindrical towers with a scarp-base and connected by solid walls preceded by a wide moat, has a clear defensive function typical of the new military typology of the second half of the 15th century, commissioned by Alfonso of Aragon to reinforce coastal defense. There are many cartographic references from the 16th and 17th centuries, such as the Ottoman Marine Cartography and the Agostiniana Map of 1583 (Giannetti, Falcone, 1995), that includes the Aragonese Castle among the many fortifications on the Adriatic coast. In use throughout the 16th century, as the harbour moved southwards, the fort lost its defensive function and was converted into a mansion in the 17th century. In the 19th century, the castle fell into disuse housing a powder magazine until the Second World War, when it was seriously damaged in the sadly famous Battle of Ortona. Due to unstable ground, in 1946 the northern curtain wall and part of the north-western tower fell into the sea. Nowadays, only four of the original five impressive towers remain, restored in the 2000s and still require special maintenance.