Carafa Castle

Crenellated towers, underground passages, esotericism, and mystery. The Carafa Castle in Cirò (KR) is truly a place full of charm and intrigue. It is located in the upper part of the village, and its two towers offer breathtaking views. We are in the “City of Wine”, overlooking the Ionian Sea and known for its Cirò DOC wine, whose ancient history has its roots in Magna Graecia.

The Castle was built at the end of the 15th century at the behest of Count Andrea Carafa and is recognizable by its towers. The outer wall was built when it became necessary to make it inaccessible to Saracen raids. It has a trapezoidal plan, two circular towers, and a pentagonal crenellated bastion. However, it is inside that the Carafa Castle offers visitors an unusual sight: the flooring of the inner courtyard, accessible from a barrel-vaulted entrance hall, features local stone paving with a nine-pointed star motif surrounded by a circle. These designs are attributed to the mathematician and astronomer Luigi Lilio, who was born in Cirò in 1510. In 1582, he devised the Gregorian calendar, which after 15 centuries replaced the one promulgated in 46 BC by Julius Caesar. The function and meaning of the symbols that characterize the Carafa Castle are unclear, just as the purposes of some of the rooms inside the manor are shrouded in mystery. The upper floor certainly contains apartments and other rooms for servants, but according to legend, there are 365 rooms inside, one for each day of the year.

The castle was a noble residence until the mid-1950s, inhabited or frequented by King Charles III of Bourbon and Luigi Lilio himself, among others.