This architectural curiosity stands on a hilltop 20km south of Andria. Its geometric layout is quite unlike most Italian castles: it’s perfectly octagonal, and lacks defensive features such as a moat, drawbridge or arrow slits.
Its location is also a conundrum, since it does not seem to have been built for any strategic purpose — there are no important towns or crossroads near by. It was most likely built as a hunting lodge or folly by Frederick II, but some scholars claim the castle may be an architectural symbol of Frederick’s religious devotion; during the middle ages, the octagon was seen as a sacred shape, combining the circle (symbolising the divine or infinite) and the square (symbolising the human, or finite world).
With its consistent winds and sun-baked islands, Greece is arguably the best place in Europe to go sailing. Spend your days cruising between rocky coves with impossibly clear water and tucking into olive oil-doused mezze at one of the many waterside tavernas. Here are the top postcard-perfect places to go sailing around Greece and its islands.
