Castello Svevo

The Castello Svevo sits at the southern tip of the Borgo Vecchio, its squat tower visible from anywhere on the seafront. It is small as castles go — essentially a single keep with corner turrets — but the position is dramatic, with the sea on three sides and the medieval town walls running back from it along the cliff edge. The interior is mostly empty; it occasionally hosts temporary exhibitions but the building itself is the attraction.

The terrace and the walk around the base of the walls offer the best photographs in Termoli. At sunset, with the Borgo Vecchio's pale stone houses catching the light and the Adriatic stretching east toward Croatia, it is one of the most atmospheric spots on the southern Italian coast.

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Frederick II rebuilt the castle in 1247 after the original Norman fortification was destroyed by a Venetian fleet that sacked Termoli the year before. The squat, square keep with its corner towers is the most complete surviving example of his late Sicilian military architecture on the Adriatic mainland, and the design — purely defensive, with no concession to comfort — reflects an emperor who was perpetually at war with both the papacy and his own restless barons.

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