Castel del Monte Puglia
CASTLE ON A HILL Long before you reach the majestic Castel Del Monte castle, it appears before you, rising on the only hill on the dry Apulian Plain of Murgia, near the town of Andria. From a distance, it looks like a crown. As you get closer, its unusual octagonal shape makes it decidedly different from the vast network of defensive castles that dot the landscape of Puglia. Built by Emperor Frederick II of Swabia in the 13th century, there…