Fortress
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The Castello della Rocca stands on a rocky hill, north of the
village. As Arquata was a border land, the fortification of the
hill and the consequent building of the castle began around the
XI-XII centuries.
Queen Giovanna II of Naples chose it as her residence from 1420 till 1435, after her incoronation from Pope Martino V. The legend says that the ghost of the queen still can be seen on the glacis of the castle.
The complex of the buildings forming the castle has undergone various changes in the course of the centuries. The castle as it is today is the result of repeated interventions made during the whole XV century. It was restored in the twenties and then more recently has undergone new restoration works.
The first to be built on the hill was the tower
on the south-eastern corner. Hexagonally shaped - sloped and
surrounded by embrosures and merlons - is about 12 metres high.
Linked to the hexagonal tower must have been the town wall (a part is still existing today) which, stretching for 70 metres northside, went to close the only open side of the hill. The walls linking the tower to the town run eastside of the hill.
The tower on the north side was built between the XIV and the XVI century: it has a square base and it is 24 m. high. The tower, an imposing element of the fortress, was linked to the hexagonal tower by double walls enclosing a large rectangular space. Inside must have been a certain number of buildings allowing many people to live for many months in the Fortress.
All along the fifteenth century Arquata and the Fortress were at the centre of violent wars between the city of Norcia and the city of Ascoli for the possession of the town, which however, remained tied to Norcia till 1554 when the papal appointment of the Lord of the castle, put an end to every local autonomy.
The last piece built in the
fortress is a 10-metres-large round tower on the south-east
corner, with a deep escarpment e and protected by a
counter-escarpment. This tower, 12 metres high, was internally
full of loam to form a terrace on the top where the guns were
placed. Of the round tower, today, only the foundations are left.
These were brought to light during recent restoration works.
