THE ORIGINS OF THE NAME, HISTORICAL NOTES
High Castro
The toponym derives from the Greek Κάστροων (fortified place, fortress). In Roman times it became Latinized in Castrum and the settlement took the name of Castrum Minervae due to the presence of a temple consecrated to Minerva
The important findings made in the Zinzulusa and Romanelli Caves attest to the human presence of this territory already starting from the post-paleolithic and Neolithic age (Monte Lacquaru locality) and, during the Bronze and Iron ages, there are the first testimonies urban planning of fortifications (locality Palombara, Mucurune).
The urbanization of the center probably dates to the classical and Hellenistic age, when the settlement was closed by mighty fortification walls and, within it, the sanctuary of Athena or templum Minervae was built (4th century b.C.).
In the 4th century BC, it was inhabited by the Messapian with the name of ΛΙΚ (on the Map of Soleto) and by the Greeks.
In 123 BC it became a Roman colony and took the name of Castrum Minervae (as it is found in the Peutingerian table).
Following the division of the Roman Empire, Castro became a Byzantine possession and suffered frequent attacks by the Alani and Ostrogoths in 378, by the Vandals in 456, by the Goths in 543, then by the Lombard and the Hungarians.
In 682 it was elected as a bishopric at the behest of Pope Leo II.
With the Normans and the subsequent Swabian domination, it became a thriving commercial center and a secure military stronghold.
It was then conquered by the Arabs, who renamed it: “Al Gatara” (the Castle), they will dominate it for eleven years, until it is freed by Ludovico II. The severe tower of the Knights, the courtyard of the Castle, a place intended for the collection and storage of artisanal and agricultural products that were marketed throughout the Mediterranean and the medieval village, with its narrow and winding streets, remain evidence of that splendid period.
In 1102 the Venetians made it one of their ports, but only for a year.
In 1103 it was elevated to the rank of County with Tancredi di Altavilla, who had the Contado di Castro as a family pact. This, in 1127, was then absorbed by Ruggero II, Count of Sicily.
From 1046 to 1068 Castro was disputed between Normans and Byzantines.
In 1270, the County of Castro passed under the principality of Taranto.
In 1296 the Aragonese family conquered the city and strengthened the fortifications, but this did not prevent Ludovico II from conquering it in 1348.
Over the centuries the Biellotto, the De Franco, the De Bugiaco, the Orsini del Balzo families succeeded each other, who between 1420 and 1463 had the Principality of Taranto and the Counties of Lecce and Castro.
After 1460 the attacks of the Turks began and, for this, Count Giulio Acquaviva fortified the city.
In 1480, when Alfonso D’Aragona arrived, the Turks barricaded themselves in Otranto. In this century the city had to undergo raids by the Saracens, which caused considerable damage to the city. The most terrible, in 1537 (which led to the shift of the bishop's seat from Castro to Poggiardo) and in 1573, definitively prostrated it: counts and bishops abandoned it for more comfortable and safer locations; the surviving population moved to the inland hamlets and the ancient Castrum Minervae remained desolate.
Then it passed to the Della Posta, in 1534 to the Gattinara, then to the Ruiz de Castro, to the Lopez di Zunica and, from 1777, to the Rossi family who ruled until the subversion of feudalism in 1806.
The abolition of feudalism determined the definitive decline of Castro and the suppression of the diocese in 1818 was the coup de grace. The small town was thus aggregated to the municipality of Diso constituting a simple hamlet.
In the 1920s, the castle, towers and walls became the property of Vincenzo Lazzari di Castro who, in the 1960s, sold them to the Catalano family. From the latter, in 1983, the ruins of the ancient castle with the walls passed to the Municipality of Castro.
The rebirth of the town and the development of the same into an active center of fishermen, artisans and tour operators starting from the second half of the twentieth century, determined the return of the municipal autonomy in 1975.For further information:
Visualizza