Composition scheme of the Castle (1135)

            The Castle of Ruggiero II rose near the church of Santa Maria a Piazza, nell'area del Patibulum, as a stronghold and northern limit of the third circle of walls, ofsquare form, with embattled towers on the angles, and oriented, according to an ancient division, on the four angles of the world: an old area, postica, of the sunset, of the west, as a stronghold and northern limit of the third circle of walls, ofsquare form, with embattled towers on the angles, and oriented, according to an ancient division, on the four angles of the world: an old area, postica, of the sunset, of the west.
            This one rose on four levels and an underfloor, the jails and the stores. The first finished with the balcony while the central area, the real castle was formed of two more levels.
            The third in the east and west towers had woodwork in the masonry: when a tower was conquered the other, being isolated, was still firm. In effect the tipology follows schemes of oriental by-pass whose origins are analyzed in the fortresses of Antiochia that it seems our builders have known. The embattled towers concluded a kind of frame still observable in the table by Arcuccio (1468).

            In the I Crusade the Normans were the first to achieve those oriental lands which, with Goffredo di Buglione and Boemondo, gathered in four states. Since the builders of the castle of Saone were Roberto, son of Tancredi, and his son William, the same men that went with Ruggiero, even the Castle of Aversa could be allotted to these men which castle presents many analogies with that of Saone.
            In addition, since Federico II well knew the castle of Aversa for visiting it on more occasions, it could not be excluded that the new plantis served to the castles of Puglia and Sicily.
            The castle was elaborated with the form of the golden bureau, 'medium and extreme cause'. To Fred II, instead, the creation of the inside portico, the remaking of the angular towers as well as the restauration of some hauls and, perhaps, also the sistemation of the new brook are due.
            After the damages of 1382, 1456-57, in 1492 the castle had a new arrangement by Alfonso di Aragona as it appears in the outlook of the city of Aversa (XV-XVI cent.) brought again by Pacicchelli where the quadrate with the rows of superposed stones and the balcony is observable.
            In the half of the XVIII century it was transformed into a Caserma of Cavalry perhaps on the basis of a plan by Luigi Vanvitelli: additions both on the wings of the ancient body and on the second and third level were executed. The fourth level was rebuilt. Following such intervention all the original structure disappeared fenced later by an unique architectural order, the Tuscan, and the brook completely covered. The castle is around 103 meters long of and 27 meters high.


A section of the Castle (1135)
Liable structure diagram of the Castle of Ruggiero II

            By Setting s identical to the diameter of the finite circumference of the ancientnucleus, m the dimension of the golden bureau, s-m theaverage proportional among the two measures.
            In addition, the entaglements of the sides of the castles, are 1/4 of the side while, the measure of base of the side of the castles, is the golden bureau of the diameter of the same.
           That is, setting one
s'=1/2m­0,309, we will have that the side of base of the castle is identical to 52 feet; from which the reports among 336 feet, side of the first level of the castle, 168, distance among the towers, 84, side of the castles, 52, golden bureau of the side of the base of the towers.

336:12=12x28=12x(4+6+8+10);

that is the number 336, a side of the castle, is the result of the multiplication of the sacred number 12 for the sum of the series of equal numbers, from the square to thedecagon (­circle), this was considered the geometric universal and perfect figure. In addition the dominion on the kingdom of Ruggiero - that, in the plan of the castle, considered as a solar clock, could have beenprefigured by himself - would coincide to the total shade that the gnomon casts in the inside courtyard of the castle at the solstice in winter (21 December), day very near to his date of birth (22 December 1095).



Return to page one
Artistic-monumental patrimony