Evoli Castle

The Castello d’Evoli in Castropignano tells a millennia-old story.

The area was already inhabited during the Bronze Age: the Samnites built a fortification to militarily control the Castel di Sangro-Lucera tratturo.

However, the name is associated with the d’Evoli family. Giovanni d’Evoli, Baron of Frosolone, expanded and reinforced the structure in 1362. He built the South tower and, most importantly, modernized the interior spaces.

Legend has it that the Castle contained around 365 rooms inside. In 1636, under the rule of Giambattista d’Evoli, it transformed into a lavish noble residence, a symbol of the family’s economic power.

In the nineteenth century, to pay off debts to the state, the Castle was sold and stripped of its luxurious furnishings. It was later damaged by wartime bombings, and part of the structure collapsed.

A story of success, celebration, then decline and abandonment. Its walls house the legend of the young Fairy, who refused to honor the Duke’s ius primae noctis, throwing herself from a rocky precipice, still known today as “the Fairy’s corner”.