Baronial Castle

the Baronial Castle of Policoro, located in the historic center of the town of Policoro, in Basilicata, Italy. This castle dates back to the 13th century and was built by the Normans to defend the town from Saracen attacks. The castle was later enlarged and reinforced by the Angevins and the Aragonese.The Baronial Castle, also known as the Berlingieri Palace, arose around the year 1000 as a fortified farmhouse, changing in the following centuries. Basilian monks were the initiators of the construction of the building whose function was as a fortified monastery and agricultural production center.Later, in 1791 Princess Maria Grimaldi Gerace Serra bought it and turned it into a noble farmhouse and built the village around it. In 1893 the castle passed to Baron Berlingieri of Crotone, after whom it was named.In the 1950s, land reform expropriated the Baron's land, subdividing the property and entrusting it to families from all over Basilicata. After a period of neglect, the castle returned to its former glory through restoration work.