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In this place a fortress, called Artemisium, already existed at the time of the Romans and continued to exist throughout the Middle Ages, assuming from the sixth century the name of Sant'Agata, which is still dedicated to a small chapel inside the building. Later it became a Lombard outpost and the ruins of the walls of this era are visible to the south of the castle. It then passed into the hands of the Normans, but it is with the Swabians and Frederick II that the Castle begins to take on the appearance that today shows. The emperor included him among the castra exempta, or rather among the fortresses of particular strategic importance and therefore directly administered by the royal curia, and began work of restructuring and expansion.
The transformations continued even under the Angevins, and it was the Orsini, in the Aragonese period to convert it into a ducal residence. In 1576 it passed to the Loffredo family, which by now became a noble residence. The last inhabitants of the Castle belonged to the Good Family and in 2000 its property passed to the Municipality.
The building is compact and powerful; it has a quadrangular plan and is equipped with towers, from which you can enjoy a panorama that embraces the Monti Dauni, the Tavoliere, Puglia Imperiale, Il Vulture and Irpinia. It is accessed after passing a large stone portal lined with an arch, surmounted by two marine animals and the coat of arms of the Loffredo. The only entrance to the inner courtyard of the Castle is represented under the vault of its deep arch Captain Agatone, legendary inhabitant of the fortress, who was slaughtered by his barber about to marry and unwilling to allow his lord to exercise the ius primae noctis. Part of the building is a multimendial museum on Frederick II and the Middle Ages.
