Frederick II of Hohenstaufen (or of Souabe) reigned over the Puglia in the early 13C and raised the region to the height of its splendour. In 1233, he had this castle built on the former Byzantine and Norman buildings. The castle was reworked and reinforced in the 16C. You can still see however, the great trapezoid courtyard and two towers dating from the Souabe era.

In the heart of the old town, the basilica, built between 1087 and 1197 to house the relics of Saint Nicolas, brought back by sailors from Bari, is one of the remarkable examples of Roman art in southern Italy. Its sober, powerful façade, sparsely decorated with a sculpted doorway whose columns are supported by bulls, and a few gemelled openings, is flanked by two towers. The Lions' doorway, on the left side, is richly decorated. Behind the main altar, there is a beautiful episcopal throne.

The largest "trullo" in Alberobello: it has two levels and has no less than twelve cones... A few remaining pieces of furniture enable you to imagine how the different rooms were arranged.

The cathedral's Roman architecture (12C) has been reworked several times. The aisles are prolonged by vaulted chapels in a half-cupola, like the apse. Not to be missed, in the left aisle, the copy of the Exultet, a precious manuscript of Byzantine origin, written in Beneventine", Mediaeval writing used in southern Italy. The illumination was placed the back. By mistake? No: the faithful could thus see the pictures whilst the parchment was unrolled for the singers.