Castello Volante

The De Monti’s Castle in Corigliano d’Otranto represents, in the words of G. Bacile di Castiglione, the “most beautiful monument of military and feudal architecture of the early 16th century in the Terra d’Otranto,” and certainly constitutes the most successful example of the transition from medieval square towers to Renaissance round towers. Today it has a Baroque facade built in the 17th century, with decorative corbels and anthropomorphic figures along the balcony. No furnishings, no ornaments bear witness to this period of splendor and wealth, instead some structural changes made since the 18th century suggest the use of the place for productive purposes. The castle, in fact, went from being a noble residence to being used as an underground oil mill, then as a steam mill and, finally, for much of the 20th century as a tobacco factory, following what were the economic-manufacturing vocations of the area. It has been municipal property since December 1999 and today, with the ‘Flying Castle’ project, it is a cultural space open to the community and the territory, a creative workshop for the production of images, sounds and visions.