The imposing silhouette of the Norman-Swabian castle is the symbol of Melfi, and its history is bound up with the prominent figures who have succeeded one another over the centuries in the city nestled on the slopes of Monte Vulture.

Commissioned by Robert Guiscard, extended by Frederick II, fitted with new towers by Charles I of Anjou, and remodelled by the Caracciolo and Doria families, the castle of Melfi almost seems to emerge from the crest of a hill, and it is impossible not to concur with those who consider it to be the most famous castle in Basilicata, and one of the largest in southern Italy.

The ten towers—seven of them rectangular, and three pentagonal—immediately catch the eye. Of the four entrances, three are Angevin, and through one of them, opened by the Dorias, you enter the village through a bridge, which was once a drawbridge. Once through the gate, you enter the beautiful main courtyard, overlooked by the baronial palace and the noble chapel.

The ground floor of the castle houses the Museo Archeologico Nazionale del Melfese (Melfese National Archaeological Museum), which preserves important archaeological documentation found in the area, while the Clock Tower contains the magnificent Roman sarcophagus, unearthed in 1856, also known as the 'Sarcophagus of Rapolla' as it was once kept in the town's square of Rapolla.

No doubt belonging to a high-ranking figure, it is a fine product from the second half of the 2nd century from Asia Minor. The cover depicts the deceased lying down.