In the night, the scenographic lights enhance and soften the imposing shapes of the fortress with four towers, subtracted from the aggressions of time and the effects of a long abandonment.
On the green top of the hill of St. Nicolaof Vaglia, among the Lattari mountains, stands the classic profile of the castle of Lettere, to which the height gives what today is only a magnificent panorama, while in the past it was a strategic vision point to protect the northern border of the Republic and then of the Duchy of Amalfi. Not a great height, those 340 meters, but sufficient to guarantee a special view over the Sarno valley from the mountains of the same name to the mouth, towards Castellammare, with Vesuvius right in front.
The control over the dock of Castellammare and the gulf of Naples from that side had been the main reason why, at the fall of the Roman Empire, entering the sphere of influence of Amalfi that began its rise, the village of Lettere, probably seat of a castrum at the time of Silla, found itself playing a leading role in the defense of the territory of the Republic and its trade routes in the interior. For this purpose, the original fortification was built in the 10th century, incorporating the small village already existing, with its characteristic houses. The castra di Pino and Gragnano arose at the same time, to secure the Lattari on every side and seal the boundary of the Amalfi domain.
Inside the recently built walls, the cathedral had been built, since 987 the seat of a bishopric. Only two centuries later the religious complex was completed with a magnificent Romanesque bell tower adorned with geometric patterns of gray tuff and yellow sandstone.
After Amalfi’s fall, with the arrival of the Normans the castle wasn’t abandoned, rather it was enlarged with new walls, even more powerful, a new door with a drawbridge and a walkway with positions for the archers. Then came the time of the Swabians and the castle was entrusted in 1263 to Riccardo Filangieri. It was at that time that the fortress with its trapezoidal plan was enriched by another tower and a polygonal keep, located in the highest tower. In the Angevin era, further restructuring was also carried out to update the defenses with the advent of firearms, for which two turrets were built, in addition to the new south tower.
During the rule of the Aragonese, the structure gradually lost its defensive function, to be converted into a prestigious residence, as evidenced by the opening of windows on the severe walls, a bulwark against any attack. In 1529 Isabella de Caprona bought the castle, while agricultural activity was growing all around and pastoralism was experiencing a strong development. Activities that had to prove to be much longer than the manor over the centuries to follow, instead condemned to abandonment that caused its progressive destruction.
The turning point came only between the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the new millennium, when the complete restoration of the castle was started and completed, which with the archaeological excavations of 2007 revealed other service structures and a wide range of findings inside.
The latter are now exposed to the public in “Torre del Grano”, the lowest, used to store grain, where the Museum of the Archaeological Park of the castle of Lettere is set up. The materials, mostly ceramic and bronze, tell the daily history and habits of the ancient inhabitants of the fortress. And, in particular, those from the various shores of the Mediterranean, from North Africa to Spain and Sicily, also illustrate the importance that the castle had in the trade of Amalfi sailors with the internal territories and neighboring states.
