The upper part of the village hosts the Castle (or Palazzo Ducale), built by Drogone the Norman in 1045 over the ruins of an ancient Roman fortress and was expanded at a later stage by Fredrik II Hohenstaufen. Every feudal lord who succeeded him adjusted the building to his needs and gradually transformed it into an elegant aristocratic mansion which replaced the ancient defensive function. The South wall (called crib) still hosts ruins of the ancient Roman fortress, whereas the impressive Tower called straddle tower dates back to the Norman age. Until 1961 it was inhabited by the descendants of the Guevaras, and during the 1600s it was considered one of the most beautiful aristocratic mansions in Southern Italy. Its large halls with louvered strip waffle slab ceilings and its magnificent hanging garden hosted Torquato Tasso, Giovan Battista Marino, Maria Theresia of Austria and Pope Benedict XIII. The chapel of the Palazzo Ducale hosts a silver reliquary containing one of the thorns of the crown worn by Jesus on his head and other relics, probably donated by the Popes Gregory XIII and Innocentius VIII.