The Norman Castle in Pereto, a small village of 700 inhabitants located about 40 minutes from Rome, was built in the present shape by Federico II di Svevia, who had a particular interest for the strategic residences with a fine view. For this reason high towers and walls were built. This typical Norman fortress, which was built to defend the Kingdom of Naples and the states of the Roman Church, became the place of the local feudal jurisdiction. Officials and owners followed one another in the course of the centuries, such as the Colonna, the Orsini and the Maccafani families, who thankfully didn’t change the present structure with no radical transformation and thanks also to the present owner, the baron Aldo Maria Arena. Recently the owner had completed a restoration of the castle in collaboration with the superintendence of the Fine Arts Department, a work made by the Irish architect Alfred COCHRANE, restore that has won the prize of the European Community for 1984. The works have been scrupulously conservative and the row and fine materials remain visible. The taste and the great refinement of the owner are visible in the reconstruction of the internal spaces and the furniture objects make this fortress warm and welcoming even though it appears harsh and invincible from the outside. As in each respectable castle, also in Federico’s castle there’s a ghost, the Conte dè Cantelmi’s ghost executed by the Orsini family in the XV century.
The living area of the castle is the great tower of Federico which is divided into four floors. On the first floor there is big fully equipped kitchen, a big courtyard precious for the ornamental plants, a well, a table and some armchairs to eat outside, a large lounge for 12 people with a fireplace. On the second floor there is a huge lounge with couches precious for the original frescos of the XIII century, the carpets and the paintings of the XV and XVI century besides the presence of a huge fireplace which contributes to give a regal atmosphere. The bedroom of Federico II is on the third floor together with a huge suite with a Spanish queen sized bed of the 600, a large bookcase, a closet room, a bathroom with a bathtub. The area for the guests, which is composed of two double bedrooms, a single bedroom, a bathroom with a bathtub is located on the fourth floor. The numerous precious works of art from Italy and Spain of the XV and XVI century contribute to give the finishing touch to each room in the castle of Federico di Svevia, a unique residence which can give to its guests the feeling of a real journey through history.
