The historic center of this town of almost 17 thousand inhabitants was seriously destroyed by an earthquake in 1627. Torremaggiore immediately transmits an arcane and mysterious charm. The historic center has a medieval layout, with the presence of elegant military architecture, such as the ducal palace, which in the Middle Ages was a real castle of which the imposing Maschio and the four round crenellated towers with arrow slits remain. The ruins of another Swabian castle also appear. Among the alleys, the bell towers of elegant religious architecture emerge, such as the church of Santa Maria della Fontana or that of Santa Maria degli Angeli, or the church of the Madonna del Carmine or the mother church dedicated to San Nicola.
Torremaggiore has a close relationship with Emperor Frederick II. In fact, Frederick's court scribe seems to have predicted that the emperor would die in a place named after a flower. A little further on from Torremaggiore, there is a place called Castel Fiorentino (an archaeological site of great importance). According to some historical sources and other more legendary ones, in 1250 the Stupor Mundi died in this place.
Legend has it that in 1250, Frederick II, disheartened by the imprisonment of his son Enzo and by the continuous defeats in battle both in Germany and in northern Italy, breathed his last. For some years this site has attracted the attention of many scholars and archaeologists who have highlighted some elements that lead back to its flourishing origins, it was in fact a citadel in all respects, characterized by a cathedral, the emperor's palace and an urban area. Over the centuries this area has been conquered and plundered several times but still retains an extraordinary beauty and a touch of mystery that make it unique in the world.
Raimondo di Sangro, seventh prince of Sansevero, was an inventor, writer, scientist and specialist in the magical arts. Born in Torremaggiore, but at a young age moved to Naples with his grandparents, he lives a daring existence, constantly searching for the most intimate and hidden secrets of reality.
The legends surrounding the Prince of San Severo are endless, and even today an arcane veil continues to cloak his memory, fueling the image of a Bourbon kingdom devoted to the occult and initiatory secrets. For the people, the prince was simply a sorcerer.
He spent much of his time in the basement of his palace near Piazza San Domenico in Naples where he opened a printing shop using printing techniques that were innovative for the time. He devoted himself with an almost feverish passion to the study of nature and its secrets, experimenting with devices of his own invention and it is believed that he managed to discover (one hundred and fifty years in advance) the foundations of radioactivity.
Now considered an epigone of the alchemical tradition and a “great initiate”, now an interpreter of the young modern science, Raimondo di Sangro still fuels a true myth destined to arouse curiosity and last for centuries.
Mustaccioli
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