The origins The name derives from the Latin “rosetum” (rose garden) because here there was a widespread cultivation of roses, that grew even in the cold months, while the words Capo Spulico were added in 1970 due to the geographical proximity of the town to the Cape Spulico, which separates the Gulf of Taranto from that of Corigliano Calabro, and was once the border between Sibaritide and Siritide. 
Rose petals on which to rest your tired legs Originally Roseto was one of the satellite cities of Sybaris, in the days of Magna Graecia. In Roseto were cultivated roses, whose petals were used to fill mattresses on which the Sybarites slept. Today’s Roseto was born in the tenth century A.D. and reached its peak in 1260 when the Castrum Petrae Roseti (Roseto Castle) was built. After a period of decline and submission to baronial power, aggravated by the unification of Italy, only at the end of the seventies a “progress in tourism” for Roseto began: in recent years the Borgata Marina has definitely got its shape, having been a hamlet until then inhabited only by a few families of fishermen who lived around the railway station.
The Castle
The anvil stone Roseto Capo Spulico castle rises in an incomparable landscape position, on a rock slightly raised above the surrounding sand, in contemplation of the Ionian Sea clear waters. Just opposite, at sea, stands a uniquely shaped rock called ‘castle mushroom’ or ” anvil stone”. San Vitale Castronuovo and the faith of stone The Castle of Roseto Capo Spulico, firmly perched on a rock, dates from the tenth century. As recalled by San Vitale da Castronuovo: it is on the “Petrae Roseti” that the Saint founded a monastery. On the ruins of the sacred building arose the “Castrum Petrae Roseti” in the eleventh century thanks to the Normans.
Roseto favourite among the possessions of Frederick At that time the castle was the border between the lands of Robert Guiscard and his brother Ruggero II, father of Costanza d’Altavilla, heir to the Kingdom of Sicily and mother of Frederick II Hoheustaufen. In the thirteenth century (1229), already Temple of the Order, it was requisitioned by Frederick II from the Knights Templar, in retaliation for their betrayal during the sixth crusade to the Holy Land (1228). It was restored and converted into a military fortress; in fact, from the Angevin Registers we know the extent of the garrison assigned to the fortress, which in 1275 was composed of the castle, a squire and twelve guards. Frederick himself, who had the castle close to his heart, took care of it in his will, as shown in the “Da Monumenta Germaniae Historia, Legu, Sectio IV: Tomus II, n. 274″, assigning the territory of Porta Roseti to his natural son Manfred, and all the castles and especially the “Templar Petrae Roseti” to the legitimate children who would also be the Kings of Jerusalem. At the time of the Hoenstaufen the castle was decorated with magnificent paintings, presumably of a profane nature, which today have unfortunately disappeared. A thirteenth century’s document recalls in fact as, in his office, the Swabian emperor supported conservative intervention, in order to ward off the dangers on the woodwork and paintings from the infiltration of rain. The spirit of Frederick and the Templars is still alive today in the stones of the castle Today, after careful restoration works by the owner company, it shines as a classic example of fridericianum architecture of Templar derivation. The large courtyard surrounded by crenellated walls is closed by an arch that has alchemical-Templar emblems such as the “Rose” and the “Lilies” that make the “Castrum Petrae Roseti” a Temple of the Order. On its derivation from alchemical-esoteric Templar models a recent hypothesis has arisen, which would derive the forms from the Temple of Jerusalem. Furthermore, according to the same recent studies, there would even have been kept the Holy Shroud, episode to be related to a number of Rosicrucian and Templar symbols scattered around the castle. 
The castle structure The shape of the castle fortress of Roseto Capo Spulico is set on an irregular trapezoidal shape, following the trend of the lithological layer below and lets recognize the oldest parts in the highest of the towers. The general architecture is apparently centred on the size of a square tower, against which leans a factory body of rather detailed and complex manifacture. The entrance is formed in the wall of a circular curtain with jutting, while a square turret on the opposite side and a crenellated wall on the side of the sea contribute to complete the construction set. The presence of the jutting betrays successive modifications of Frederick’s time, perhaps during the Angevin rule. Of great interest are the well-shaped limestone refinements of the windows, which open with their elegant arches to illuminate the dark shadow of the wall texture. Source: icastelli.it/wikipedia/castellofedericiano.it/mondimedievali.net
