The ancient fortress Characterized by a polygonal and irregular ring plan that goes around a wide internal courtyard, the Ducal Castle stands on the site of an ancient fortress built by the Romans after the Social War, as evidenced by traces of ordinary walls and other works come in the light of the princes of the century in the quadrangular courtyard. 
Drogone the Norman Some local scholars assumed, as manufacturers, the palatine counts of Loretello, Lords of Bovino from 1059 to 1182; while others argue that it was the Norman Drogone, Count of Apulia arrived in the Bovinese territory in the first half of the eleventh century, to destroy, after several fights, the first defensive construction and to build on its own ruins the initial core of the castle, barricaded to the massive cylindrical tower designed to guarantee him safe defense; the latter located “astraddle” on a truncated pyramidal spur maintained this form for another four centuries, as evidenced by the oblong crenels of the sixteenth century. The Swabian bridge house Next to it there is a building known as the Bridge House, the only trace of the original Swabian building built to accommodate the lieutenant of the Emperor and a small number of soldiers. In the twelfth century the castle housed Manfred, son of Frederick II, during the trip before a battle. The rich house of the Guevara In 1563, after belonging to various lords and nobles, the castle became the property of Delfina Loffredo, mother of Don Juan Guevara, whose descendants would inhabit the ducal palace until 1961 and gradually transform it into a rich home worthy of hosting royalty and famous characters (Torquato Tasso, Maria Theresa of Austria, Pope Benedict XIII, Giovan Battista Marino). Since then, the ducal castle has belonged to the bishop’s dining hall and has been the subject of constant interest aimed to give it a new life and prestigious cultural value. In the private chapel of the Lords of Bovino are preserved various relics of Saints and a thorn from Christ’s crown, probably gifts bestowed by Popes Gregory XIII and Pope Innocent VIII to the Dukes of Guevara, their relatives. Sources: Giovanni Anzivino Ester Lorusso
