Frederick II (1194–1250) spoke 6 languages, founded a university, wrote a book on falconry, and was excommunicated twice. The Pope called him the Antichrist. His own court called him Stupor Mundi (Wonder of the World).
Plan a history trip →Born in Jesi (Marche), raised in Palermo, Holy Roman Emperor at 26. He continued the Norman tolerance: his Sicilian court had Muslim soldiers, Jewish advisors, and Christian priests. He founded the University of Naples (1224, now "Federico II" — the oldest public university in the world). He wrote De Arte Venandi cum Avibus (On the Art of Hunting with Birds), a scientific treatise on ornithology that is astonishingly modern. He built Castel del Monte (Puglia) — an octagonal geometric puzzle that still baffles historians.
Castel del Monte (Andria, Puglia, €10): octagonal castle on a hill. UNESCO. On the back of the Italian 1-cent coin. No one knows what it was for (no kitchen, no moat, no defensive features). Palermo: his tomb in the Cathedral (red porphyry sarcophagus). Bari: Castello Svevo (€8), which he rebuilt. Lucera (Puglia): fortress (€5) where he settled 20,000 Sicilian Muslims.
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