On our last day we toured a 13th century castle called Castel del Monte. It was built by King Frederick II during the 1240s who inherited the land from his mother, Constance of Sicily. In the 18th century the castle’s interior marble and remaining furnishings were removed. As it never had a moat or a drawbridge, historians fell that it was never intended to be used as a defensive fortress. There is really no documentation of its purpose. From what I have seen the lack of documentation for places like this is very rare.

The Italian government purchased the castle in 1876 for 25,000 lire and began restoration in 1928. In WWII the US Air Force used it as a secret navigational aid station called Big Fence at the Castle. In the 1950s, the soil around the castle was found to contain some kind of bacteria that eventually was used in a drug to treat cancer. Last but not least, the castle is depicted on the reverse side of the one cent euro coin.

Enough on the castle! The time was coming near to end our tour with Nino. Laura and I had talked many times about how Willie, our guide from Tanzania, was our benchmark for tour guides. Willie stood at the window in the little airport in the Serengeti when we left with tears running down his face. I was a joke between us when Nino kept moving up in the guide rankings. To say that he far surpassed Willie is an understatement. (Sorry Willie if you are still reading this blog.) Besides being a fabulous dancer, he can also sing (although he denies it.). He sang a love song in Italian on the bus one day that had Janice, Laura and me crying our eyes out, Below is some of the best of our Nino.

This is a video of a sad Nino who missed us and was upset that there was no one left to bring down his luggage or a bus to take him to his next adventure.

Nino, we all adored you and you will always be a part of our hearts!