Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and Italy

Castel del Monte has more vibes than "The Da Vinci Code." I didn't know why I had to see it, except I love a good mystery. And it is surely one, a model for the labyrinthine library in <a class="taxInlineTagLink" id="PECLB001519" title="Umberto Eco" href="/topic/entertainment/umberto-eco-PECLB001519.topic">Umberto Eco</a>'s 1983 medieval whodunit, "The Name of the Rose." I stood in the castle's deserted courtyard at dusk, nerves taut, heart thumping, ears pitched, wishing the walls could talk.<br> <br> But Castel del Monte, as silent as a sarcophagus and as strange as a UFO, keeps its secrets, glowing like the crown of its 13th century builder, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II.<br> <br> -- Susan Spano<br> <br> <b>Read more: </b> <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2006/apr/02/travel/tr-castel2"> In Italy, a riddle wrapped in stone </a><br> <br> <i>Pictured: Castel del Monte in <a class="taxInlineTagLink" id="PLGEO000004" title="Italy" href="/topic/intl/italy-PLGEO000004.topic">Italy's</a> boot.</i>

( Susan Spano )

Castel del Monte has more vibes than "The Da Vinci Code." I didn't know why I had to see it, except I love a good mystery. And it is surely one, a model for the labyrinthine library in Umberto Eco's 1983 medieval whodunit, "The Name of the Rose." I stood in the castle's deserted courtyard at dusk, nerves taut, heart thumping, ears pitched, wishing the walls could talk.

But Castel del Monte, as silent as a sarcophagus and as strange as a UFO, keeps its secrets, glowing like the crown of its 13th century builder, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II.

-- Susan Spano

Read more: In Italy, a riddle wrapped in stone

Pictured: Castel del Monte in Italy's boot.

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