Several historic castles of Abruzzo were strongholds or fortifications on mountaintops to guard the valleys, particularly those of the Sangro and Pescara rivers. Invasion by the Lombards and Normans (in the sixth and eleventh centuries, respectively) followed the fall of the Western Roman Empire, and the area was subsequently ruled by several regional counts and potentates. To maintain control over the area, the Lombards mainly constructed watchtowers and small fortified garrisons, which were typically very small.
King Alfonso I of Aragon repopulated numerous abandoned castles in the area in 1442 during his reign. The Abruzzi coastline was frequently looted by the Ottomans between 1510 and 1566. To counter this threat, Emperor Charles V built a defensive system of coastal towers in the Kingdom of Naples, designating Pescara as the bastion of the Giustizierato d’Abruzzo, Justitiaratus Aprutii apud Sulmonam, an administrative district of the Kingdom of Sicily established in 1233 by Frederick II.
This is a list of castles in Abruzzo, arranged by province.
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