Štafileo Castle

Štafileo Castle, locally known as Kaštel Štafileo or Kaštel Rotondo, lies in the town of Kaštel Štafilić, in the county of Split-Dalmatia in Croatia.

After Bosnia fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1463, Dalmatia, then part of the Venetian Republic, faced the threat of Ottoman invasions. Local landowners, including the Split Archbishopric, monasteries, and nobles from Trogir and Split, aimed to protect their estates and the villagers working for them. Over the following decades, they built 17 fortifications and fortified 12 villages along the coast of Kaštela Bay, between Trogir and Split.

Štafileo Castle was one of these fortifications. It was built by Stjepan Štafileo from Trogir in 1508 on a group of coastal rocks, after receiving permission from Count Paolo Malipiero in 1500. A bridge over a wet moat connected it to a levee linked to the mainland. A small village was established on the levee and was fortified with a curtain wall and corner towers.

In 1650, the castle was acquired by the Rotondo family. Later, the moat surrounding the castle was filled in, and other modifications caused it to lose its defensive appearance.

Currently, Štafileo Castle appears to be private property and can only be viewed from the outside.

Gallery