It was located over today's piazza Matteotti and a few remains of it are still visible inside the adjacent buildings, which were built partly with stones and structural elements from the castle.

The castle was probably built before Altamura was founded by king Frederick II (1243) and it was probably the seat of the feudal lord governing the nearby cluster of villages.

[3] The castle was for a long time home to the Altamura family – the descendants of Sparano da Bari) – and it was the favorite residence of Giovanni Antonio Orsini Del Balzo, who was murdered therein in 1463.

[8] The castle was abandoned in the late 15th century;[4] thereafter it slowly started to fall into pieces, so much that in 1642 it was already "uninhabitable and apparently likely to collapse".

On the 18th century drawings and paintings are visible four big corner towers (consistently with other castles commissioned by Frederick II).

A part of the structure built by the Norman kings may have been incorporated in the renovation works made by Frederick II on the occasion of the foundation of Altamura.

[14] It is worth to note that Castel del Monte was first called by that name in a decree from Ferdinand I of Naples, written inside Altamura Castle on December 1, 1463.

Non-invasive solutions have been proposed in order to avoid damaging the historic heritage hidden underneath the square.