Cardiff

The castle of Cardiff rises in the center of the modern Capital of Wales. Its main particularity is that in no other building of Great Britain cohabits therefore many architectonic styles of various ages. The construction is the combination of a Roman fort, a classic Norman fortress " Motte-and-Bailey " and of the gothic-Victorian restoration operated in the half of the nineteenth century.

As already said the original nucleus of the castle  was a work of the Roman legions, that at the half of the first century DC, during their first attack to South Wales, constructed here a wooden fort . Towards the end of the third century the existing "castrum" was reconstructed in masonry . Still today the structure of the fencing is the original one, covering approximately ten hectares, of which are still visible the foundations sited in the basements of the medieval castle. During the Norman invasion  was William the Conqueror who chose Cardiff like an ideal center for building its castle in the heart of  Glamorgan. The construction started in the year 1081 with the elevation of an earthwork inside the ancient circle of the   Roman walls, on which was erected a wooden "keep".

Cardiff became  the main administrative center of the region. The Lords who had  the command on the castle brought  many changes to it since the years 1121-47. The keep in stone encircled from the full water ditch that we see today was built at this time. The stone curtain walls and the main door of access to the fencing, dominated from the Black Tower, are works of Gilbert de Clare, that in the 1270 operated  a great strengthening of the structures , like to Caerphilly and Coch, in sight of the Welsh rebellion guided from Llywelyn ap Gruffud. In the 1306 the castle passed to Hugh the Despenser, that continued  to control  the region for the King until the year 1321. In the 1404, during the rebellion of the natives  guided from Owain Glyndwr,  the city of Cardiff  was given to flames and the castle endured serious damages. In the 1414 the castle's owners became  the Beauchamps, an other local noble family. They erected the residential area of the castle, the " palace ",  along the west curtain walls. The stronghold changed still various owners until when, in the XVI century, with the climb to the throne of England of the Welsh dynasty of the Tudor, goes directly under  the crown control. In the 1550 William Herbert, brother of King Henry VIII's last wife,  obtained the control of the fortification. During the civil war the castle was besieged by the parliamentary forces (1645). Although this the castle did not endure serious damages, but its   maintenance became for the Herbert family untenable, and in 1776 yield it to the marquises of Bute.

In 1867 the third marquis, John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, started a complete restoration of the complex given the works direction to the architect William Burges. The two men were large estimators of the medieval age and entirety succeeded to create a splendid recalling of the feudal past, and quite brought back to the light the Roman ruins. Perhaps in putting in work their dreams in the inner halls of the part of the castle known as  "The  Palace " exaggerated  in extravagance (it seem also thanks to the smoke of opium!): the walls abound of fantastic murals with historical and mitological figures, the fireplaces are rich of  sculptures and the "Arabic room" is equipped with a vaulted stone ceiling decorated with gold images of a leaf. Quite a hanging garden was created. The wonder of the work but is considered the Clock Tower, symbol of the city. All this makes of the castle of Cardiff the more singular building of the Victorian age. The property step in 1947 to the town council of Cardiff, that still today have it in cure and maintenance.