| Eight stone walls stretch between eight octagonal towers and enclose an octagonal courtyard | Each of the two floors also has eight trapezoidal rooms |
|---|---|
| Built in the 1240s by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in southeast Italy, Castel del Monte Castle of the Mount features an unusual octagonal design |
Acclaimed and protected as a World Heritage Site in 1996, the castle symbolically reflects a harmonious integration of classical Roman, Arabic, and medieval architecture and design—and to some, its octagonal symmetry suggests a connection between heaven and earth.
20.