The central courtyard of Trani Castle holds traces of a loggia, demolished in the 16th century, where some carved corbels depicting Adam and Eve and the Annunciation proclaim the impartiality of imperial justice towards the inhabitants of Trani, both Jewish and Christian.
In 1533, the castle was adapted by Emperor Charles V for the use of firearms, strengthening the southern front based on a design by the Spaniard Fernando de Alarcon.
Serving as the seat of the Sacred Royal Audience of Terra di Bari from 1586 to 1677, it was used as a prison from the mid-1800s until 1974.
