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TREASURE MAPS Twenty Itineraries Designed to Help You Explore the Cultural Heritage of and its Province

Soprintendenza per i Beni culturali e ambientali di Palermo MEDIEVAL by Ferdinando Maurici

REGIONE SICILIANA Assessorato dei Beni culturali e dell’Identità siciliana PO FESR 2007-2013 Linea d’intervento 3.1.1.1. “Investiamo nel vostro futuro” Project TREASURE MAPS Twenty Itineraries Designed to Help You Explore the Cultural Heritage of Palermo and its Province project by: Ignazio Romeo R.U.P.: Claudia Oliva

Soprintendente: Maria Elena Volpes

Medieval Castles by: Ferdinando Maurici photographs by: Ferdinando Maurici (fig. 2, 5-7, 11, 14, 17-22, 24-41); Scuola Normale Superiore di (fig. 15-16); Giuseppe Cucco (fig. 23 and fig. sheet n. 4); Biagio Di Leo (fig. sheet n. 7); Giorgio La Susa (fig. sheet n. 16). All the other photographs are the property of the Archivio fotografico della Soprintendenza di Palermo with the collaboration of: Francesca Buffa and Marina Mancino editorial staff: Ignazio Romeo, Maria Concetta Picciurro graphics and printing: Ediguida s.r.l. translations: Logoteum Language Services

Please Note: Opening Times for each are indicated in the individual Information Sheets in this booklet. Given that these times are subject to change we suggest you check them by ringing the numbers given before setting your schedule.

Treasure Maps: Twenty Itineraries Designed to Help You Explore the Cultural Heritage of Palermo and its Province. - Palermo: Regione Siciliana, Assessorato dei beni culturali e dell’identità siciliana. Dipartimento dei beni culturali e dell’identità siciliana - V. 709.45823 CDD-22 SBN Pal0274341

4.: Medieval castles / by Ferdinando Maurici. - Palermo : Regione siciliana, Assessorato dei beni culturali e dell’identità siciliana, Dipartimento dei beni culturali e dell’identità siciliana, 2015. I. Maurici, Ferdinando <1959->. 728.81094582303 CDD-22

CIP - Biblioteca centrale della Regione siciliana “Alberto Bombace”

© REGIONE SICILIANA

Assessorato dei Beni culturali e dell’Identità siciliana Dipartimento dei Beni culturali e dell’Identità siciliana Soprintendenza per i Beni culturali e ambientali di Palermo Via Pasquale Calvi, 13 - 90139 Palermo Palazzo Ajutamicristo - Via Garibaldi, 41 - 90133 Palermo tel. 091-7071425 091-7071342 091-7071411 www.regione.sicilia.it/beniculturali MEDIEVAL CASTLES

5 AN OVERVIEW OF THE CASTLES IN THE 5 The Norman Age 18 The Swabian and Angevin Age 28 The Years of the Vespers and of Frederick III the Great 48 The 15th : return to Sovereign supremacy and the coastal defences 55 INFORMATION SHEETS 62 BIBLIOGRAPHY

TREASURE MAPS

AN OVERVIEW OF THE CASTLES IN THE PROVINCE OF PALERMO

The Norman Age of these is Mount Kassar of Castronovo di 1 must be numbered amongst the Sicilia (fig. 1). Castronovo. Kassar countries that can be considered as ‘a The site has been an archaeological reality Land of Castles’. It is sufficient to open for over a century but only recently a detailed roadmap of the Province of systematically excavated and has uncovered Palermo, published by the local Automobile a monumental Byzantine . It is Association (Touring Club Italiano), for not a castle in the accepted sense of the word, confirmation. denoting a building or a complex of fortified , , buildings, seat or expression of some type Castellaccio di , Castronovo di of power, but rather what would have been Sicilia, . All of these known as a ‘castle’ or better a ‘kastron’ during names correspond to places where there is the Byzantine era. At that time this normally still a medieval castle, mentioned in historical signified a fortified city or town, characterised sources, most of which are still in existence by the existence of a massive curtain wall. and more or less preserved, the exception And this is what still exists on the only side being San Mauro. Other places immediately of Mount Kassar that is accessible, the north call to mind the existence of a famous side, defended by an incredible wall, 1,800 castle either historically or architecturally metres long, almost 3.50 metres wide with of interest. One such is , already two , two and eleven . mentioned in the oldest guidebooks on Inside the enormous enclosure (the ) Sicily for the beauty and magnificence surrounded by the outer curtain wall and of its castle. Another is , inevitably linked to the bloody and tragic history of its unhappy Baroness. And then there is , indissolubly connected with the history of Vespers. The history of the Sicilian medieval castles must start with the , the arrival in Sicily of a strong sovereign power, originally Comital and then Monarchical, the imposition of a feudal system that elsewhere gave signs of breaking down, and the return to Christianity of a territory that for 250 years had been a part of the , known as the dār al-islām. Before the arrival of the , in the three centuries that Sicily had been a province of the , there are frequent references to cities and places fortified against the great Muslim threat. One MEDIEVAL CASTLES

protected on two other sides by precipitious (, , Calatafimi), does slopes—Mount Kassar has a triangular not necessarily confirm its origin from the ground plan with the apex to the south— Islamic era, but it is far more likely, at least in only the part nearest to the outer wall appears most cases, that the Arab conquerors simply to have been occupied by other constructions renamed with the prefix ‘qal’a’, pre-existing in Byzantine times. One of these buildings garrisoned by the Byzantines, was certainly a small church. It is most likely that the fortification on Mount Kassar can be identified as the qaşr al-ğadid, the “new castle”, so called in an Arab source, and which then gave this name to the city under the fortification, Castronovo (new castle). The Kassar settlement was a kastron in the Byzantine sense of the word. Perhaps the beginnings of a newly founded fortified city; more likely a large military settlement that could harbour and protect in time of need, a numerous population and hundreds of head of livestock, over and above the garrison itself. As cited by Arab sources, the various places that fell into Arab hands were also fortified Byzantine cities and towns. Palermo itself, obviously, as well as Cefalù, , , Geraci and another fortified city of Byzantine origin could well have been Polizzi (perhaps from the word polis?), which , important [Italian] historian and Arabist, identified as one of ‘the King’s cities’, founded by the Byzantines in the area known as the Madonie, at the end of the . The example of Caltavuturo (fig. 2), mentioned above, is a clear indication of how toponomastics, used by itself without reference, can lead the historian astray. It clearly refers to a toponomy constructed out of the Arab word ‘qal’a’, which generally signifies a fortified site that is already well protected naturally and by the terrain. But the Arab etymology as applied to Caltavuturo and other similar cases 7

which they intended either to take by storm The Arab ‘’ cites one in the 2 ‘manu militari’ or force to come to terms. vicinity of Palermo, and a cosmological Caltavuturo. The Castle of the ‘terra During the Islamic era there are only a few study, dating from around 1020, notes the vecchia’ mentions in sources of the ‘qşur’ and the existence of two ‘castles from the defensive ‘rbut’, Islamic fortifications along the coast, chain’ at the entrance of the port of garrisoned by warrior-monks. Palermo. In the second half of 19th century MEDIEVAL CASTLES

the chroniclers of the Norman conquest, tradition originating in – from (Amatus of Montecassino and Gaufredo and from , which had Malaterra) are amongst the most important, just been conquered by another Norman once again describe an Arab-Islamic Sicily army and another Conqueror. And the that is defended and protected more by concept of a castle arrives in Sicily, in the walled cities and towns, than by castles in sense that and the various emerging the sense that has been described above. European languages give to the word, be it Other than Palermo, the largest fortified city château fort, castillo, castle, castelo, or Burg. (madīna) of the Arab Siqilliyya, the sources The conquerors in Palermo construct or already mentioned record the fall, either significantly modify two castles: one will violent or more often negotiated, of Petralia, form the nucleus of the future Royal Castronovo, and Jato. This last locality ; the other, built almost certainly is now a well-known archaeological site, even on the site of one of the two ‘castles of the though it does not fail to provide frequent Sicilian defensive chain’, which existed surprises. Thus this provides evidence of around 1020, would become the castrum cities and towns fortified under Islamic rule. maris, the Castello a Mare At that time, to the word ‘castelli’ (castles), (fig. 3). The chronicler Gaufredo Malaterra, in the definition most generally used of the refers to the construction or the rebuilding word, the same sources only make a passing of a fortified complex in the city, in relation mention, without providing any particulars. to the conquest of Palermo by Robert the Close to Palermo, most likely on the site of Guiscard, and then subsequently by Roger I what would then become the Church of San (1072). The first initiative, together with the Giovanni dei Lebbrosi, was the chastel Jehan, reconsecration of the , which had recorded by Amatus of Montecassino. What previously been transformed into a Mosque, it really was is unknown: perhaps a , a was in fact that of firmare; an action military building similar to that which still that was of necessity propaedeutical to the exists today at Sousse, Monastir and other need to subjugate the city to the will of the places in . Or perhaps a suburban new Norman masters and it firmly in of pleasure (sollazzo), of the type that would their power. become well-known under the Normans, The residual ambiguity of Malaterra’s as evidenced by the spectacular examples expression ‘castellum firmare’ (which could be of ‘castles’ which were in fact non-fortified taken to mean either the construction more Palazzi or sollacia, of Maredolce, Scibene, or less from scratch or the reinforcement of Zisa and Cuba. the pre-existing structure) would seem to Thus the Normans arrive; the powerful be resolved by another testimony relative Grand Count of Sicily, then subsequently to the origins of the first nucleus of the from 1130, the power of the rex Sicilie, [the future Royal Palace, that of Amatus of King of Sicily], together with his barones Montecassino, yet another chronicler of the [] and his milites [soldiers]. And a new conquest (of Sicily). According to Amatus, type of fortified residence arrives, together after the conquest of Palermo, the Duke with a new – for Sicily – architectural Robert “eslut un lieu molt haut là où il fist 9

une forte roche, et la fist molt bien garder, et and putting the garrison in a position to resist 3 la forni de choses de vivre, pour lonctemps et à ‘pour lonctemps’ [for a long time]. Castello a Mare. grant abondance”. The substantial innovation Even though both Malaterra and Amatus The Castle of the operation seems to have consisted in write about the fortification being built on the choice of the location, high up, and the what would almost certainly become the importance attached to the actual building site of the future Royal Palace, two other process—[“Robert made a fortified Rock”]— sources, William of and the Vatican that strengthens the concept of an almost Anonymous (of a slightly later date), also original intervention, necessitated by the extend the paternity of the Guiscard and situation, by the need to assure the control of Roger I to the future ‘Castello a Mare’. and the defence of the great Islamic city For the Anonymous, the two d’Hauteville that had just been conquered. There was an brothers “built in a very short space of time, ever-present possibility of an uprising of the two strong castles, one near the sea, the Muslim population with the consequential other in what is known as Galca”, in order blockade of the Norman garrison, and the to frustrate every effort at rebellion by the d’Hautevilles had recently been besieged in Muslim population of Palermo. their Castle of . Sixty years after the original Norman Thus every effort was made to avoid possible intervention, Roger II started and finished consequences by laying-in abundant stores a first version of the palatium or castrum MEDIEVAL CASTLES

4 superius, the Royal Palace, incorporating following translation: “In the most elevated Castello a Mare. and enlarging the structures built by his part of this Qasr, the dreaded king Roger The Castle predecessors, though unfortunately it is has a new , made with hard not possible to know by what measure. The stones and large pieces of dressed stone, rough and ready castle of the Conquest artfully designed, supplied with high towers, became a magnificent Palace, worthy of the well protected with look-outs, [comfortable] power of Roger II and his heirs. A late 12th with well built rooms and apartments; century miniature, by Pietro da Eboli, in the notable for the architectural decoration, book ‘Liber del regno Sicilie’, shows it made for the wonderful and rare calligraphy and out of hewn stone-work, turreted and with for the elegant images in all styles that are , similar to the one on the other collected there.” side of the city, the Castello a Mare. There The Arab poet Ibn Basrun could well be is an excellent description of the Palazzo a perfect counterpoint to Al Idrisi. His by the Arab geographer Al-Idrisi, in the verses celebrate the triumphant royal Palace 11

“which shines with enchanting beauty, with desperate schemes with the help of some of its Castle splendidly built, elegant forms and their gaolers, as actually happened in 1161, high loggias”. during the reign of William I. A second Towards the end of the a rebellion, born in the of the text, generally attributed to Ugo Falcando, Palace and thwarted thanks to the fidelity of a letter to a certain Peter, treasurer of the (a certain Ansaldus), convinced the Palermitan Church, offers the most the King that it would be better to transfer complete description of the Royal Palace the prisoners from the Palace dungeons to in the Norman era. Surrounded by a those in Castello a Mare. wide , constructed with the Far more obviously castral [military], it squared stones () characteristic of became, from Norman times right up to the the Palermitan , it revolt of the Seven and a Half (1866), the appeared “magnificent inside for the intense guard dog of the Sovereign Power, protecting splendour of jewels and gold”. it from both potential enemies arriving from At one end, the known as the Pisana, the sea and, even more so, invigilate over the still in existence today, was reserved for the city, with its walls further strengthened with safekeeping of the treasure; at the other numerous towers, to which the author refers the Tower ‘Greca’ overlooked the river in his letter to Peter the Treasurer and clearly Kemonia and that part of the city that was visible in the famous miniature by Peter of crowded along its banks. A middle section, Eboli in the Liber. Contrary to the Royal the Joharia, was reserved for the pleasure of Palace, the Castello al Mare (fig. 4) was the sovereigns. Thus there were rooms for almost totally destroyed at the beginning of servants, matrons, young girls and eunuchs the 20th century. There were not many who in the service of the King and Queen, made an effort to save the Castello al Mare rooms reserved for the King to meet with as it had always been feared and ill-famed the so-called ‘familiares regis’ (inner royal because of its repressive functions, its use as a council or Consilium familiare) and the jail and the death sentences carried out there. nobles, to discuss the problems relating to During its destruction, after it had been the kingdom, and lastly the workrooms, divested of all the later structural additions, especially for the spinning of silk. what can only be described as Arab-Norman Thus the Royal Palace in Palermo donjon came to light. The reclamation was a union of luxury and defensive of the area, the extensive excavations, the characteristics. An intricate shell of walls rehabilitation and the opening to the public and conceals the splendour of the of whatever had escaped from the destruction royal apartments, of the Palatine Chapel, was one of the most applaudable acts the workshops or nobiles or cinae, where implemented in Palermo during the course of the works of art and the workmanship the last century. necessary for the luxurious lifestyle at court, The sources written at the time of the were produced. However, not far from the Normans list more than twenty castles just royal rooms, in the squalid dungeons, the in the area of what is now the Province of King’s enemies rot, forgotten or else plot Palermo. MEDIEVAL CASTLES

5 These include the mysterious Al-Khazan, some cases the Castles belong to the allodial Caccamo. The Castle which was probably situated on a ridge not title - belonging to the monarchy, like far from the modern day Scansano reservoir, the one in Iato, in which the prisons were together with those of Battalaro or Patellaro, almost certainly located, and which is still of Brucato, Caccamo, Calatamauro, waiting to be excavated. More often fortified Calatrasi, Caltavuturo, Carini, Castronovo, towns and garrisons were held in fiefdom Cefalà, Cefalù, probably , Geraci, by the early Sicilian ; Caccamo (fig. , Iato, , , 5-7), falls into this category and it was from Petralia, Petterana, Polizzi, , , here that Matteo Bonello plotted against Roccella, Termini and Vicari. William I; Calatrasi (fig. 8) fiefdom of the With the ambiguity of the definition used Malcovenant family from around 1162; by archivists and by Al-Idrisi, it is not of the castellum cognomento Chephalas [the always easy or indeed possible to distinguish Castle known as Cefalà] in Gratteri; of proper castles from larger fortified towns. Petterana fiefdom of the Lucy family; of However, these two realities, fortified town Prizzi, also a fiedom of Matteo Bonello, and garrison often went hand in hand. In and of which only a few remain of 13

6 Caccamo, the Castle. The courtyard

7 Caccamo, the Castle. Detail the Castle. Destruction, reconstruction, readaptation have cancelled or hidden almost everywhere the Norman facies (appearance) of these castles. At Roccella all that is visibile nowadays is a splendid 14th century tower and other ruins that are extremely difficult to date. At Cefalà, the Norman castellum, cited in 1121, is almost certainly to be found on Mount Chiarastella, reduced to a few buried remains, whilst the Castle in the present day town probably also dates from the 14th century. Here and there a tower or its batter, a length of curtain wall or a window (loop hole) are attributed to the 11th and 12th century. Vestiges of Norman architecture can be found in the Tower of the Castle of Carini. MEDIEVAL CASTLES

8 The courtyard or ward in the southern part of relicts from a great shipwreck. Calatrasi. The Castle the large military complex of Vicari Archaeological excavations, however, rather on Mount Maranfusa (fig. 9) could also be dated back to the like the excavations of Calatameth in the original Norman structure. The Sicilian word province of , have also uncovered— ‘baglio’, both as a name and as a structure, in the province of Palermo, more specifically probably originates from the Norman bailey, in Campo Fiorito, in the site known as the lower courtyard or ward of a Castle ‘The Castle of Batticani’ or the ‘Castle of [enclosed by a protective curtain wall]. Count Rayneri’ or even more colloquially Almost nothing of the impressive ruins of ‘Castellaccio’—the ruins of a fortalice, which the Castle of Caltavuturo can be dated with from various valid pieces of evidence, allow certainty as Norman. It was built on the it to be dated from the Norman era, and summit of a rocky promontory, high above establishing it as a donjon, surrounded by a the valley of the River Imera, in the first curtain wall. inhabited nucleus of a Medieval town, ‘the On the summit plateau at 610 mts, a terra vecchia’ [literally meaning old land]. curtain wall with an irregular ovoid shape, There is a similar situation in Castronovo, and a bulwark, covers an area of around where the remains of the Castle dominate 2,000 sqmts. There are two gates let into the actual town centre dating from the early the wall, respectively to the east and west, , but where the ‘terra vecchia’ is guarded by two flanking square towers, totally in ruins. They appear as fragments or some 1.60 mts thick, not much different 15

from that of the outer curtain wall. built (5.42 x 9.20 mts), with a semi-circular 9 The curtain wall appears to have been built protruding apse and perimeter walls that are Vicari. Panorama of in a single phase, and have been dated to 0.90 mts thick. As for the rest of the complex, the Castle early Norman times by the diggers. Almost the diggers suggest that the church was built at the summit of the ridge is a tower, not in Norman times, which can be considered quite square as it is 10 x 11 mts, divided on highly likely, if not a certainty given the the groundfloor into two rooms by a central typology of the Castle (donjon, church and wall, as is characteristic of many Norman irregular curtain wall encircling a ‘basse and Anglo-norman donjons, as well as those cour’ or ), as well as the already of Paternò and at the of Etna. mentioned analogies with Calatameth, in There is certainly a first floor and the diggers Bagni Segestani, . do not exclude that there were further floors. Until a short time ago this Castle was A short distance from the north side of the known only for the lack of documentation, donjon (around 1.50 mts at the maximum what there was relating only to the early point), at the highest elevation of the ridge, Middle Ages, and for the risible amount a church with a rectangular floor plan was of visible remains. The knowledge of its MEDIEVAL CASTLES

historical significance is due almost entirely the Castellaccio, nor is there any mention to an important archaeological intervention, of it until mid 14th century, when, in those and there is another fortified complex, bellicose times, it was purely a garrison. Its almost certainly Norman, which awaits Norman origins, more or less contemporary exhaustive study. with those of the Cathedral of Monreale, are This refers to the Castellaccio of Mount however, mentioned on various occasions. Caputo or the Castellaccio of Monreale From the architectural particulars already (fig. 10), a monument that although mentioned, together with the very well known, has only partially been into the tower, which is similar to one in investigated. Sited on the internal summit a large fortified building, late 12th/early of Mount Caputo, dominating Monreale, , excavated at , it would it is visible from many places in the city of seem logical to presume that the complex, Palermo. The panorama from the summit which could almost constitute an stretches from the ex Palermitan Conca of the monastic citadel of Monreale, with d’Oro to the mountains that enclose the its extremely high guard post facing the valley of the river Iato, in the direction of the municipalities that between the end of the 12th century and 1246 were at the centre of an important uprising of the Islamic population. The Castellaccio has a groundplan that is a long, almost rectangular parallelogram, some 80 x 30 mts in size. The high walls have rectangular towers at irregular intervals, four to the southwest, two to the northeast, one of which is the main entrance . A triapsidal church building projects from the same wall. Along the walls and in the towers are occasional lancet windows and what are most likely loopholes that recall those in the tower of the façade of the Cathedral Monreale nearby, founded in 1174. Inside the Castellaccio are two very distinct areas: one residential, with rooms grouped around a courtyard; the other more monastic with a courtyard delimited by stilobates, originally a cloister, and also a triapsidal church, partly built over a cistern, as is the case at Calatameth and in the Castle of , built in the 12th century. There is no documentation of the origins of 17

municipalities inhabited by the Muslims was large space, clearly religious (cloisters 10 built more or less at the same time as that of and church), together with the dwellings Monreale. The Entella as a guard and secure refuge. are enclosed within a geometric and ‘Castellaccio’ In the panorama of Norman castles known impenetrable walled curtain, with towers in Sicily, the Castellaccio of Monreale is, that more closely resemble the northafrican however, unique. fortifications with their rbut (plural Its massive and compact architectural of ribat) or perhaps even more so the design and the geometrical ground plan older Byzantine models, rather than the of the complex are at opposite ends of cinte [ring-works] of Castellaccio di the spectrum – for example – of the , of Caronia, of the Castle in lache curtain wall of the Castellaccio of or even the bailey of the Castle of Camporeale. There is also a complete . It would seem that the builders of absence of a donjon but the presence of what can still, in many ways, be considered an ample cloister, which can be explained the mysterious Castellaccio, were heavily by the building’s monastic origins. A influenced by Islamic military architecture. MEDIEVAL CASTLES

11 The Swabian and Angevin Age victuals and basic means of subsistence, Calatamauro. The The grandiose construction of castles under from secure bases in the most eastern part Rock and the Castle ruins Frederick II, dictated by precise political of the regnum [kingdom]. Last but not and strategical reasons, was concentrated least, it would appear that Castel mainly in eastern Sicily, from in Syracuse was built purely to represent to , and Syracuse and and symbolise the Imperial power. probably even . The great urban Western Sicily was, with the exception of rebellion of 1231-1232, brutally repressed; some fortified residences (Bellumvidere, the crusade of the excommunicated Bellumreparum, Burgimillusio), less Emperor; the conquest of the kingdom of involved. Jerusalem with the necessity of provisioning These were probably only partly built the Imperial garrisons with men, arms, and moreover were more sollacia [see 19

Treasure Map 6] than strong military recent and less recent archaeological 12 garrisons. The Emperor even ordered a discoveries. The name of Calatamauro Cefalù. The Rock sort of temporary demilitarisation of the (fig. 11) figures in the list of ‘ castles of the important maritime cities of exempta’, of 1239, castles belonging to Trapani, and Mazara, consigning , not under the control of the them into the care of loyal citizens with the ‘provisor castrorum’ and of which the requirement that they not be allowed to fall nomination of the castellan remained into ruins. within the sphere of the sovereign. The story of fortified architecture in what From the surrounding hills of an extensive is now the province of Palermo, would, estate in the vicinity of during the Swabian era, appear to be an a rocky spur, difficult to access and almost blank page were it not for some protected by a sheer rock face, stands MEDIEVAL CASTLES

13 out. On its summit stands the Castle of episcopal jurisdiction. The political coup Cefalù. Panorama Calatamauro, or rather what is left of it. that permitted Frederick to capture the from the Rock An external curtain wall closed off the Castle of Cefalù (fig. 13), was justified by north side of the upland, whilst an internal the fact that it was situated on the edge of curtain wall enclosed the summit of the the ‘marchia sarracenorum’, the territory ridge and the heart of the whole ‘castrum’. under the control of the Muslims who were A long, rectangular building (11.40 x 5.00 openly hostile to the Royal and Imperial mts), close to the entrance gate was perhaps jurisdiction and who were engaged in a the castle stables. Some parts of the inner fierce fight to defend and free the territory wall are still extremely high, reaching 9 occupied by them. During the minority of mts. Under the bailey (courtyard) there is the Sovereign, the Church of Cefalù had a magnificent underground cistern (6.80 x managed to obtain the concession of the 11.30 mts), with ogival vaults reinforced by ‘castellum Polline’, the Castle of Polline an arcade that brings to mind those of the (fig. 14), sited on an elevated ridge Castles of Calatafimi and . overlooking the Tyrrhenian coast. Excavations of the of Cefalù Nowadays only stretches of the curtain wall (fig. 12)have confirmed the probable and a tower on three floors, sited on the origin of the summital Castle from highest point, remain of the fortalice. Norman times, with a subsequent Some of the important monuments profound adaptation under Frederick II, brought to light by archaeological surveys when the Emperor managed to get his can be connected to the wars against hands on this important fortified position the that overran a large part in 1223, which until then had been under of western Sicily between the death of 21

William II and 1246. A fortified Palazzo was built on the Rock of Entella (fig. 15), already mentioned above as one of the strongholds of the Muslim rebels. It was erected on the site of a previous residence dating from the Islamic era, between the end of 12th and early 13th century, with a rectangular ground plan (18 x 27 mts), with a bent entrance in the tower. There is also a hamman, a small thermal bath with a raised floor and heating. Not far away, still on the Rock of Entella (fig. 16), on the summit known as the ‘Pizzo della Regina’, the remains of another fortified building have been unearthed. The excavations currently under way in the other principal of the Muslim resistence against Frederick II, known as Mount Iato, are also extremely interesting. Here, at the foot of the last mountain arrows shot from a longbow or a , 14 elevation, a few hundred metres from or from a or onager but at the Pollina. Panorama with the Castle tower the spectacular gate entrance into the same time close enough to constitute a real Islamic citadel, on the hill known locally nightmare for the besieged. The expression, as Castellazzo (fig. 17), the remains of ‘the enemy is at the gate’ adapts itself the castra, the fortified camps erected by perfectly to the situation. The opening of Frederick II for the long and complicated the ‘Bāb Sharqi’ [Gate of the Sun, was one 15 On the following page: of Iato between 1222 and 1224, of the eight ancient city gates of Damascus, Panorama of the Rock have been partially brought to light. Syria] or entrance gate of Iato, still frames of Entella These encampments were almost certainly the menacing heights of the Castellazzo reutilised for the second and definitive (fig. 18). The abundant availability of siege in 1246, at the end of which Iato was water (there is still a plentiful source in totally abandoned. the vicinity) made the position even more The site both covered visually and blocked suitable for the location of a large siege access to the east gate of Iato, which was camp. The presence of Frederick II, the probably the most important one. The east numerous troops and at least a campaign gate of the Muslim city is only 400 metres section of his Chancery, suggest the as the crow flies, far enough away to place existence of an important settlement, even the fortified camp at a safe distance from if only for the short duration of the siege. MEDIEVAL CASTLES 23 MEDIEVAL CASTLES

16 They must have been structures able to a wall of local rough-hewn stone, about Rock of Entella. house the Emperor and part of his court, 2 mts thick and in some places more so, Pizzo della Regina as well as an army, certainly numerous and certainly extremely high, or at least more well equipped and able to preside over the than sufficient for a good defense, with siege for several years, even though they numerous projecting outwards, of could count on being resupplied from which two have been brought to light. The Palermo itself, only a day’s march away. must have been about 300 mts. The first findings from the excavations We therefore believe that the Frederician fully confirm the original hypothesis. The castra, frequently cited in sources, actually Castellazzo (fig.19), is a ridge than reaches contained a smaller but more heavily 702 mts above sea level, at it summit and fortified area (ward), probably reserved has an irregular polygonal perimeter which for the high command or even for the slopes down to the southeast and is almost Emperor himself and a larger one (ward imperceptibly higher to the west. or bailey) for the main body of troops, From both the aerial survey photos from the animals and all their baggage and the 1950’s and ‘60’s and from more recent equipment (impedimenta). A possible satellite imagery, it has been possible to entrance could have been from the verify that the perimeter of the summital southeast. Immediately to the east there is a ridge plateau is entirely fortified, and the plain, most likely the main campsite of the fortifications follow the natural features siege troops. The entire area is scatterd with of the upland. A second curtain wall, here remains of a necropolis connected to the defined as the ‘outer’ wall, that encloses Hellenic phase of the city of -Jatum. a much larger area of land, rises up from Once the site had been discovered and most of the area and encloses Castellazzo to surveyed, three different digs were open the east and the south. The entire plateau between 2011 and 2015, all three in the of Castellazzo, 120 mts by 46 mts at its same northern zone of the upland. widest point, must have surrounded by Early excavations show that the structure 25

must have been a really massive stone and best defended of the complex of the fortification, with turrets at more or less castra. Once the stones from a modern regular intervals. According to Tommaso vineyard had been removed a further 8 Fazello, the stone structure of the mts of curtain wall was brought to light. Frederician castra were still visible, certainly The presence of two rectangular projecting more so than nowadays, in the 16th century. edifices up against the wall, indicate, Coins recovered, some dating from 1221- as has already been suggested, that the 1225, and some from 1243-1248, suggest fortifications included turrets. These that the structures were built for the first structures are made of limestone blocks, siege in 1222-1224 and then reused a some of which are rectangular, joined by second time for the final assault in 1246, claysoil . The internal wall covering led by Robert, Count of Caserta. The first consists of shapeless stone slabs of varing sample dig uncovered what must have sizes. The thickness of the wall varies from been the inner curtain wall, which would 2.0 to 2.5mts. What is left of the turrets is have enclosed the entire upland sommital between 1.50 and 1.70 mts. plateau, that is the most internal, highest A square room, (2.86 x 3.10 mts), has

17 Mount Iato. The east Gate and the Castellazzo MEDIEVAL CASTLES

18 been brought to light, projecting internally Sicily between the second half of the 12th Mount Iato. Internal from the excavated external wall, with an century and the first half of the 13th century. and external perimeter wall entrance from the south, and built in the Metallic artefacts include lance tips, the hilt same way as the rest of the structures, with of a sword, quarrels from a crossbow, one of walls that are o.6o mts thick. which was still stuck in skeleton found in Another piece of the inner curtain wall was a tomb, partially lined with stone slabs and unearthed during the third sample dig. lain on a rock. Death was probably due to Besides the Frederician coins, the site has being shot by a crossbow and the cadaver also brough to light various fragments of was deposed prone with his face towards what is known as Spiral Ware, characteristic the south, but it is not possible to exclude of the last years of the 12th century and the completely that he was laid on his right side, first decades of the 13th century, together which could indicate a Muslim burial. with fragments of cooking ceramics made The Angevin era added a few names to the in Messina, commonly found throughout list of existing Castles, for example , 27

nowadays a mass of picturesque ruins. control of the Palermo- route, as 19 There is really no documentation, either well as over a road that started in Caccamo Mount Iato. Remains of a from historical sources or architectural and Termini, passing through the valley of texts, on any new important building the river San Leonardo: Polizzi, from its programmes. However, the system of equally important strong position, was a Castles belonging to the Sovereign power way station on the road between Palermo was further perfected. Created originally and Messina through the mountains: under the Normans and improved by Carini was sited along the axis route that Frederick II, the castra regii demani led to Trapani. The network of state owned belonged to the crown, under allodial title, castles also in the present day province of guarded by garrisons paid by the monarch Palermo allowed the Monarch a certain and commanded by a castellan chosen amount of control over the territory. This, by the king or by the ‘provisor castrorum’, however was not sufficient to stop or at (castle proveditor) the highest appointment least contain the Revolt of the Sicilian in this administrative field. For the province Vespers. From Palermo the rebellion spread of Palermo under the Angevins, the throughout the territory. The Angevin following were documented as belonging Chief Justiciar or magister justitiarius, the to the Sovereign: Calatamauro, Carini, highest authority [of the Royal Household], Cefalù, the two castra of Corleone, Geraci, took refuge in the Castle of Vicari but was the two castles in Palermo (Palazzo Reale overtaken by rebel troops from Palermo and Castello a Mare), Polizzi, San Mauro, and Caccamo, besieged and then killed Termini and Vicari. The choice is obviously together with the garrison. Palermo and not causal. The crown maintained its hold Corleone signed a Treaty of Alliance and over the principal cities, keeping them Mutual Aid, which included, amongst under its direct power. After Palermo came other clauses, the destruction of the castle Cefalù, Corleone and Termini. Other of Calatamauro, a thorn in the side of the castles watched over the central crossroads territory of the Corleone area. The Angevin of the main routes: Vicari, perched on a domination of Sicily finished in violence as high plateau, was an essential point for the in violence it had begun. MEDIEVAL CASTLES

20 The Years of the Vespers a series of strongholds at strategic points The Castle of Giuliana and of Frederick III the Great inland, obligatory passages along impervious The was given to King Peter III of routes inland, were the Angevin armies to Aragon, husband of Constance, daughter land and endeavour to penetrate the Island: of King Manfred, as was customary under centrally located sites, perched on hilltops, Swabian rule. Charles of , Lord of from whence a rapid intervention, were the Mezzogiorno (Southern ), did not it necessary, could be launched. Frederick resign himself to its loss. The resulting war, III’s reign is therefore an epic era of war, momentarily interrupted by the Peace of during which Sicily covers itself with walls, in 1302, was reopened with castles and fortifications. Building activity violent naval , the advance of Sicilian was frenetic, even more so than during the troops in and the of Sicily reign of Frederick II of , who has by the Angevin troops in retaliation. The come under heavy historical scrutiny and of Aci-Ognina in 1356 resulted in the continues to do so. Scholarly tradition, end of Angevin pretensions to the throne, furthered by the homonymy of the two even though the peace treaty was not signed Kings and the pedanticism of past and of until 1372. It has been suggested that this some present scholars, who insist on calling long but discontinuous conflict should be ‘Our’, Frederick II, based on the theoretical known as the Ninety Years War. numeric succession of the kings of Sicily The most difficult years for Sicily will be (but no one ever called Frederick I of Sicily, those during the long reign of Frederick the Emperor and king Frederick II ‘of III of Aragon, called ‘The Great’ by the ’) has resulted in the latter noted 18th-19th century historian, Rosario being attributed with architectural initiatives Gregorio. This designation is amply justified that almost certainly or most probably by a Monarch who, by using all the means should be attributed to Frederick III, the at his disposal, successfully opposed the Great. belligerence of the Angevins, supported, A blatant example is that of the Castle of obviously by the French, stood up to Giuliana (fig. 20), sited at the southern Boniface VIII, and even to the hostility of outskirts of the province of Palermo. The the itself at one point. complex is attributed to Frederick III, the The castle architecture in Sicily, including Great both by the 16th century scholar the current province of Palermo, is closely Fazello and then later, in the 18th century, linked to these bellicose events and to by Vito Amico. However, both authors the figure of Frederick the Great himself. number the Monarchs with reference to Frederick reinforced some of the weakest the theoretical Sicilian succession, so that points along the coastline, where there was Frederick tercius or III of Aragon is called fear of Angevin-Neapolitan invasion by sea: King Frederick II by both of them. This the , the seaboard of leads to the usual confusion. Termini, and much further east, the plain The attribution of the Castle of Giuliana of Milazzo. At the same time, he had built to the Swabian King, evidently felt to be 29 CASTELLI MEDIEVALI 31

more prestigious, had already been proposed is formed of a large block building with 21 by Calandra, subsequently adopted by the two rectangular wings at an obtuse angle, Regiovanni. The castle local historiographers, in the catalogue of from which a pentagonal tower projects. Frederician castles, edited in 1975, with Apparently the structure is laid out with reservations, by Giuseppe Bellafiore and at mathematical precision, both internally least partly in the catalogue of the Great and externally. The donjon seems to be Frederician Exhibition held in Palermo in the natural fulcrum from which the two 1994, after which the complex was subjected almost identical wings spread out. It is to a challenging restoration. Marchese, strange that no one has thought to describe a shrewd local scholar, has however the ground plan as imitating the Swabian conclusively proven that the castle should eagle. But in fact, a simple visit to the be attributed to the Frederick III of Aragon. site confirms the theory put forward by The scarcity of historical documentation Meli: that the structure must have been on the region does little to help arrive at a built in phases, even if relatively in quick definitive chronological attribution of the succession. The two wings were added to complex. Giuliana is first mentioned in the pre-existing Tower, and the southern Norman times only as a . After walls of the tower were chipped away. The this original annotation at the end of the complex formed by the pentagonal donjon 12th century, there is no specific mention of and the rectangular wings, is protected to the locality during the Swabian era. The next the north—towards the inhabited area— certain source on Giuliana comes from the by a curtain wall, which forms half of an tax returns of the Angevins and Aragonese in irregular polygon. The wall, together with 1277 and 1283, noted as a small residential the pentagonal donjon and the castle, area. In 1280 there is mention of a castrum are built of chalk blocks of varying sizes, Iullani and of the lords Fulco and Henry usually accurately hewn and placed with a de Puigrichard. It is however, impossible to certain need for regularity. There are some ascertain whether Iullanum is the correct buildings attached to the inside of the interpretation and above all, that it refers to wall, constructed or adapted in modern Giuliana and not to Giugliano in , times for Olivetan monks. A rectangular which seems almost more probable, given tower projects from the north corner of that it is not possible to examine the the curtain wall, immediately to the east original document. Davì wrote about the of the access gate, which has the date 1663 ‘iconographical singularity’ of Giuliana, engraved on one of the ashlar blocks. while Santoro described it as being ‘the most The wall tower, where the lack of plaster atypical [building] of Sicily’ because of the allows one to look closely, appears to be floorplan and shape adopted. clamped to the curtain wall and built The fortified complex is sited at the of the similar material and techniques. highest point of the relief, where the The polygonal buttress to the west of inhabited centre is clinging on, at 734 the access gate is simply leant against the mts, on the cliff overhanging the valley. It wall and appears to be a later addition. MEDIEVAL CASTLES

The transformations to which the curtain The pentagonal donjon has only one wall has been subjected do not permit internal space on the ground floor and one the detection of any original battlements, on the upper floor, which are not directly although at least thirteen infilled flat- interconnecting. Both ceilings are barrel arched loopholes about half way up, are vaulted and combined with irregular semi- very visible. (conches) resting on the triangular To the south, between the southern façade salient of the pentagonal building. The of the Palazzo and the edge of the cliff upper room is accessed via a door that overlooking the valley underneath, there opens onto the ceiling of the underlying is a modest area, which is difficult not to central hall. An internal wooden staircase label as a ‘pleasure’ space, for the occupants leads via a second ramp attached to the of the Palazzo. It was most likely some wall, to the donjon terrace. The upper part kind of garden-panoramic viewpoint, of the tower, but only on the south side, from which, in fact there is the most shows traces of crenellations in the infilling wonderful view over the valley of the river of the walls. Concluding, the Castle of Sosio and the Caltabellotta mountains. Giuliana, is not just a military garrison, but The central palace, if one excludes the a residential Palazzo, whose defense was pentagonal tower, has only a ground floor, entrusted to the external semi-poligonal consisting of three rectangular halls, with curtain wall and to its strategic siting on intercommunicating doors and covered by the sheer cliff-face overlooking the valley. ogival vaults. The west and central halls, Under Frederick III, and particularly after separated by a small courtyard with a two the damage suffered by the walls because ramp staircase leading to the covering of the Angevin assault of 1325, the city of terrace and to the first floor of the donjon, Palermo, at great expense, restored and in are punctuated by two spans of ogival part reconstructed ex novo, the perimeter . The west hall is further divided wall, abandoning entire segments of the old in two by a partition wall. In the central wall dating from the Norman era or even hall, the median abuts on the impost from Islamic times. blocks supported by corbels with the shape Only two hundred years later, after several of truncated inverted pyramids, which are important interventions in the 15th century, similar to those of the Castles of Augusta the city was forced to erect, at far greater and Catania. cost, a formidable curtain wall fortified The overall iconography of the Palazzo with ramparts, as defence against the allows a comparison to be drawn with the dreaded attack by the Turks. Castelluccio of Gela and with the ‘palacia’ The volumes of the Acta Curie Felicis Urbis of the Castle of Milazzo as well as that of Panormi, relative to the reign of Frederick Lombardia of . The Swabian influence III, are full of information relating to the is undisputed, even if it must be considered building of the walls and the construction probable or certain its dating to the era of of ulterior defenses, as for example the Frederick III, as argued by Marchese. construction of and stone 33

throwing weapons. In one of the most Castrogiovanni, extremely quickly. 22 dramatic moments of the war, which allows During the war fought by Frederick III, Gibilmanna. The original site of the the Angevin forces to overrun the Castello the site of Regiovanni (fig. 21) appears for Castle of Mount a Mare in the city, a provisional wall was the first time as a castrum, south of Gangi. Sant’Angelo, no longer built around the Castle itself, this side of It was a spectacular , partly in existence the . In this way, the Angevins, shut constructed and partly dug out of a very up in the Castle, were not able to make a high rocky pinnacle, in which there are sally, and the besieging Sicilian troops were underground burial vaults, no longer given cover. reachable as well as pole holes, which From the years following the Revolt of the would appear to document the existence Vespers and before the rebuilding of the of wooden structures no longer standing. walls, the city of Palermo organised (or Regiovanni is part of a relatively substantial perhaps perfected) a coastal guard with group of medieval Sicilian rock castles, observation points and signal stations on together with—to cite a few well known summital points— Mount Pellegrino, examples— and Gagliano. Gallo, Mount Catalfano—from which it One of the sections of the Sicilian shoreline was possible to control a large stretch of particularly open to Angevin landings and coastline. The system appeared to work offensive inland , were the long sandy relatively efficiently: an alarm given by beaches stretching from Cefalù (Cape Plaia) the guards of cap de Gall (Cape Gallo), to Termini. The valleys of the rivers that who, in 1299, had spied the arrival of the flow out into the sea at this point—the river fleet of the Prince of , was able Torto, the Roccella stream, and above all the to reach Frederick III, sheltered inside Northern Imera River—offer just as many MEDIEVAL CASTLES

penetration routes to the hinterland. Here, Norman hamlet of Brucato is revived and at the beginning of the 14th century, with fortified. A propos of this it is important an operation that recalls the one carried to remember Bresc’s hypothesis of the out at Bonifato above , the ancient fortification of the entire area, wanted and once again overseen by Frederick III himself. Yet again, along the Tyrrhenian shore, this time in the immediate vicinity of Cefalù, on the Pizzo Sant’Angelo (Gibilmanna) (fig. 22), there is documentation in the 1430’s of a “castrum et terram Sancti Angeli 35

23 Castelbuono. The Castle MEDIEVAL CASTLES

24 Bonvicini”, under the control of Frances also Brucato was wiped out. Carini. The Castle I of , Count Geraci. The site Only a few, almost imperceptible traces was excellently placed for defense but not remain of the terra [ancient inhabited so pleasant as a residence. It is extremely area] and the Castle, both placed under high up, (1,081 mts above sea level) from the protection of Sant’Angelo, Prince which there was a commanding view of a Archistrategist of the Heavenly Militia. large tract of the shoreline and the sea. The Not far from Pizzo Sant’Angelo, on the location is highly uncomfortable to the point of being uninhabitable, cold in winter and swept by strong winds. The settlement enjoyed a short life, tied to a condition of extreme danger and disappeared in the course of the war of 1338, during which 37

site of the old manor house of Ipsigro 1338. As already documented by Bresc, it (belvidiri de Ipsigro), the Castle and lands is unthinkable that Ventimiglia decided to of Castelbuono (fig. 23) were sited, on build Castelbuono without the permission the initiative of the same Frances I of or even the encouragement of the Ventimiglia: thus it would appear that Sovereign. the county centre of influence of the Castelbuono vaguely resembles the Castles Ventimiglia was to be transferred from of Frederick II, with its fairly regular Geraci, distant, high up and accessible ground-plan, and the actual buildings with difficulty. For the moment, however, organised around a small central bailey, the Rock of Geraci maintained its role and becomes the centre of the tragic rebellion of Frances I of Ventimiglia in MEDIEVAL CASTLES

25 protected by corner wall-towers. It is also Ventimiglia. The Castle of Castelbuono, Partinico. Remains of obvious of the desire of the Ventimiglia, to in its final configuration acquired during the ‘Castellazzo della th Sala Partinico’ build a residence, a palazzo-castle that was the course of the 14 century, resembled less forbidding than the crude fortalices a tetragon with a small central bailey and 26 sited on rugged ridges, like that of the corner wall-towers, also square except for Roccella. The Castle, during early 20th old Castle of Geraci, the original centre the one in the northeast corner which century and eponymous locality of the county of was circular. If, as has been suggested, the east corner wall-tower was also circular, then the iconographic ground-plan of Castelbuono would have been replicated not long afterwards in the Castle of Alcamo, built by the Ventimiglia half way through the 14th century. The Ventimiglia, are therefore, after the Monarchy, the most important protagonists of the great period of construction of important fortified buildings that took place during the reign of Frederick III. Another great military family, the Abbate, would appear to have fortified, during the course of the 14th century, the residential area of Carini (fig. 24), one of their fiefdoms, by raising new walls. The Gulf of Carini, to the west of Palermo, was another position of strategic importance and was violently attacked by the Angevins in 1314. Not far from Carini, at the extreme east end of the Gulf of Castellammare, starting in 1315, a new garrison was built on the site of Partinico (fig. 25). The place had probably been deserted from the time of the Muslim wars of Frederick II, and the new Castle, for centuries known as Sala Partinici, was the initial nucleus aimed at repopulation. There was already a Castle in Partinico, from Norman times, perched on Mount Cesarò, and almost certainly deserted at the beginning of the 14th century. For the new fortalice, nowadays 39

reduced to a few remains and known as the castle: in 1340 sources write ubi erat 27 Castellaccio, a less impassable position was castrum Parthenici [where the castrum of Roccella. The Castle before restoration work chosen, a rocky spur at the foot of Mount Partenici was]. The repopulation of the Cesarò. settlement and rebuilding of the Castle, The latter remained deserted, leaving a few authorised and probably also encouraged ruins and the vestiges of the old Norman by Frederick III, was carried out under MEDIEVAL CASTLES

28 Roccella. View of the Castle from the sea, before restoration work 41 MEDIEVAL CASTLES

29 the aegis of a great ecclesiastic Order, the the power of the aristocratic military was Roccella. The Castle in Cistercian Abbey of [Monastero inexorably growing. Important aristocratic a drawing by C. Camilliani, late di Santa Maria di Altofonte in the Park, families commission imposing architectonic 16th century nowadays the town of Altofonte], who works such as the Palazzo Chiaramonte had feudal tenure. It is therefore possible and Palazzo Sclafani in Palermo, and in the to follow, through this research on 14th heart of the Ventimiglia fiefdom, castles century Sicilian castles, the titanic efforts such as that in Castelbuono. The military made by Frederick III the Great to hold the aristocracy is destined to dominate the , free and united under scene in the second half of the century the rule of the Monarchy. Bresc maintains that this was the ultimate demiurgical act (at least for the medieval period) of the Sicilian Monarchy, but that against this background of Sovereign domination 43

30 Cefalà. The Castle MEDIEVAL CASTLES 45

and literally, to encase its power with the or more precisely to Artale of Alagona, can 31 elevation of dozens of new small fortresses. be attributed to reconstruction of the arx Cefalà. The ‘Mastio’ This era will be interrupted by the invasion of Bicocca on the Catanian plain, after it of the Martini. In 1418, well into the 15th had been destroyed by the Chiaramontan century, the besieging by the Viceregal troops. It was the Chiaramonte who troops of a baronial castle, could be held founded, in the first half of the century, to simbolise the end of the long period the terra and Castle on the site of the of the Sicilian 14th century, which began ancient Gulfi, from which it took the with the rebellion of Easter Monday in name. The hosterium of Favara, built by the 1282. The bombarding of the Castle of Chiaramonte, also dates from the first half Roccella, belonging to the Ventimiglia of the 14th century. The family name was family and rebuilt in the second half of also given to the Castle of Montechiaro, the 14th century, definitively destroyed the already in existence in 1355. ambitions of the rebellious Giovanni and It is also probable that the Chiaramonte Cicco Ventimiglia. ordered the building of the Tower of The baronial initiatives during the reign of Misilcassim and of , of the Frederick III can be considered a prologue Castle of and of Alcamo. Other to the intense programme of , more or less important construction desired and executed by the military works are traditionally attributed to the aristocracy during the second half of the Chiaramonte, as in the case of the Castles 14th century, often without the consent, of , and in the present theoretically necessary, of the Monarchy, day province of Palermo, of Misilmeri and whose powers continued to weaken. Vicari amongst others. After the death of Frederick IV and the The Sclafani, lords of the homonymous abduction of his daughter, Queen Mary, Castle and residential area in the Madonie, [this power vacuum] was replaced, after a fortified and encastled the municipality of rather unfortunate period of internecine Chiusa, which added the family name to fighting, by a kind of aristocratic, its own. decentralised, collective government, the To the Ventimiglia, lords of the Madonie, so-called government of ‘Quattro Vicari’ can be attributed the Castle, the turris of (Four Vicars). , the castrum of Bilíci, whose The comital families— Chiaramonte, ruins nowadays house a sanctuary, and Ventimiglia, Alagona, Peralta—are the the spectacular reconstruction of the undisputed executors of the construction coastal Castle of Roccella (fig. 26-29). of castles in the second half of the 14th An enormous donjon, recently restored, century, whilst the Monarchy disappears represents the most massive monumental from the scene. It is Jaime or Gaimo ruin left from those times, whilst of the Alagona who builds the Castle of Casa grand Palazzo opposite (attested by 16th Nuova, really just a Tower added to the east century drawings but difficult to date wall of Ortigia in Syracuse. To the Alagona, accurately), only the ruins of the ground MEDIEVAL CASTLES

32 floor remain. The donjon, together with and the coast of Termini must have been The Margana Castle the underground cistern were originally breathtaking, before the defacement of even only accessible from the interior, a ground this part of the Sicilian coastline. floor accessible by a stone staircase with a The presence of the donjon, found in many at one end and separated by a of these new 14th century castles built by wooden ceiling on beautifully sculptured the military aristocracy, is equally to be corbels, whilst the top floor is covered by found in the splendid Castle of Cefalà two elegant groin vaults with a central ogival (fig. 30) in the province of Palermo. It arch. From here steps carved out of the wall replaced, but there is no certifiable date, lead to the terrace, which was once crowned during the course of the 14th century, by merlons and supported a preceding Norman castellum sited on by corbels. The view of the Mount Chiarastella nearby. The Castle 47

(fig. 31), visible from afar, from almost fiefdoms, that is with no surrounding 33 every corner of the Baronial Cefalà, residential areas, are in time of war, the Colobria. The Castle oversees the countryside, protecting the logical evolution of preexisting manor farms farmsteads and the harvest from enemy or rustic hospicia and mansiones, originally incursions, an eye on the road that footholds marginally defended or not at all, leads to Palermo and when necessary, which the feudatories had constructed in obstructs the transit and the supply less bellicose years under strict Monarchical lines of grain to the . The Castle control. This is the case of Márgana (fig. visually dominates the huge territory for 32), belonging to the Teutons of Vicari, miles around. The donjon, sited on a and Bilíci, Colobria (fig. 33), and Melia cliff of conglomerate, material also used all appear similar. In the case of Palazzo for its fabrication, towers, powerful and Adriano, of which only a few ruins remain, forbidding, over the territory. it was annexed to a preexisting municipality, Other isolated castles in the various some time during the 14th century. MEDIEVAL CASTLES

34 The 15th century: return to Sovereign by 40 soldiers as well as the castellan and Corleone. The Upper supremacy and the coastal defences his vice; Termini housed 24; the Royal Castle One of the first acts after the Catalan- Palace in Palermo 18 and Castello a Mare Aragonese reconquest [of Sicily] at the end 21. Polizzi housed only 9 and the Upper of the 14th century, by King Martin, the (fig. 34) and Lower (fig. 35) Castles of Younger and above all by his father Martin, Corleone had respectively 9 and 8. Having Duke of Monblanc (subsequently King retired the old fashioned counterweight Martin the Older), was the reinstitution throwing engines (), the Castles of the ‘demanio reale’, the allodial title, were by now generally armed with cannons whittled away for decades by baronial (bombards), of which the earliest Sicilian government, and therefore of the ring source can be found in the painted wooden of Castles belonging to the Crown. In ceiling of Palazzo Steri. In 1409, the Castello the present day province of Palermo, a Mare had no less than 6 cannons and the most important were in primis, the 2 were in the Royal Palace. In the Upper Royal Palace of Palermo (sacrum regium Castle of Corleone there was only one palacium) and the Castello a Mare. The bombard and there is still the wooden frame Castles of Termini and Cefalù were also of of a trebuchet. The soldiers wore a cuirass strategic importance, whilst less important [breastplate], bassinet [helm], gorget [stell were the Castles of Polizzi, nowadays collar] and were armed, together with their almost nonexistent and the two Castles of personal sword, with a crossbow and large Corleone (Upper and Lower). rectangular or heater shields. Every castle In 1409, the Castle of Cefalù was garrisoned had a good stockpile of munitions and 49

victuals. Under the new order established initiated, in an effort to tackle the continual 35 by the Aragonese Monarchy, the royal Barbary incursions (in particular from Corleone. The Lower Castle Castles played an important role, whilst ). Amongst the forty towers that were the political ambitions of the military planned either ex novo or in restructuring, aristocracy, once the Chiaramonte and other are those that were effectively built in those elements opposed to the Martini had been years such as Capo Rama (fig. 36), on removed from the scene, were drastically the promontory opposite the ‘Isola delle redimensioned. The military aristocracy Femmine’ at Mongerbino. The first two are underwent substantial and radical still in existence; the third has disappeared, transformations through the new order probably in the last 50 years. During the imposed by the Crown of Aragon. After the 15th century the two Towers of Mondello, bellicose 14th century, the new century is (the Tonnara and the Ficodindia, 1442?), characterised by a renewed fealty to the new that of the Rotolo, the Addaura (1409?), the dynasty. one at Sferracavallo (1417), at San Nicola At the beginning of the 15th century, l’Arena (1440), the [fortified under Martin the Younger, the first phase building with a press for the production of a programme aimed at providing the Sicilian coastline with fortified towers, was MEDIEVAL CASTLES

36 of sugar] at Partinico (1448) and others as Capo Rama. The well, more or less close to the coast, were Tower all built by private or feudatory subjects. However it is necessary to wait until the 37 end of the 16th century and the grandiose . The Ventimiglia Tower projects of Spannocchi and Camilliani, before the Sicilian coastline is provided with a considerable number of towers, including some forty built and administered directly by the State through a specific office (Deputation). Very different from these early, small, coastal guard towers is the large tower (21 x 17 mts), commissioned by the Archbishop of Monreale, Giovanni Ventimiglia, to be built in the fiefdom of Montelepre (fig. 37-38). The external aspect is austere, rigidly geometrical, closed in and with 51

38 Montelepre. Trifora, mullioned window in the Tower 39 Montelepre. Groin vault in the Tower the façade barely softened by a couple of bifore and trifore lancet mullion windows, whilst internally, in direct contrast, there is on the first floor a marvelous ribbed and groin vaulted ceiling (fig. 39). In a small centre certainly not on the grand turist circuit, there is this jewel of Sicilian gothic art. Later, from 1468, Peter Speciale commissions the building of a great Tower to protect his sugar cane press at . The 15th century will also see the readaptation of the Castle of Carini (fig. 40-41), of the La Grua, embellished with a wooden ceiling over the Large Hall. Another important building site opened during the 15th century was that of the Castle of Misilmeri (fig. 42), commissioned by the Ajutamicristo in 1487 and ‘signed’ by the one of the most important Sicilian architects of the 15th century, Matteo Carnalivari. These transformations, whilst improving the luxuries and the comforts of the building, at the same time, however, reduced its military efficiency. MEDIEVAL CASTLES 53

Misilmeri must not have feared incursions designed, at the end of the 15th century, 40 from the coast, as in the restored era of by the Spanish architect Baldiri Meteli, a Carini. The entrance to the Castle peace inside Sicily, this had once again name made famous by the recent research become the only really dangerous border by Alessandro . The capital of the of the Kingdom of Sicily, with the Kingdom, Palermo, was obviously the 41 Mediterranean world in continual turmoil. object of particular attention. The Castello Carini. The Castle On the contrary, along the coast, the fear of a Mare (fig. 43) and the Royal Palace, will tower Tunisian pirates and at least from 1453, of be at the centre of continuous interventions, the Turks, was to result in the first phase of prolonged throughout the 16th century, the construction of the ring of Towers. The eventually merging into the colossal more important cities and Royal lands were modernisation of the urban fortifications also involved in these fortifications, often under the Viceroy of Charles V. The great MEDIEVAL CASTLES

gate of the Castello a Mare, which has very meritoriously been recuperated and restored by the Soprintendenza di Palermo, together with what was left of the Castello itself, has an inscription dated 1496, with the arms of the Catholic kings. The conflict between the Spanish power and the Turkish Empire, which will dominate the 16th century history of the Mediteranean, begins to unfold. Sicily is forced to build around all the main cities (Palermo, Milazzo, Messina, Catania, Augusta, Syracuse, Trapani), and a little later to finish the defensive circle of coastal towers. On the Island, what is known as the century of Iron, will really do credit to its name.

42 Misilmeri. The Castle

43 Castello a Mare. Anonimous 1686 (Madrid, Arch. of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) TREASURE MAPS

INFORMATION SHEETS

1 CASTELLO A MARE OF PALERMO Archaeological area of the Castello a Mare 1 monument. 12th century. Via Crispi, entrance from Via Patti Palermo Tel. +39 0917071317/+39 0917071411 Email: [email protected] Opening Hours Monday Wednesday Thursday Friday: 9.00-13.30 Tuesday and Saturday: 9.00-17.00 First Sunday of every month: 9.00-13.30

2 CASTLE OF CACCAMO 12th century Via Castello Caccamo Tel. +39 0918103207/+39 0918149252 Email: turismo@.caccamo.pa.it Opening Hours Tuesday to Sunday: 9.00-13.00; 15.00-19.00

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3 CASTLE OF CARINI 6 CASTLE OF CEFALÀ DIANA 12th century 14th century Via del Castello Carini Via Castello Cefalà Diana Tel. +39 0918815666/+39 0918680871 Tel. +39 0918201184 (Town Hall) Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Opening Hours Opening Hours Tuesday to Sunday: 9.00-13.00; 16.00-20.00 Free admission (during winter: afternoons 15.00-19.00) 7 LOWER CASTLE OF CORLEONE 4 CASTLE OF CASTELBUONO 13th century 14th century Convento dei Frati Minori Rinnovati Piazza Castello Castelbuono Corleone Tel. +39 0921671211/+39 091677126 Tel. +39 0918467910 Email: [email protected] Opening Hours Opening Hours Prebooking required Tuesday to Sunday: 9.30-13.00 15.30-19.00 Please call between 8.45 and 10.45 and from18.00 to 19.00 5 KASSAR OF CASTRONOVO 8th to 9th century Kassar Tel. +39 0918218822 / 0918218890 / 0918218898 Email: sportspettacolo@ comune.castronovodisicilia.pa.it sindaco@ comune.castronovodisicilia.pa.it Opening Hours Visits only on request with prior booking 57

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8 ROCK OF ENTELLA AND PIZZO 11 CASTLE OF DELLA REGINA 16th century 12th to 13th century Piazza Castello Marineo Tel. +39 3474322207 Tel. +39 0918726491/0918725193 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Opening Hours Opening Hours Prebooking required Tuesday to Saturday: 9.00-13.00 The site can be reached by taking the First Sunday of the month: Prebooking required nature excursion organised by the CAI Trust to the Nature Reserve of the Grotto 12 CASTLE OF MISILMERI of Entella 11th to 12th century (reconstructed in the 15th century) 9 CASTLE OF GERACI Strada provinciale n. 38 No. 38 Provincial road from Misilmeri to Via Castello (Km 1), (access only Email: [email protected]. on foot). geracisiculo.pa.it Tel: +39 0918711300 Opening Hours Email: [email protected] Free admission Not open to the Public

10 CASTLE OF GIULIANA 13th century Salita Castello, 5 Giuliana Tel. +39 0918357017/098356722 Email: [email protected] Opening Hours Monday to Saturday: 9.00-13.00 15.00- 19.00 (1st May to 30th September) Monday to Saturday: 8.30-13.30 Saturday: 15.00-18.00 (1st October to 30th April) 59

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13 ‘CASTELLACCIO’ OF MONREALE 16 CASTLE OF PRIZZI 12th century. Reopened in 1906 and 12th century operated by the Sicilian Alpine Club of Via Castello Prizzi Monte Caputo. It can only be reached via a Tel. +39 0918344611/0918344648 nature path. Email: [email protected] Tel: +39 091581323 Opening Hours Email: [email protected] Saturday: 15.00-18.00 Sunday: 11.00-17.00 Opening Hours From June to August: First and last Sunday Sundays and Holidays: Prebooking of the month 10.30 -16.00 required From September to May: Prebooking required 14 VENTIMIGLIA TOWER OF MONTELEPRE 17 CASTLE OF VICARI 15th century 11th century Via della Torre Montelepre Via Santa Maria del Castello Vicari Tel: +39 0918940111 Tel: +39 0918216020 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Opening Hours Opening Hours Prebooking required Prebooking required. Open everyday

15 CASTLE OF POLLINA 13th century Via Castello Pollina Tel: +39 0921425009 (Town Hall) Email: [email protected] Opening Hours Free admission 61

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17 BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Barberi, Giovan Luca. Corrao, Pietro. I Capibrevi. Pubblicati da Giuseppe Silvestri. Un castello, un assedio, un territorio: la Roccella Palermo: Tip. di Michele Amenta, 1879-1888. 1418. Estr. da: Incontri e iniziative: mensile del Centro di cultura di Cefalù, 3, 1986. Barberi, Giovan Luca. Cefalù, 1988. Il Magnum capibrevium dei feudi maggiori. A cura di Giovanna Stalteri Ragusa. Davì, Giulia. Palermo: Società siciliana per la storia patria, 1993. Il castello di Giuliana e il Palazzo Reale di Palermo. In: Federico II e l’arte del Bresc, Henri. italiano: atti della III settimana di studi... A cura Motta, Sala, Pietra: un incastellamento di Angiola Maria Romanini. trecentesco in Sicilia. In: Archeologia Medievale, Galatina: Congedo, 1980, v. 1, p. 147-152. 2, 1975, p. 428-432. Fazello, Tommaso. Bresc, Henri. De Rebus Siculis decades duae. Un monde méditerranéen: économie et société en Palermo, 1558. Sicile 1300-1450. Trad. it. a cura di Antonino De Rosalia e Gianfranco Palermo: Accademia di scienze lettere e arti di Nuzzo. Palermo; Roma: École française de Rome, 1986. Palermo: Regione siciliana, Assessorato dei beni culturali e ambientali e della pubblica istruzione, Bresc, Henri. 1990. Désertions, regroupements, stratégies dans la Sicile des Vèspres. In Castrum 3. Guerre, Federico e la Sicilia: dalla terra alla corona. fortification et habitat dans le monde 1. Archeologia e architettura. A cura di Carmela méditerranéen au Moyen Age. A cura di Andrea Angela Di Stefano e Antonio Cadei. Bazzana. 2. Arti figurative e arti suntuarie. A cura di Maria Madrid-Roma, 1988, p. 237-245. Andaloro. Siracusa: Ediprint, 1995. Bresc, Henri; Maurici, Ferdinando. I castelli demaniali della Sicilia (secoli XIII-XV). Gaeta, Alessandro. In: Castelli e fortezze nelle città e nei centri A tutela et defensa di quisto regno: il castello a minori italiani (secoli XIII-XV). A cura di mare di Palermo, Baldiri Meteli e le fortificazioni Francesco Panero, Giuliano Pinto. regie in Sicilia nell’età di Ferdinando il Cattolico 63

(1479-1516): protagonisti, cantieri, maestranze. Maurici, Ferdinando ... [et al.]. Palermo: , 2010. Il “Castellazzo” di Monte Iato in Sicilia occidentale (prov. di Palermo): terza e quarta Giuffrè, Maria. campagna di scavo: ricognizioni del territorio. In: Castelli e luoghi forti di Sicilia, XII-XVII secolo. FastiOnline Documents&Research, 317, 2013. Palermo: Vito Cavallotto, 1980. Maurici, Ferdinando ... [et al.]. Gregorio, Rosario. In castris ante Iatum: la fortificazione d’assedio di Considerazioni sopra la storia di Sicilia dai Federico II a Monte Iato: storia e archeologia. tempi normanni fino ai presenti. Introduzione di In: Santi, Santuari, Pellegrinaggi. Atti del Armando Saitta. seminario internazionale di studio (San Giuseppe Palermo: Ed. della Regione siciliana 1972-1973. Jato - , 31 agosto - 4 settembre 2011). A cura di Alessandro Musco e Giovanna Parrino. Librino, Emanuele. Palermo: Officina di studi medievali, 2014, p. 425- Rapporti fra Pisani e Siciliani a proposito d’una 485 [e-book]. causa di rappresaglie nel sec. XIV. Note ed appunti. Palazzolo, Antonino. In Archivio Storico Siciliano, n. s., 49, La torre di Pietro Speciale: per una storia del 1928, p. 179-213. territorio di Ficarazzi. Palermo: La bottega di Hefesto, 1988. Maurici, Ferdinando. Le torri di guardia delle coste siciliane al Santoro, Rodolfo. principio del ‘400. In: BCA Sicilia, 6-8, 1, 1985- La Sicilia dei castelli. 87, p. 55-89. Palermo: Pegaso, 1986.

Maurici, Ferdinando. Spatrisano, Giuseppe. Castelli medievali in Sicilia: dai bizantini ai Lo Steri di Palermo e l’architettura siciliana del normanni. . Palermo: Sellerio, 1992. Palermo: Flaccovio, 1972.

Maurici, Ferdinando. Le torri nei paesaggi costieri siciliani (secoli Il castello di Roccella. In: Sicilia Archeologica, XIII-XIX). A cura di Ferdinando Maurici, Adriana 85-86, 1994, p. 49-75. Fresina, Fabio Militello. Palermo: Regione siciliana, Assessorato dei beni Maurici, Ferdinando. culturali, ambientali e della pubblica istruzione, Federico II e la Sicilia: i castelli dell’imperatore. 2008. Catania: G. Maimone, 1997. Vassallo Stefano; Graditi, Roberto. Maurici, Ferdinando. Il Castellaccio di . Insediamenti e architettura fortificata nella Sicilia di Campofiorito: Federico III d’ il Grande. In: Il Mediterraneo Comune, 2010. del ’300 ed il regno di Federico III d’Aragona: saperi, economia, società. Atti del Convegno di Studio (Palermo 29-30 Giugno 2006 - Castelbuono 1 Luglio 2006). A cura di Alessandro Musco. Palermo: Officina di studi medievali, 2011 (Schede medievali, 49), p. 193-255.