Castle of Santa Lucia del Mela

In province of Messina It rises Saint Lucia del Mela, a village certainly far from the common tourist routes that usually take visitors to more famous places such as Palermo, Syracuse or Taormina. Despite everything, however, whoever decides to stop in this intimate corner of Sicily will find himself in a beautiful town rich in a very ancient history, imprinted in its symbolic monument, namely the Castle of Santa Lucia del Mela.

The history of the Castle of Santa Lucia del Mela

Santa Lucia del Mela is perched at the foot of the Peloritani Mountains, between the course of the Floripotema river and that of the Mela.

The castle stands on top of the hill Mankarru, at a height of 368 m.: whoever decides to visit the Castle, will be greeted by a panorama spectacular on the whole Milazzo plain, with the Aeolian Islands which, in the most tense days, timidly peep out.

The first stone of the manor was placed on the remains of an ancient Greek site, as evidenced by the remains of an ancient city wall: with the arrival of the Romans, the settlement became a castrum and it remained so until the fall of the Roman Empire. Then the Byzantines and the Arabs arrived, who were defeated by Frederick II of Swabia in the XIII century.
Lo stupor mundi he literally fell in love with Santa Lucia del Mela, because of the peaceful atmosphere and nature, rich in game. Frederick II's admiration for the village led him to nominate it, the only case in Sicily and in the rest of his kingdom, Prelature Nullius.
The fame of the castle is also linked to the era in which it became the seat of the glorious Sicilian Poetic School: commissioned by Federico II, it was much praised also by Dante Alighieri. One cannot fail to mention that the Pier della Vigna mentioned in the XIII canto of the Inferno, it seems he committed suicide right inside the prisons of the Castle of Santa Lucia del Mela.

Architecture and works of art in the Castle of Santa Lucia del Mela

It was Simone Impellizzeri, the monsignor to whom the Castle was entrusted by the prince of Buccheri, who restructured the manor, ordering the building of the beautiful Sanctuary of the Madonna della Neve. It is accessed from the internal courtyard of the Castle, which can be reached by passing a portal surmounted by an elegant pointed arch: in addition to the eighteenth-century Baroque altar, the church houses a 500th-century marble statue by Calamecca depicting the Archangel Michael and another by the 700 of the Madonna della Neve, work of the great sculptor Gagini.
The Castle is spread over a fairly flat stretch and winds from north to south, where the Cylindrical tower, enclosing a V-shaped courtyard which is in fact the Piazza d'Armi.
The Cylindrical Tower is almost 20 m high and was built, like the Triangular Tower lower, in stones, complete with rows made of terracotta: on the ground floor there was the cistern and probably later the prisons of the castle were located here.

What to see in the surroundings

From the Castle of Santa Lucia del Mela it is possible to extend the visit to the rest of the village, visiting its noble palaces and its beautiful Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, where an artistic heritage of great value is kept, such as the precious fourteenth-century reliquary of the Holy Thorn and an alabaster Ecce Homo by Marabitti. At Bishop's Palace, dating back to 1613, you can admire the richness kept in it, including damask fabrics on the walls, marble and period furnishings, without forgetting the Diocesan Museum which is located here.
Also worth a visit there Church of San Francesco d'Assisi, located in a verdant valley in the shadow of Colle di Mankarru: it dates back to the 600s and inside there is a canvas depicting the Saint of Assisi receiving the stigmata from the 700th century and a wooden crucifix from the XNUMXth century.

How to get to Santa Lucia del Mela

To reach the village of Santa Lucia del Mela and thus visit its castle, you must travel by car, the A20 that connects Palermo to Messina. Exit at Milazzo and continue along the SS113 to Olivarella, continuing for 4 km to your destination.

The Crazy Style at the Italian Wikipedia project., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons e Ephems, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons