Milazzo Castle

With its more than seven hectares of surface, the fortified city known as Castello di Milazzo, is the largest located in Sicily. There are over twelve thousand square meters at the top of the ancient village and this monumental complex was created precisely because of its strategic position capable of protecting one of the most important ports on the island.

It is one of the rare examples of military architecture in which the original defensive systems still exist. The Castle, however, has not only had a military address as it was also a village inhabited during the Middle Ages which was located between the Cinta Spagnola and the Cinta Aragonese.

History of the Castle of Milazzo

The Castle of Milazzo was built on the area where the first Greek and Roman settlements were located, later used also by the Byzantines and Arabs.
However, the first historically documented sources date back to the year XNUMX when, during the Norman era, the castle was built. In the thirteenth century, Frederick II of Swabia had the fortification expanded all around the main keep which was restructured during the fifteenth century by King Ferdinand the Catholic after the Aragonese took over from the Angevins.

It was then that the Cinta Aragonese was raised including the pre-existing structure which, during the first half of the sixteenth century, saw the construction of the Cinta Spagnola with which the whole village was also protected which during the Middle Ages and before, had come to form.
There were many buildings used for civil purposes between the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries, such as the Palazzo dei Giurati which is located in front of the Old Cathedral of Santo Stefano.

The Castle was abandoned by the Bourbon soldiers who guarded it, after the arrival of Garibaldi in 1860.

From the end of the XNUMXth century until the XNUMXs, the structure was used as a prison and then abandoned.

In the last decade of the 2008th century and between 2010 and XNUMX, the complex underwent significant restoration works.

Architecture and works of art present in the Castle of Milazzo

The Castle of Milazzo has a trapezoidal plan, an obligatory passage to follow the irregularity of the orography of the land. There are eight towers with a quadrangular structure including the Mastro Normanna which has lava stone cantonals. There are four corner towers which are placed on each cardinal point.

The mighty original walls date back to the Norman era but were remodeled during the domination Swabian at the behest of Frederick II who commissioned Riccardo da Lentini to design the works. On the northern side, this has an ogival arched limestone door which has a lava stone frame where a Spanish marble coat of arms is affixed above which certainly took the place of a previous one from the Swabian era.

The southern side sees only an ogival arch - also in lava stone - testifying that there was another door perhaps used as an escape route.
The Court consists of an extensive quadrangular-shaped courtyard which presents evidence of different eras in the center of which there is a covered cistern with a well.

The western part of the Castle is characterized by Norman Tower, the Aragonese Complex and the Sala del Camino, all made in different eras.

The Norman Tower is the one located on the west side and is both the highest – 17 meters – and the oldest of the Castle. It is quadrangular in shape with a shoe base no higher than ten meters that frames it on all four sides. Inserted in Frederick's walls, the Norman Tower is characterized by rounded edges at the openings, by the use of lava stone in ashlars to make the cantons and by the herringbone brick decoration.

The Sala del Camino dates back to the Swabian period and it seems that towards the end of the XIII century it was the seat of an important assembly.

One entered the Sala del Camino along a brick paving placed in a herringbone pattern, up a certain number of steps and reaching an atrium.

This room is lit by single-lancet windows and is divided into three bays by pointed arches in lava stone. Inside, an ogival-shaped door still embellished with a lava stone frame, allows access to another more intimate room characterized by a large pointed arch.

The Aragonese complex surrounds the entire courtyard. Originally the lower part probably housed the inevitable service areas and the so-called main floor which could be reached using a staircase located on the south side, or using the internal stairs.

All these rooms were included in the Sala del Camino and modified so that they communicated with each other.

Once the structure was transformed into a prison, it was significantly remodeled. On the northern slope is the prison chapel where a chapel dedicated to Santa Barbara almost certainly existed in the past.

What you can do around the Castle of Milazzo

After getting to know the Castle in Milazzo it is possible to organize interesting excursions such as the one which has one of the most beautiful Greek cities on the island as its destination: Taormina. Here the testimonies of a rich past are mixed in a homogeneous way, from Greek Theater and the Odeon at the Palazzo Corvaja and at the Badia Vecchia.

Alternatively you can schedule a visit to Nebrodi Park where two hundred thousand hectares of true nature are available to all trekking lovers and more.

How is it possible to get to the Castle of Milazzo

By car:
Milazzo is connected with Messina, Catania and Palermo – from which it is respectively 40 and 225 km away – both by the State Road 113 and by the Messina - Palermo A20 motorway (exit at the Milazzo tollbooth).