We are in Taormina with its beautiful countryside: a crystal-clear sea, rows of vines glinting in the sunshine, and untamed nature symbolized by Etna. But all around there are fascinating traces of Sicilian history, a history rich in events of significance for the whole of the Mediterranean basin. You can retrace this history through Sicily’s monuments, churches and castles. A stay at the Villa Ducale in Taormina, a charming, delightful hotel, equipped with all comforts and with panoramic views of Etna and the sea, is a good starting point for an exploration of the other face of Sicily, no less interesting or pleasurable than its purely seaside attractions.
The Villa Carlotta in Taormina is the starting point for an itinerary dotted with castles and medieval towns, discovering lost scents and flavours and wonderful architectural perspectives. Few people know that the reason Sicily has a lot of castles is because it has experienced a succession of invaders who have each left a trace of their passing in the buildings. Over two hundred remain, which says a lot about their longevity and about the kind of feudalism that existed on the island. To visit the most important castles from Taormina, the ideal tour would make a first stop at the Castello Ursino in Catania and then, just a short distance away, at Acicastello, before continuing inland, with a visit to the castle of Castiglione di Sicilia a must, followed by the Ducea di Maniace, which belonged to English Admiral Horatio Nelson, and finally finishing off with a visit to the fortress complex of Montalbano d’Elicona.
This itinerary enables visitors to find out about the lives of some of the famous people who have had a connection with Sicilian history: Corradino of Swabia, the great Norman Count Roger, Frederick II of Swabia and British Admiral Horatio Nelson.
The Castle of Ursino in Catania, a symbol of power
Before the lava flow of 1669, the castle, which overlooks the sea, remained on the edge of the medieval city and served to control the plain of Lentini and the Simeto valley. The castle is a large complex of buildings in the form of a square with towers and an internal courtyard. The original building was Swabian and is a memorial to Conradin, the last of the Swabians. His tragic end has moved writers and artists of all periods, and his personality has always been surrounded by a romantic aura. The nineteenth century poet, Aleardo Aleardi, wrote a famous poem about him, with the title Corradino di Svevia, which described him as a slim, blond adolescent, handsome and romantic, who wrote poetry and dreamed of his kingdom of Sicily, so different from cold, rainy Bavaria. He dreamed of the beloved land of sun, filled with almond blossom and the scent of orange blossom, where his father, uncle and grandfather were born. But he never succeeded in reaching Sicily and was beheaded at only sixteen years old on 29 October 1268 in Naples.
Between 1931 and 1934 Castello Ursino underwent extensive restoration and was transformed into the present Museo Civico (town museum).
The Castle of Acicastello, a stronghold against the Arab invasion
The castle, which stands on an immense basalt rock with a sheer drop to the sea on three sides, was a control point for the Catania Ionic coast with specific defensive functions over the gulf and city of Catania. The castle was only accessible from the land on one side, by means of a bridge made from lava rock. Already by 902 Aci is recorded as a centre for the Byzantine resistance against the Muslim invasion of the ninth century. In 1092 the castellum in Aci and all its appurtenances were given by Count Roger to Ansgerio, the bishop of Catania. Roger I of Sicily, known as the Great Count Roger, was the son of Tancredi of Altavilla and brother of Roberto il Guiscardo, and he led the Norman conquest of Sicily, then under Muslim rule, at the head of the Thousand. As a Catholic sovereign, he was the founder of a series of splendid cathedrals in Sicily: in Troina, Paternò, Modica, Catania and especially Messina.
The Castle of Acicastello is now owned by the town, serving as a museum and providing space for temporary exhibitions.
The Castle of Lauria in Castiglione, secrets and underground passageways
Some of the architectural details lead one to guess that the principal nucleus of this castle was probably built during the Norman-Swabian period. In Medieval times, the castle was connected to the stronghold of Castelluccio and to the church of San Pietro by underground passageways. The complex includes the aristocratic quarters reserved for the lord of the castle, the stables, barns, cattle sheds, and quarters for servants and maintenance workers. There were also prisons, where the most troublesome political adversaries and the most hardened criminals were often locked up in uncomfortable cells known as dammusi (a word that has become fashionable again today as it indicates holiday houses in Pantelleria owned by international Vips’s), no more than 2 metres long and barely a metre high,. There were also cisterns to store rainwater or to hide provisions and valuable possessions during sieges, and there were round stone missiles, ready for firing at the enemy.
The Ducea di Santa Maria di Maniace, known as Horatio Nelson’s Castle
When King Ferdinand of Bourbon decided to reward English Admiral Horatio Nelson for services rendered in crushing the Naples rebellion in 1799 and for hanging Admiral Caracciolo, he chose to give him the possessions of the Benedictine Abbey of Santa Maria di Maniace, in the Nebrodi park a few kilometres from Bronte, in the province of Catania. With his gift, Ferdinand also conferred on Admiral Nelson the right to pass the Ducea on, not only to any of his relatives but also to others who were unrelated. And indeed the estate remained in English hands until 1981, when it was bought by the town of Bronte to create a museum.
Horatio Nelson was a great but strange character: as Admiral of the English Navy, he was responsible for inflicting the crushing defeat on Napoleon at the battle of Trafalgar (during which Nelson himself was seriously wounded, dying soon after the battle ended), but was famous not only because of his historic victory but also for more frivolous reasons: his love for the beautiful and unconventional Emma Hamilton, and some famous sayings (“England expects that every man will do his duty” and “Desperate affairs require desperate measures”).
The Castle of Montalbano Elicona, a fourteenth century royal palace
The castle has remained complete as a result of restoration work by the local authority in 1980, which restored the village’s image and identity. Situated on a rocky promontory, the large square fortress dominates the village, surrounded by the typical medieval irregular and twisting town centre. The castle of Montalbano is the only remaining example in Sicily of a fourteenth century royal palace. History tells us that is was Frederick II of Swabia himself who built the fortress, surrounded by walls, in around 1210, and who later adapted the fortress for use as a castle-palace.
Frederick II Hohenstaufen, or Frederick I of Sicily or of Swabia, popularly given the appellation stupor mundi (wonder of the world), was Holy Roman Emperor from 1120 to 1250. Belonging to the aristocratic Swabian family of the Hohenstaufen, he was also King of Germany, King of Italy, King of Burgundy, King of Jerusalem and, under the name of Frederick I, King of Sicily from 1198 to 1250. Frederick II had a fascinating and many-sided personality which has attracted the attention of historians and of people generally ever since his own lifetime, producing a long series of popular myths and legends, both good and bad.
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