Castello Normanno di Aci Castello: A Historic Fortress in Sicily

Visitor Information

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Official Website: acicastello.turismo.comunelive.it

Country: Italy

Civilization: Medieval European

Remains: Military

History

The Castello Normanno, also known as Castello di Aci, stands on a basalt promontory in Aci Castello, Sicily. Its earliest known fortress was built by the Byzantines in the 6th or 7th century, likely atop a Roman fortification dating back to around 38 AD. Originally called Castrum Jacis, the site served to protect the local population from raids.

In 902 AD, during the Muslim conquest of Sicily, the castle was surrendered to Emir Ibrahim II. While the fortress was destroyed, the town was spared. Under Arab rule in the 10th century, the site was rebuilt as part of a defensive network. The village was known as Al-Yâg or Lî-Yâg and became an important center in eastern Sicily.

The Normans took control in the late 11th century, introducing a feudal system. In 1092, the castle and surrounding lands were granted to Angerio da Sant’Eufemia, abbot and bishop of Catania. The territory included present-day Aci Castello and nearby municipalities. The Arab geographer Al-Idrisi noted the significance of the land of Aci in the 12th century.

On August 17, 1126, Bishop Maurizio of Catania received the relics of Saint Agatha at the castle. These relics had been brought from Constantinople by knights Goselmo and Gisliberto. A fresco commemorating this event remains in a small chapel within the castle.

In 1239, Emperor Frederick II removed the bishop as feudal lord, returning the castle to imperial control. He began construction of the nearby Castello Ursino. By 1277, the settlement around the castle had about 1,200 inhabitants.

During the Sicilian Vespers in the late 13th century, King Frederick III of Aragon granted the castle to Admiral Ruggero di Lauria in 1297. Lauria owed an annual tribute to the bishop of Catania, which was never paid. After Lauria sided with the Angevins, Frederick III besieged and retook the castle using a wooden siege tower called the “cicogna.”

In 1320, the castle and territory passed to Blasco II Alagona and later to his son Artale I. Angevin forces under Beltrando Del Balzo sacked the castle in 1326. A devastating earthquake and Mount Etna eruption in 1329 destroyed much of the area, prompting the founding of Aquilia Nuova, later Acireale, north of the original settlement.

King Ludovico d’Aragona died in the castle in 1353 at age 17. Angevin forces led by Niccolò Acciaiuoli attacked the castle in 1354 and 1356 but were repelled by Artale I Alagona. These conflicts culminated in the naval Battle of Ognina near the castle.

In 1396, during an anti-Aragonese revolt, Artale II Alagona fortified himself in the castle. King Martin the Younger besieged it, cutting off the water supply and forcing surrender. The following year, King Martin declared the lands of Aci to remain under royal domain permanently, likely to prevent baronial control. In 1399, he granted customs exemption privileges.

King Martin the Younger resided in the castle with his second wife, Bianca of Navarre, in 1402. By 1404, the village population had grown to about 2,400. Throughout the 15th century, ownership changed frequently, including to Viceroy Ferdinando Velasquez in 1421. To quell unrest, Velasquez was authorized in 1422 to establish a duty-free fair called Fiera Franca, which became economically important.

After Velasquez’s death in 1434, the territory reverted to the Spanish crown and passed through noble families such as Platamone, Moncada, Requisens, and Mastrantonio barons by 1468. On August 28, 1528, the inhabitants paid Emperor Charles V 20,000 florins to redeem the territory from baronial control. Charles V accepted this on July 5, 1530, restoring the lands to royal domain and confirming the Fiera Franca. The castle appeared on the seal of the new royal university alongside the basalt sea stacks of nearby Aci Trezza.

From the mid-16th century, the “University of Aci” dissolved as surrounding villages gained independence. The castle was repurposed as a barracks and later as a prison. In 1647, King Philip IV of Spain sold the castle to Duke Giovanni Andrea Massa for 7,500 scudi. The castle suffered damage during the 1693 Val di Noto earthquake.

During the 19th century Bourbon period, the castle returned to municipal ownership. The Sicilian writer Giovanni Verga set his novella “Le storie del Castello di Trezza” at the site. Restoration work took place between 1967 and 1969. Since 1985, the castle has housed a civic museum.

Remains

The Castello Normanno occupies a basalt promontory formed by ancient submarine lava flows about 500,000 years old. The fortress is accessible only by a masonry staircase climbing the cliff. A wooden drawbridge once stood at the entrance stairway but no longer exists.

The castle’s central feature is a quadrangular donjon tower, which served as the main stronghold. The gate retains parts of the drawbridge mechanism. Several internal rooms remain and now accommodate museum exhibits.

Within the courtyard lies a small botanical garden. A chapel, identified by some scholars as Byzantine in origin, contains traces of a fresco commemorating the arrival of Saint Agatha’s relics. In 2012, this chapel was dedicated as the “Jean Calogero Hall” in honor of the painter who depicted Sicilian landscapes. Three of his oil paintings are permanently displayed there.

The castle overlooks the sea and offers a large panoramic terrace facing the gulf. The museum inside is divided into mineralogy, paleontology, and archaeology sections, reflecting the geological and historical importance of the site.