Castle of Ventimiglia

Alcamo, Italy

The castle of Ventimiglia is an ancient four towers castle which was built at the end of the 14th century by the Ventimiglia family on the top of Mount Bonifato near Alcamo.

Enrico Ventimiglia, the son of Guarnieri Ventimiglia whom he succeeded to, declared that he had this castle built on Mount Bonifato as a protection from possible attacks. According to different interpretations, the castle, instead, would date back to an anterior period.

The castle was destroyed in 1243 by order of Frederick II; it was rebuilt by the Ventimglia family before 1391 at her own expense. 

Originally the castle had four towers and a rectangular trapezoid plan. The only remaining tower is the donjon or 'Torre maestram', that initially had three floors: you could enter it through a wooden ladder at the first floor. This tower is located on the north-west and had a rectangular plan with walls 2.2 m thick. It was the most important in the castle because, thanks to its impressiveness and position, this was a point of strategic sighting as they could check the road leading to the castle, as far as the entrance door, situated on the south-west side.

References:

Comments

Your name



Address

Unnamed Road, Alcamo, Italy
See all sites in Alcamo

Details

Founded: 14th century
Category: Castles and fortifications in Italy

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.2/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Roberto Baiamonte (13 months ago)
Sicily is full of castles and these are an example
Annamaria Latron (16 months ago)
Beautiful ruins of the castle of the Ventimiglia family, as well as the remains of protohistoric occupations in the surroundings. All on Mount Bonifato which dominates the city of Alcamo, in the cool of the woods. Totally free
Adam Hervas (22 months ago)
It is worth giving up and going up here. But on the north road, not on the south road, which is what Google Maps recommended and it was unnecessarily long.
Concetta Adragna (2 years ago)
Yes, breathe some history
Ael Manu (2 years ago)
Spectacular 360-degree view, the tower retains part of the ancient walls ... a place to be enhanced (sin the huge antennas next to it)
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Celje Castle

Celje Castle was once the largest fortification on Slovenian territory. The first fortified building on the site (a Romanesque palace) was built in the first half of the 13th century by the Counts of Heunburg from Carinthia on the stony outcrop on the western side of the ridge where the castle stands. It had five sides, or four plus the southern side, which was a natural defence. The first written records of the castle date back to between 1125 and 1137; it was probably built by Count Gunter. In the western section of the castle, there was a building with several floors. Remains of the walls of this palatium have survived. In the eastern section, there was an enclosed courtyard with large water reservoirs. The eastern wall, which protects the castle from its most exposed side, was around three metres thicker than the rest of the curtain wall. The wall was topped with a parapet and protected walkway.