Built in the 13th century by the Chiaramonte family, the Favara castle is of particular interest because it represents the transitional phase between castle and palace. The Palace, as it is in fact commonly called because of the square arrangement of its various parts, recalls the typical lay-out of the Swabian castles that sprang up in eastern Sicily and may be compared with the palacia or solacia built by King Frederick II of Swabia (1194-1250) in Sicily and Puglia some 50 years before. The building's partial use as a residence not in any case intended strictly for military purposes is reflected in its not particularly dominating position.
The first order of the Palace is compact in appearance, while the second order is cut through by two-light windows, some of which were replaced in the Renaissance by architraved windows.
The rooms on the ground floor of the castle, once used as storehouses, stables, and servants' living quarters, have barrel vaults; they all open onto the courtyard, with ogival doors and various 16th-, 18th-, and 19th-cent. additions, getting their light through narrow loopholes.
In the entrance hallway there is a stone bearing a mysterious, indecipherable inscription that according to local tradition proclaims the whereabouts of a hidden treasure.
Of particular interest are the chapel and the portal, which is flanked on either side by two little columns and a marble frieze decorated with a basso-relievo and winged cupids.
The motifs of the decorations are clearly echoes of the Norman age: in particular, the shafts of the columns and the chapters recall those of the Cloister of Monreale.
References:The Clementinum is a historic complex of buildings in Prague. Until recently the complex hosted the National, University and Technical libraries, the City Library also being located nearby on Mariánské Náměstí. The Technical library and the Municipal library have moved to the Prague National Technical Library at Technická 6 since 2009. It is currently in use as the National Library of the Czech Republic.
Its history dates from the existence of a chapel dedicated to Saint Clement in the 11th century. A Dominican monastery was founded in the medieval period, which was transformed in 1556 to a Jesuit college. In 1622 the Jesuits transferred the library of Charles University to the Klementinum, and the college was merged with the University in 1654. The Jesuits remained until 1773, when the Klementinum was established as an observatory, library, and university by the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria.