Built in the Norman period, perched high on a steep rocky spur, this castle of the Chiaramonte family is without a doubt one of Sicily's most important, most evocative, and best conserved feudal fortresses, apart from being the biggest. The events that occurred here, from the year 1094 on, constitute an important page in Sicilian history. Here Matteo Bonello and his fellow conspirators found refuge after the Barons' Revolt in 1160-61. The castle was confiscated by the Crown, enlarged in the 14th cent. by Manfredi I Chiaramonte, further fortified at the end of that century by Giaimo de Prades, thanks to whom the Dammuso Tower was built halfway along the south façade, and finally transformed into a palace by the Amatos in the 18th cent. Inside the castle one can see the stables, the auditorium of the theatre, various guard rooms, the court chapel, the keep, the servants' rooms, the prisons with their walls covered in the prisoners' graffiti, the Conspiracy Room, and the impressive Arms Room with its massive pieces of armour. The western terrace, with a sheer drop below to the valley, provides a superb panorama ranging as far as the Rosamarina Dam and even to Rocca Busambra.

Details of the Caccamo castle

(click on the photos to enlarge)