Originally this was a tower granted in 1362 to the Santapau family of Butera that subsequently passed to the Princes of Branciforti, finally becoming the present-day Falconara Castle. In the last two centuries in particular it has been variously modified with a view to enlarging and embellishing it, leading to the result one now sees today - a turreted and battlemented castle. In the early 19th cent. it became the property of a German Count, Giorgio Wilding, who - struck by the beauty of the place - added a whole new wing, a large salon, and a fine terrace high above the sea. The property later passed to the Chiaramonte-Bordonaro family; another large wing was built and the whole building was refurbished, becoming a modern residence boasting paintings, antique furniture, precious pottery, and hunting trophies that cut a fine figure in the great halls, the smaller chambers, and the corridors, presenting the fortunate visitors with the mysterious and to some extent exotic fascination of the life of the nobility of yesteryear.

Details of the Falconara castle (Gela)

(click on the photos to enlarge)