The first definite mention of the castle dates back to the time of the War of the Sicilian Vespers, when the French soldiers stationed here were killed and their bodies were displayed on the walls of the stronghold. Built in the 14th cent. by the powerful Chiaramonte family, for which reason it is commonly referred to as the Chiaramontan castle, this irregularly shaped tufa-stone fortress was declared a national monument in 1912. We can admire the boundary wall, with its ramparts walk, the square tower built by order of Frederick of Aragon in 1330 to one side, and the imposing bulk of the rectangular keep, which is reached through an elaborately framed door. Among the barrel-vaulted rooms inside the castle, of particular note are the great hall, reached through a 14th cent. door, and a vast open cistern that on occasion was used as a prison. The castle has been restored with two main objects in mind: to conserve the whole structure and to fit it into the general context of its local reality by using it as a museum, on two levels of the south-east tower and the Aragon Tower; also, a restoration workshop has been set up in the south-west corner.

Details of the Naro castle

(click on the photos to enlarge)