Racalmuto, an agricultural town founded by the Arabs before the year 1000, spread around the castle of the Chiaramonte family in the period following the Norman conquest. The fortress was built in the days of the barony of Robert Malcovenant, a Frenchman in the service of Roger de Hauteville. Frederick of Aragon later transferred ownership of the castle and the surrounding fief to Frederick II Chiaramonte. In the early 1300s the new lords of Racalmuto refounded the modest dwelling left by the Malcovenants and transformed it into a truly imposing construction. With its trapezoid plan, its round-based towers, and the arrangement of its main gate and secondary entrances, the castle is without a doubt a characteristic example of military architecture of the Swabian period. On the ground floor, the south side presents arched doors, a line of balconies, and a series of characteristic windows distributed here and there on the façade in random fashion. The left-hand tower has maintained its original form, while the one on the right has been restored and is now used as a belvedere. At the beginning of the 20th cent. the castle was declared a national monument.

Details of the Racalmuto castle

(click on the photos to enlarge)