Castello Maniace, Ortigia, Siracusa
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Forming the southern tip of the fortified island of Ortigia on Sicily’s eastern coast, Castello Maniace is beautiful to look at both inside and outside, and a boat trip in the bay offers rewarding views of its impressive external walls that jut out into the Ionian Sea.
According to tradition the castle is built on the former Temple of Juno and the villa of a Roman governor. It is named after the Byzantine general George Maniakes, who overthrew occupying Arabs in 1038, and was built c.1239 by the Germanic Holy Roman Emperor and Duke of Swabia, Frederick II. The castle had a variety of functions over the years: royal residence to Spanish king, Peter III of Aragon, in 1288; a fortress under the Spanish; a prison in the fifteenth century; a storehouse for gunpowder in the seventeenth century; and a twentieth-century military barracks. In recent years the castle has undergone extensive restoration works and is now open to the public as well as being a concert venue.
Built in a Gothic style, the castle once had a moat leading to an entrance is via a large arch. Beyond lies a building of clean-cut stone blocks forming a perfect square with cylindrical towers at its corners. Inside, the central hall boasts a beautifully ribbed Gothic ceiling, and columns crowned with wonderful stone carvings, making it a favourite setting as a film set. The castle is a warren of staircases and small rooms, one even containing an enclosed stone structure thought to have been a prison cell. The Spanish fortified the exterior area once more, and its walls are peppered with slit windows looking out to sea. An array of arches in the outer courtyard leads to areas that would have been used as storerooms, a bakery, and habitation. The local Rotary Club has donated a model of bronze ram; two bronze rams sculpted in a Hellenistic style and transported from the then Constantinople (now Istanbul) were installed at the castle by Maniakes, and were said to whistle to indicate the direction of the wind to sailors. An original is now held in Palermo’s Archaeological Museum.
Opening hours: Monday to Saturday, 8.30am to 1.30pm; Sundays and holidays, 9.30am to 1.30pm.
Tickets cost €4.00 for adults, €2.00 for 18-25 year olds, children and over 65 are free.
Contact tel: +39 0931 464 420
Cost adult ticket: £1 - £5 pp, child ticket: Free
Useful links
Castello Maniace website
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