Milazzo Castle (Italy)

The castle of Milazzo is the largest castle in Sicily and covers almost 14,000 square meters!
Castello di Milazzo is a fortified building located in the municipality of Milazzo, just a 40-minute drive from Messina. Overlooking the city, it has now earned the status of a National Monument in Italy. In reality it was more than a fortified citadel where the locals lived.

It was built on an area where the Greeks, Romans, Byzantines and Muslims were previously occupied. The first documents that date back to the castle date back to the Norman period, the 11th century, when the main building was built, the Keep, and was then enlarged by the Swabians. After the Normans, the Aragonese, the Spaniards and the Bourbons took control of the castle making changes to the structure until 1880, when the castle was turned into a prison. Unfortunately, the changes made during use as a prison ended up damaging the ancient beauty of the original structures of this castle. In 1959 this site was also abandoned by the prison service and only in 1991 began the first restoration projects. Since 2010 it is open to the public to visit.