Castello della Pietra d'Amico

Castello della Pietra d'Amico
	Alessandria della Rocca, Sicily, Italy
	Pietra d'Amico, on which the castle was built
Coordinates	37°34′43.5″N13°25′5.9″E / 37.578750°N 13.418306°E
Type	Castle
Site information
Open to; the public	Yes
Condition	Sparse remains
Site history
Built	14th century

Last updated October 01, 2019

The Castello della Pietra d'Amico was a 14th-century castle in Alessandria della Rocca, Sicily, southern Italy. Today, very little remains of the structure, since part of the rock on which it was built collapsed.

A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble. This is distinct from a palace, which is not fortified; from a fortress, which was not always a residence for royalty or nobility; and from a fortified settlement, which was a public defence – though there are many similarities among these types of construction. Usage of the term has varied over time and has been applied to structures as diverse as hill forts and country houses. Over the approximately 900 years that castles were built, they took on a great many forms with many different features, although some, such as curtain walls, arrowslits, and portcullises, were commonplace.

Alessandria della Rocca Comune in Sicily, Italy

Alessandria della Rocca is a comune and small agricultural town located in the northern part of the Province of Agrigento, west central Sicily, southern Italy.

Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 20 regions of Italy. It is one of the five Italian autonomous regions, in Southern Italy along with surrounding minor islands, officially referred to as Regione Siciliana.

History

The first structure on the site of the Castello della Pietra d'Amico was possibly built during the Byzantine period.^[1] The site was eventually taken over by the Saracens, before being destroyed in the 13th century.^[2]

The castle itself was built in the 14th century, and it probably consisted of a square tower and a rock-hewn silo.^[3] In 1542, it was sold to Don Nicholas Barresi, who founded the municipality of Alessandria della Rocca.

Part of the rock on which the castle was built collapsed over time, destroying most of the structure in the process. Today, all that remains are a few parts of its walls and staircases. The site is abandoned but is accessible to the public.^[3]

In the 1980s, the area around the castle was flooded by the Lago di Magazzolo following the construction of a dam. Before the flooding, the area was excavated and pottery, tools and shreds were found. These remains probably originated from a small settlement that had developed near the castle.^[4]

Lago di Magazzolo, or Lago Castello, is a lake in the Province of Agrigento, Sicily, Italy.

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References

↑ "Castello della Pietra di Amico a Alessandria della Rocca". virtualsicily.it (in Italian). Retrieved 20 September 2015.
↑ "Castello della Pietra d'Amico". alessandriadellarocca.biz (in Italian). 27 June 2010. Archived from the original on 11 August 2015. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
1 2 Orlando, Andrea. "Castello Di Pietra D'Amico". iCastelli.it (in Italian). Retrieved 20 September 2015.
↑ Raineri, Nino (1991). Alessandria della Rocca: Storia-Tradizioni-Immagini (in Italian). Alessandria della Rocca: Comune di Alessandria della Rocca. p. 11.

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[1] "Castello della Pietra di Amico a Alessandria della Rocca". virtualsicily.it (in Italian). Retrieved 20 September 2015.

[2] "Castello della Pietra d'Amico". alessandriadellarocca.biz (in Italian). 27 June 2010. Archived from the original on 11 August 2015. Retrieved 20 September 2015.

[icastelli-3] 1 2 Orlando, Andrea. "Castello Di Pietra D'Amico". iCastelli.it (in Italian). Retrieved 20 September 2015.

[4] Raineri, Nino (1991). Alessandria della Rocca: Storia-Tradizioni-Immagini (in Italian). Alessandria della Rocca: Comune di Alessandria della Rocca. p. 11.