Castello di Villagonia

Castello di Villagonia
	Taormina, Sicily, Italy
Coordinates	37°50′43.92″N15°16′57.07″E / 37.8455333°N 15.2825194°E
Type	castle
Site history
Built by	De Spucches family
Fate	Demolished, 1913

Last updated March 18, 2019

The Castello di Villagonia was a castle near the seashore of Taormina, Sicily. It was built in the Middle Ages by the De Spucches noble family.^[1] In the early 16th century, the castle was integrated into the Capo Schisò defensive system to defend the area from raids by the Barbary pirates.

A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages by predominantly 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 and arrowslits, were commonplace.

Taormina is a comune (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Messina, on the east coast of the island of Sicily, Italy. Taormina has been a tourist destination since the 19th century. Its beaches on the Ionian sea, including that of Isola Bella, are accessible via an aerial tramway built in 1992, and via highways from Messina in the north and Catania in the south. On May 26–27, 2017 Taormina hosted the 43rd G7 summit.

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.

The castle eventually became the property of the San Martino family. The castle was expropriated in 1913 from last owners, Giuseppe San Martino and his wife. It was subsequently demolished to make way for the Taormina-Giardini station of the Messina-Catania railway.^[2]

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References

↑ "Francesco San Martino De Spuches". martinez-tagliavia.com (in Italian). Retrieved 22 August 2015.
↑ "La marina di Villagonia e la Stazione di Taormina-Giardini". blogtaormina.it (in Italian). Retrieved 22 August 2015.

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[1] "Francesco San Martino De Spuches". martinez-tagliavia.com (in Italian). Retrieved 22 August 2015.

[2] "La marina di Villagonia e la Stazione di Taormina-Giardini". blogtaormina.it (in Italian). Retrieved 22 August 2015.