Castello Maniace
The Castello Maniace is a citadel and castle in Syracuse, Sicily. It stands on a large promontory, where it was constructed between 1232 and 1240 by the Emperor Frederick II. It bears the name of George Maniakes, the Byzantine general who besieged and took the city in 1038. Originally, one could only enter the castle over a bridge spanning a moat (now filled). A notable feature of the castle is the decorated portal.
Today the castle is open to public and is a local tourist attraction in Syracuse. Still, the castle has become run down since the Bridport family left in 1982.
History
The first fort was built here in 1038 by George Maniakes, a Greek general and later the catepan of Italy, after his capture of Syracuse from Arabic rule, on behalf of the Emperor Michael IV. Frederick II, as King of Sicily, had his architect Riccardo da Lentini rebuild it in 1232-1240. King Peter III of Aragon resided here with his family in 1288. From 1305 to 1536 the castle was used as residence by numerous queens of Sicily.
In the 15th century it was used as a prison. In the following century it was included in the fortification defending the harbour and the city. A huge explosion damaged it in 1704, after which it was renovated and adapted to the use of guns.
In 1799, King Ferdinand III created Bronte as a Duchy, and rewarded admiral Horatio Nelson with the title of Duke for the help he had provided him in bloodily repressing the revolution in Naples and recovering his throne. As well as the title of Duke, Nelson received as a fief the Castello Maniace, which at the time was the remains of a Benedictine Monastery. The castle passed into the Bridport family when the 1st Viscount Bridport married the then Duchess of Bronte, who was Admiral Nelson's niece. The Bridports continued to live in the castle until 1982, when the current Viscount sold the property to the province of Catania.
External links
Literature
- Alexander Knaak: Prolegomena zu einem Corpuswerk der Architektur Friedrichs II. von Hohenstaufen im Königsreich Sizilien 1220–1250, Marburg 2001. ISBN 3-89445-278-1 (For Castello Maniace see pp. 47–58)
- Pratt, Michael.Nelson's Duchy: A Sicilian Anomaly.
Gallery
37°03′13″N 15°17′43″E / 37.05361°N 15.29528°E
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