CASTELLO DI LOMBARDIA

Its complex structure makes it one of the best preserved and most defensive walls in medieval Sicily. It dominates the city, looking towards the Frederick Tower. The first fortress was erected here by the Sicanes before the Greeks, in the 1st millennium BC. It is said that the Romans only managed to take this very well guarded stronghold through the canals. Then it was occupied by the Byzantines, who resisted the Arabs for a long time. The present structure was erected during the Swabian period and extensively remodelled by Frederick III of Aragon to make it a summer residence. The castle owes its name to the presence of a Lombard garrison near the site. Of the 20 towers built at that time, the castle has preserved only 6, including the tower of La Pisana, from which one can enjoy a superb panorama. If the weather is clear, in addition to the superb view of the neighbouring villages, one can hope to see Etna.

The castle develops around 3 large courtyards of different sizes. The first, called degli Armati, now houses an open-air theatre. Photo exhibitions take place there. Admission is free. In the second there is a pine forest, and in the third, that of San Martino, you can see the traces of the apartments that Frederick III of Aragon had built.

The castle is also connected by a path to the rock of Demeter on which once stood the temple dedicated to the goddess and her statue, described by Cicero.