Castello Maniace, Syracuse, Italy

The Castello Maniace is a citadel and castle situated at the far point of the Ortygia island promontory, 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 feature of the castle is the decorated portal. Today the castle is open to public and is a local tourist attraction in Syracuse.

The first fort was built here in 1038 by George Maniakes, a Greek general and later the Catepan of Italy, after he captured Syracuse from the Arabs 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.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Bunsky (3 months ago)
An amazing site and fantastic vistas but…once again why such a lack of maintenance and interest ? No real informations about the place and its history. You wander around but you don’t know which parts of history took place here. Such a shame…

Mica “Mink” Hogan (5 months ago)
Cool place to visit. Thank you Ms. Zara for the field trip! We had a great time and got lots of cool pics.

Caro Sch (5 months ago)
Very nice place with a very good exhibition. Problem is that the stuff is so unfriendly. I asked for a toilet and they sad that it's right around the corner but then it was closed for like 30 minutes. When you really need to go to toilette 30 minutes is a long time. And they were not saying sorry or anything, just screaming "toilet closed".but despite from the stuff this place is great

Jef Ver Berne (8 months ago)
Beautiful castle with a beautiful view of the sea. But almost no information about the place and vzry unfriendly staff. Not worth 7€...

Jean james (8 months ago)
7euros for nothing compare to the cathedral that cost 2euros it s a joke. I always visit castles wherever i go, this one ranks in the worst to visit as there is nothing to see. Nothing there is left, all rooms and area are empty. Only the main hall offer a nice piece of modern art with the entire floor being a smashed mirror. Not worth the walk to get there or the price

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