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The Chiaramonte Castle of Siculiana, situated in thehomonymous town, is a rich and splendid architectural monument. It was built on the top of a headland, probably seat of the ancient cena. The castle dominated, with its towers, the village and the valley that lies gently on the Mediterranean sea.
The origin of the fortress is Arab. The ancient arab castle was rebuilt in 1314, by order of Federico Chiaramonte. In 1311 Costanza, Federico Chiaramonte’s only daughter, celebrated in the castle her second mariage. Her husband was the noble from Genoa Brancaleone Doria, who became Governor of Sardinia in 1335. Many mariages and noble agreements were celebrated in the castle, due to its splendor and to the belief that any celebration that took place on the “Rock of Siculiana”, was blessed.
In the late years of the 14th century, in the centre of Piazza d’Armi, a deep cistern was bored to gather and conserve rain water for daily use. A precious resource in case of siege, which you can still admire today. The Church of St. Lorenzo, in the south wing of the castle, is the most ancient of Siculiana, built during the 17th century.
During the ages, the castle became a prison. The last Baron of Siculiana was Antonio Perez. In the early years of the 20th century, the Baron agnello ordered the destruction of the “Forth Noble”, the most important artistic and historical part of the castle, to build a luxurious residence for himself.
References:The Church of Saint Demetrius, or Hagios Demetrios, is the main sanctuary dedicated to Saint Demetrius, the patron saint of Thessaloniki. It is part of the site Palaeochristian and Byzantine Monuments of Thessaloniki on the list of World Heritage Sites by UNESCO since 1988.
The first church on the spot was constructed in the early 4th century AD, replacing a Roman bath. A century later, a prefect named Leontios replaced the small oratory with a larger, three-aisled basilica. Repeatedly gutted by fires, the church eventually was reconstructed as a five-aisled basilica in 629–634. This was the surviving form of the church much as it is today. The most important shrine in the city, it was probably larger than the local cathedral. The historic location of the latter is now unknown.
The church had an unusual shrine called the ciborium, a hexagonal, roofed structure at one side of the nave. It was made of or covered with silver. The structure had doors and inside was a couch or bed. Unusually, it did not hold any physical relics of the saint. The ciborium seems to have been a symbolic tomb. It was rebuilt at least once.
The basilica is famous for six extant mosaic panels, dated to the period between the latest reconstruction and the inauguration of the Byzantine Iconoclasm in 730. These mosaics depict St. Demetrius with officials responsible for the restoration of the church (called the founders, ktetors) and with children. An inscription below one of the images glorifies heaven for saving the people of Thessalonica from a pagan Slavic raid in 615.
Thessaloniki became part of the Ottoman Empire in 1430. About 60 years later, during the reign of Bayezid II, the church was converted into a mosque, known as the Kasımiye Camii after the local Ottoman mayor, Cezeri Kasım Pasha. The symbolic tomb however was kept open for Christian veneration. Other magnificent mosaics, recorded as covering the church interior, were lost either during the four centuries when it functioned as a mosque (1493–1912) or in the Great Thessaloniki Fire of 1917 that destroyed much of the city. It also destroyed the roof and upper walls of the church. Black-and-white photographs and good watercolour versions give an idea of the early Byzantine craftsmanship lost during the fire.
Following the Great Fire of 1917, it took decades to restore the church. Tombstones from the city"s Jewish cemetery - destroyed by the Greek and Nazi German authorities - were used as building materials in these restoration efforts in the 1940s. Archeological excavations conducted in the 1930s and 1940s revealed interesting artifacts that may be seen in a museum situated inside the church"s crypt. The excavations also uncovered the ruins of a Roman bath, where St. Demetrius was said to have been held prisoner and executed. A Roman well was also discovered. Scholars believe this is where soldiers dropped the body of St. Demetrius after his execution. After restoration, the church was reconsecrated in 1949.