Squillace Castle, Squillace, Italy

Squillace Castle was built on the ruins of a monastery when the Normans conquered Squillace in 1044. Throughout the years it was conquered and ruled by various families – one of which being the Borgia family. The Borgia family was an Italian-Spanish noble family that become prominent during the Italian Renaissance. Between 1494 and 1735, Squillace was governed by the Borgia Princes.

In 1793, an earthquake severely damaged parts of the castle but that didn’t stop King Giuseppe Bonaparte (Napoleon’s older brother – the King of Naples and Sicily, and later King of Spain), from turning the castle into a prison which remained this way until 1978.

At this point, the castle began its restoration and the results can be seen today. It doesn’t have the appearance of its original structure but there is an interesting mesh of architectural structures giving the castle its unique look. The exterior of the castle is made up of two towers – one of which is cylindrical while they other is polygonal. The main entrance has the Borgia family coat of arms proudly displayed and around the piazza there are still remnants of the outer walls.

During renovations in 1994, two mysterious and infamous guests were discovered. Two skeletons were unearthed in the polygonal tower wrapped in a tender eternal embrace. They date back to anywhere between 1200 and 1300 AD.

What intrigued researchers the most was not only their position but the fact that the skeletons didn’t appear to be local people. There is still much debate on who these “two lovers” are and what led to their sad fate – perhaps we will never know.

In the meantime, you can visit the small museum and see these mysterious guests on display with other artifacts that were found during the excavation.

References:

mybellavita.com

Broch of Gurness

The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age broch village. Settlement here began sometime between 500 and 200 BC. At the centre of the settlement is a stone tower or broch, which once probably reached a height of around 10 metres. Its interior is divided into sections by upright slabs. The tower features two skins of drystone walls, with stone-floored galleries in between. These are accessed by steps. Stone ledges suggest that there was once an upper storey with a timber floor. The roof would have been thatched, surrounded by a wall walk linked by stairs to the ground floor. The broch features two hearths and a subterranean stone cistern with steps leading down into it. It is thought to have some religious significance, relating to an Iron Age cult of the underground.

The remains of the central tower are up to 3.6 metres high, and the stone walls are up to 4.1 metres thick.

Lucas P (14 months ago)
Relatively small but it's well worth a visit, especially for those interested in medieval Europe. The view of Squillace and other nearby comunes are quite nice.

Stanley McCaslin (15 months ago)
Strenuous, hot walk around town. The hilltop Norman ruin was well worth the climb, as was the local restaurant, La Taverna di Pepe. We could have skipped the church and terra cotta workshop.

Giandomenico Stumpo (4 years ago)
Awesome castle

Darren Blanks (4 years ago)
Good historic castle from Italy's past but could have been tidier as lots of rubbish and messy inside the castle grounds.

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