The Castellazzo di Camastra is a

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

Camastra Camastra is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Agrigento in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about southeast of Agrigento. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,133 and an area of .All demo ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. It was built in the 14th century, and it now lies in ruins.

History

The Castellazzo was built in the 14th century on the edge of a rocky plateau to control the surrounding estates. The oldest reference to a ''turris Camastra'' dates back to 1366, and in 1374 the area was in the possession of the nobleman

Manfredi Chiaramonte Manfredi III Chiaramonte (died November 1391) was a Sicilian nobleman. Of French origins, he was given the County of Modica, then one of the most powerful fiefs in the Kingdom of Sicily, in 1377. He was also made lord of Trapani, Agrigento, Bivo ...

. The site of the Castellazzo has been identified with the legendary city of Camico.

Layout

The Castellazzo consists of an irregular pentagonal tower, which is made up of stones bound together by mortar. Parts of the structure also consist of

Cyclopean masonry Cyclopean masonry is a type of stonework found in Mycenaean architecture, built with massive limestone boulders, roughly fitted together with minimal clearance between adjacent stones and with clay mortar or no use of mortar. The boulders typic ...

. Some of the remaining walls are up to 3.5m high.

References

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Buildings and structures in the Province of Agrigento Buildings and structures completed in the 14th century Medieval Italian architecture 14th-century establishments in Italy