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The castle of Ventimiglia (or castle of Bonifato) is an ancient four towers
Sicilie.it, "Alcamo - Torre Saracena Monte Bonifato"
/ref>), that initially had three floors: you could enter it through a wooden ladder at the first floor. This tower is located on the north-west and had a rectangular plan with walls 2.2 m thick. It was the most important in the castle because, thanks to its impressiveness and position, this was a point of strategic sighting as they could check the road leading to the castle, as far as the entrance door, situated on the south-west side. The primary tower included four levels: * on the ground floor there was the cistern for collecting the rainwater and the prisons; * on the first floor there were two rooms with a vaulted ceiling, one of them had a chimney; * on the second floor there were two more rooms with a wooden ceiling; * on the third floor there was a room where they lighted fire signals; its ceiling was probably made with stone.
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 ...
which was built at the end of the 14th century by the Ventimiglia family on the top of Mount Bonifato
Mount Bonifato (825 metres high) is a mountain in north western Sicilly in the province of Trapani.
It is famous for the pine forest and the Nature Reserve Bosco di Alcamo. On its slopes they have found a proto-historic necropolis and traces ...
near Alcamo (inside Nature Reserve Bosco di Alcamo
The Nature Reserve Bosco di Alcamo is a natural protected area of Regione Siciliana established in 1984,
), Sicily, southern Italy.
Historical hints
Enrico Ventimiglia
Enrico is both an Italian masculine given name and a surname, Enrico means homeowner, or king, derived from ''Heinrich'' of Germanic origin. It is also a given name in Ladino. Equivalents in other languages are Henry ( English), Henri (French), E ...
, the son of Guarnieri Ventimiglia Guarnieri is an Italian surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Adriano Guarnieri (1914–1983), Italian alpine skier
*Adriano Guarnieri (composer) (born 1947), Italian classical composer
* Adriano Guarnieri (born 1979), Eye doctor and ...
whom he succeeded to, declared that he had this castle built on Mount Bonifato as a protection from possible attacks. According to different interpretations, the castle, instead, would date back to an anterior period.
The castle was destroyed in 1243 by order of Frederick II; it was rebuilt by the Ventimglia family before 1391 at her own expense. In 1779 the castle's ruins were inserted in the Sicily's Plan for the Preservation of Cultural Assets (''Plano di conservazione dei Beni Culturali della Sicilia'') by Gabriele Lancillotto Castello
Gabriele Lancillotto Castello, prince of Torremuzza and marques of Motta d'Affermo (1727–1794) was an Italian nobleman, antiquarian, numismatist and antiquarian, most notable for his study of Sicily's coins and ancient past. He was also know ...
, prince of Torremuzza.
Description
Originally the castle had four towers and a rectangular trapezoid plan. The only remaining tower is the donjon or ''"Torre maestram"'' (improperly called "Saracen tower"/ref>), that initially had three floors: you could enter it through a wooden ladder at the first floor. This tower is located on the north-west and had a rectangular plan with walls 2.2 m thick. It was the most important in the castle because, thanks to its impressiveness and position, this was a point of strategic sighting as they could check the road leading to the castle, as far as the entrance door, situated on the south-west side. The primary tower included four levels: * on the ground floor there was the cistern for collecting the rainwater and the prisons; * on the first floor there were two rooms with a vaulted ceiling, one of them had a chimney; * on the second floor there were two more rooms with a wooden ceiling; * on the third floor there was a room where they lighted fire signals; its ceiling was probably made with stone.
See also
* Alcamo *Castle of Alcamo
The Castle of the Counts of Modica (or Castle of Alcamo) is a medieval castle situated in the town centre of Alcamo, in the province of Trapani, Sicily, southern Italy.
History
In 1340 King Peter II of Sicily had given Raimondo Peralta , ...
* Castle of Calatubo
The Calatubo Castle (Latin: ''castrum Calathatubi''; Italian: ''Castello di Calatubo'') is a fortress located near the town of Alcamo, Sicily, southern Italy.
The site has remains of a settlement of the Elymians and a necropolis.
Being next t ...
Notes
Sources
* {{cite book , author=Gruppo Archeologico Drepanon , title=Bonifato - La montagna ritrovata , year=2014 , publisher=Il Sole editrice , location=Trapani , isbn=978-88-905457-3-3 Castles in Alcamo