Schisò Castle
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37.823574°N 15.271838°W
Schisò Castle (in Italian Castello di Schisò) is a 16th century fortress on Cape Schisò in Giardini Naxos, Sicily
, Italy
.
corsair Barbarossa Kheir-ed-Din to plunder the many small coastal fishing villages on the coast south of Port Schisò.
It is built upon a small hill formed by lava rock, and its name Schisò is derived from the Arabic word Al Qusus which means bust or chest. It was renovated in the late 19th century, with the addition of balconies which line the facade. Its first owner in the 16th century was Don Cesare Statella, a nobleman from the city of Catania
. Subsequent owners included the aristocratic De Spuches family, Giovanni Conti, Lombardo Alonco, and in the early 20th century the castle passed to the family of Paladino who continue to own it up to the present day.
Schisò Castle (in Italian Castello di Schisò) is a 16th century fortress on Cape Schisò in Giardini Naxos, Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
History
Schisò Castle, which overlooks the bay of Giardini Naxos, was originally constructed in the 13th and 14th centuries. It was rebuilt in the 16th century, with a military observation tower added which served to patrol Cape Schisò and the bay against raids by Barbary pirates who were led by the TurkishTurkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
corsair Barbarossa Kheir-ed-Din to plunder the many small coastal fishing villages on the coast south of Port Schisò.
It is built upon a small hill formed by lava rock, and its name Schisò is derived from the Arabic word Al Qusus which means bust or chest. It was renovated in the late 19th century, with the addition of balconies which line the facade. Its first owner in the 16th century was Don Cesare Statella, a nobleman from the city of Catania
Catania
Catania is an Italian city on the east coast of Sicily facing the Ionian Sea, between Messina and Syracuse. It is the capital of the homonymous province, and with 298,957 inhabitants it is the second-largest city in Sicily and the tenth in Italy.Catania is known to have a seismic history and...
. Subsequent owners included the aristocratic De Spuches family, Giovanni Conti, Lombardo Alonco, and in the early 20th century the castle passed to the family of Paladino who continue to own it up to the present day.