After leaving Piazza Armerina I had to lead our little two car convoy to Agrigento where we would have a hotel room booked.
On the way – like many times when I drive and look more around to discover than on road sign leading me to the place I want to go – I lost ourselves in the middle of nowhere.
When I saw a castle against the blue blue sky on a hill. Of course I changed direction immediately.
The place is called Mazzarino. The little city of 12.000 inhabitants has a huge number of Baroque churches and is City of Art – unfortunately I read this only later. In that moment I was more interested in the castle. But looking for the right road to arrive I passed through the center of the city and I would have liked to stop here and look around. Old, very narrow roads (once thought I would stick in between two houses!), nice piazzas and a breathtaking view from everywhere one can look into the huge surrounding lands.
The castle itself is called ‘U Cannuni’ by the Mazzarinesi, the original name should be Castelvecchio. It has just one tower, perfectly erected and looks like a cannon.
The date of construction is not known but must be before 1282 when Stefano Branciforti acquired the city and castle. The castle once had four towers, two for living and two for defense.
We stopped just in front of a gate. The castle should be open for public but was not then. There are some theater performances during summer I found out.
We had a quick lunch in the car as it was incredibly windy but the view is breathtaking!
We left and I found the right road for Agrigento along the coast….
Mazzarino, Sicily/Italy:
For further information:
Website about Sicily
beautiful landscape