Alcamo
There are two castles thought to belong to the town of
Alcamo. The first lies within the town, while the second is
on the hill above and is known as Mount Bonifato. This is
also known as Castello dei Ventimiglia. The history of both
sites is not certain, but it is claimed that Mount Bonifato was the
older site, being abandoned about 1338 when the new town of Alcamo took
over in the district. However the history of Alcamo makes
this unlikely.
In the Book of Roger (1154) Alcamo was described as ‘a vast
hamlet, surrounded by rich arable land and with a flourishing market'
and was viewable from Calatubo castle. Later in 1184 Ibn Giubayr
described it as ‘a large and opulent Muslim town with a
market and mosques'. Both descriptions seem to refer to the
current town, rather than the isolated highland fortress of Mount
Bonifato, which has its own history. Traditionally the town
was founded in 828 by the Muslim commander al-Kamuk, whose name the
town carries. Next to the chiesa Madonna Del Soccorso is a
reused bell tower which is said to have been converted from a
watchtower dating from 828. The base of it consists of well
cut ashlar.
During the reign of Frederick II
(1197-1250), the revolt of the Muslim
population led to the king expelling the occupants to Lucera in
mainland Italy. This was not a single event, but occurred over
several decades and involved several castles in the Muslim enclaves
S&W of Palermo. It seems likely that the town of Alcamo became a
royal demesne in 1243 when the Emperor destroyed the castle. It has been suggested that the Christians of Mount Bonifato
now descended to the lowland site and took over the old Muslim enclave.
Regardless of the origin of the town it is thought that the current
Alcamo castle was built by the Chiaramonte counts of Modica, although
there is no evidence for this. Raymond Peralta (d.1348) was granted
the barony by King Peter II (d.1342) in 1340. It is possible
that the castle was held at this time from the Chiaramonte, as when the
last count of Modica was executed in 1392, King Martin visited the
castle, apparently to enforce his newly acquired lordship.
After the death of Raymond Peralta in 1348 the castle passed to his
son, William (Guglielmo) Peralta and was subsequently acquired by the
Ventimiglia family until 1397/8.
In 1391 Henry Ventimiglia, on succeeding his father, Francesco, is thought to have rebuilt Monte Bonifato castle. In 1392 the townsfolk, led by
the archpriest Pietro Laudes, rebelled against Henry Ventimiglia and
unsuccessfully attacked Alcamo castle. In 1402 the lady of
Alcamo, Donna Violante De Prades, was herself besieged within the
fortress. Presumably Henry's new castle at Bonifato played little part in these affairs.
In 1534, when attacked by Islamic pirates, the castle contained 10
cannon on wooden carriages, one of which stood on the keep.
There were also firearms, halberds, spades and everything necessary for
defence. The next year on 1 September the Emperor Charles V
(1500-58) stayed at the castle of the count of Modica in the
‘opulent and joyful city of Alcamo' on his return from
Tunisia. In 1828 the fortress was converted into a prison
with much associated alterations. Today it has been
refurbished into a museum
Description
The castle is peculiarly rhomboid in shape with four boldly projecting
corner towers, 2 round and 2 rectangular, each type being opposite the
other. The large rectangular tower to the SE was probably the
keep. Within the enceinte were ranges of buildings which
survive on all sides but the east. The curtains are now
pierced by 2 and 3 slight openings of a typical Gothic-Catalan
nature. The castle has been much altered and renovated in
recent years.
Why not join me at other Sicilian
castles? Information on this and other tours can be found at Scholarly
Sojourns.
Copyright©2019
Paul Martin Remfry