Favara castle is otherwise known as Castello dei ChiaramonteChiaramonte after their late medieval owners.  It is thought that Favara was an Arab settlement originally called Fawa-warah which means ‘water source'.  The castle existed in the twelfth century when it was held by King Tancred (d.1194), unless this was Maredolce Alla Favara in Palermo.

By 1296 the castle was held by Giovanni (John) Chiaramonte (d.1339), a brother of Manfred Chiaramonte (d.1321) of Caccamo.  The castle remained with the family until the execution of Andrew Chiaramonte in 1392.  During Chiaramonte rule the population of the adjoining village seems to have increased from about 100 to 250 inhabitants.

After the fall of the Chiaramontes, the fortress was then sold by King Martin (d.1409) to Raymond Moncada Peralta of Alcamo.  In 1398, he also was accused of treason, convicted and stripped of all his property and the castle went to Emilio Perapertusa.  His successors restored the castle in 1488 as can be seen from the restoration inscription preserved in the castle gatepassage.

The fortress was last damaged in 1964/65 when the municipal council altered it for its own use.  These damages were repaired during a restoration at the turn of the century.

Description
The current castle would appear to be merely the keep or inner ward.  Originally it was surrounded by an outer wall with 4 towers at the angles.  The last of these was demolished in 1820 together with its adjoining crenellated wall.  The remains now consist of a rectangular structure approximately 80' square with a central courtyard about 30' across and currently being 3 storeys high.  The whole has been much altered since its completion. 

The main entrance to the south consists of 2 Romanesque arches, the outer one of which has been partially filled by a later ogival doorway.  Most of the original doorways also appear Romanesque, while the rebuilds are ogival.  On the first floor, reached via external steps and a corbelled out walkway is the first floor chapel entered through a highly decorated Romanesque arch which rests on a finely decorated lintel on shoulder headed capitals.  A large occulus is positioned obove this while the roof above has a typical red dome.

The rubble built walls, like the interior, show many signs of rebuildings over the centuries, while windows vary from single light slits to twin light Romanesque and ogival openings.  Within the gateway to the west is a small guard chamber which has at some point been converted into a kitch and judging by the grafitti a prison.  Within the chamber is a wall painting of St George, possibly from the fifteenth century.

Copyright©2019 Paul Martin Remfry

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