Galati Mamertino
Galati is first mentioned in 1081 as a member of the diocese of
Troina. It would seem likely that a castle already existed
there as the current remains show some Roman tiles built into the
ruins. Presumably this fortress was Byzantine and was given
as a lordship called astu
to Eleazar Mauvelier in 1116. In 1123 he founded the church
of St Anna ‘in
castro Galati'. In 1154 Edrisi described Galati
as ‘a defensible fortress between lofty mountains, populated
and prosperous'. Over a century later the castle crops up
again as belonging to Bernard de la Grange of Longi and Galati in
1276. Presumably he was removed during the Sicilan Vespers
and in 1291 both these places were given by Prince Frederick
(d.1337) to Richard Lancia. His descendants lost the land in
1392 when King Martin
(d.1409) granted it to Bartholomew Aragona in 1392 as a consequence of
the rebellion of Perrucchio and Corrado Lancia. A decade
later in 1402 the lands and castles of Ficarre, Galati, Pilayni et Brolo were returned to the
Lancias. As late as 1558, Galati was regarded as a fortified
settlement, but in 1750 it was merely a ruined fortress.
Description
The castle lies on the top of a rocky hill, with the town lying below
it to the south. To the north is a cliff, while to east and west
the ground drops away less steeply. The castle
consists of a rubble built polygonal enclosure with a hall block (55'
east to west and 30' north to south) to the north. Further
rectangular buildings
lay along the east front. There appears to have been no
flanking and most of the defences on the south and west fronts have
gone.
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