Monte Bonifato
The history of the castle is tied up with that of Alcamo
and although Monte Bonifato castle is supposed to be the older of the
2, the bulk of the current remains are almost certainly fourteenth
century. It would appear that the original castle was destroyed
in 1243 at the order of Frederick II
(d.1250). It was much later rebuilt, probably in 1391 by Henry
Ventimglia (d.1398). By 1779 the castle was in ruins.
Description
The castle is in an odd position and doesn't resemble the apparently Muslim castles of Entella or Calatafimi Segesta.
Presumably then the current remnants are those of the castle built by
Henry Ventimglia in 1391. This consists of a roughly triangular
enclosure with a rectangular keep about 50' long by 25' wide at the northwest
angle. South of this may have been the main entrance, before a
much smaller rectangular tower about 20'x18' at the southwest corner.
This has been built into by the Sanctuary of Maria SS. Dell'Alto.
East of the keep a straight curtain ran to the 22' square northeast corner
tower with a backless rectangular tower half way between the two.
From the southeast corner of this a cliff ran back towards the
sanctuary. This was topped by a narrow curtain wall which could
well part of the pre-1243 fortress which would have covered much more
of the hilltop. Only the keep and bits of the southewest tower consist of
anything more than foundations.
The keep originally had three floors and was entered at first floor
level from the east, although a new ground floor door has been inserted
into what may have been the water cistern. The walls were 7'
thick and over 45' high and were topped with a stone vault which has
largely survived. The single chimney added in the corner may well
be a later addition. Similar corner chimneys exist at Harlech and Goodrich in Britain.
Why not join me here and at other Sicilian
castles? Information on this and other tours can be found at Scholarly
Sojourns.
Copyright©2019
Paul Martin Remfry