Scaletta Zanclea
Castello Rufo Ruffo
The placename Scaletta is first mentioned by Edrisi writing in
1154. He calls it ‘the Scala Piccola', which is translated
to Scaletta. Once more, such a mention neither proves, nor
disproves the existence of a castle, though the implication is that the
hamlet was not fortified.
It is thought that Scaletta castle was built in the early thirteenth century by Frederick II
(d.1250), on the grounds of the fact he was controlling the castle in
May 1239. This is somewhat emphasised by an instruction recorded
in the surviving 1239-40 register of the Emperor. This contains a
letter to Master R Trajecto concerning the provisioning of the castles
in Sicily to the east of the River Salso. In this he orders that
Constable Matthew Savage of Scaletta is to munition the castle from
September to November 1240 with the help of Matthew Marchafaba and that
Jordan Filangerium, who was once captain of those parts, was to do the
same in December.
The castle remained in the hands of the Crown, although it was
garrisoned by Peter Ruffo of Messina (d.1256+) after the death of Frederick II in 1250. After Peter's defeat at Piazza Armerina in November 1254 it was surrendered by him to the Messinans.
One of the Matthews mentioned in relation to Scaletta in 1240 may have been the grandfather of the Matthew
Scaletta who was beheaded at Agrigento 13 January 1284. This
Matthew's sister was Machalda, the wife of Alaimo Lentini of Nicosia, the hero of Messina
in the Sicilian Vespers. In May 1272 the Angevin garrison of
Scaletta was supposed to consist of the large force of 12
knights. This figure was reduced by 1278 to just one squire and 6
sergeants. In 1281 a revised statute of castles lowered the
garrison requirements again to merely a squire, who was not hold any
land in the kingdom, and 4 sergeants. In 1282, in a plan to
strengthen the Angevin defences of Sicily, it was ordered that the
millet stored in the castle should be increased from 20 to 48 loads.
When the war of the Sicilian Vespers broke out in March 1282, fleeing
French refugees found shelter in the castle under Michelotto
Mosca. Presumably they withdrew to the mainland and the castle
passed into the hands of the newly installed Aragonese monarchy.
In 1325 Scaletta castle is thought to have been granted by King Frederick III (d.1337) to Peregrino Patti, the future chancellor of King Peter II
(d.1342). In 1397 Scaletta was granted to Salimbene Marchese, the
man who had pronounced the death sentence for Andrew Chiaramonte of Modica in 1392.
In 1535, the Emperor Charles V visited Scaletta, after his crusade to
Tunis. The castle had in the meantime been acquired by the
Ventimiglias, who held it until 1672 when it was sold by Francesco
Ventimiglia to Duke Antonio Ruffo Spadafora. He converted the
castle for artillery and the garrison soon witnessed the battles
between the combined Spanish and Dutch fleets against the French fleet
of Louis XIV that occurred in the straits between 1674 and 1676.
Finally the fortress resisted a French siege in 1678. The Ruffos,
who gave the name Rufo Ruffo to the fortress, then held the castle
until the abolition of feudalism in 1812 when Scaletta became a commune.
Description
Like so many castles in Sicily, Scaletta castle stands at the NW end of
a rocky spur, overlooking the neighbouring village and the nearby
straits to the east. The southeast is therefore the only easy direction
of approach. The castle site has been much altered over the
centuries, but the core of it is the great tower keep. This is
trapezoidal, being roughly 60' by 65'. As such it has been
compared to earlier rectangular tower keeps to the south of Etna, like Paterno, Adrano and Motta Sant'Anastasia.
However, these are almost certainly much older and are, of course,
regular. If anything Scaletta would be more like the upper ward
at Mussomeli which is also thought to be a later castle.
The keep stands 3 storey's high on a natural rocky motte, with a bailey
behind to the west and below to the southeast. The internal wooden
floors have now gone, but the roof vault survives. Internally the
arches are rounded, but the main entrance to the northwest has a pointed arch
made of sandstone blocks, while the rest of the castle consists of
limestone ashlar, with some quoins replaced by sandstone. Other
than the main door, there are no apertures to the west although there
appears to be one blocked window. The main windows, where they
survive, are in the Chiaromonte style, although those to the south have
been filled in. The upper floor windows are surprisingly small
and appear sixteenth century or later, possibly as servants'
quarters. Presumably the upper floor was designed at that
time. Access to the battlements was gained from a stair turret to
the southwest.
West of the keep is the site of the main ward. Nothing remains of
this, but the rocky site and some much later wales. Below the
cliff to the west is a wall blocking the base of the rock. This
may be medieval and contains a postern. To the southeast is a large
lower bailey, which again contains what appears to be only much later
fort walls designed to house artillery. Another fort, the battery
San Placido, has been constructed at the east end of the ridge over the
current motorway.
The keep now houses a museum.
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