accessible by stairs, where a small museum can be
visited. It was during the Norman conquest that
Motta had a very important role to defend the town
of Catania and the Simeto Valley. Ruggero of
Altavilla, in the 11th century ordered the rebuilding
of the ancient castle that was on the top of Motta's
Rock. The tower of Motta is joined up with the
legend of Bernardo Cabrera, Duke of Modica and
great hangman of the Kingdom of Sicily. The queen,
Bianca di Navarra, widow of king Martino I, tired of
the Duke's persistence on marrying her, ordered to
imprison him.
TOURIST INFORMATION
Castle of Motta St. Anastasia:
Tel. 095/309202
Visiting hours: h8-13.
Entrance: free.
Guided tour available
castellonormanno@comune.mottasantanastasia.ct.it
The Middle Ages
Castles of
Motta St. Anastasia
and Paternò
Castle of Paternò:
tel 095/7970304,
www.comune.paterno.ct.it
Visiting hours: am, under reservation only via fax
095/7970777
Entrance: free, with guided tour.
ACCOMMODATION
Then, the guard Admiral Ruiz, actually a girl, in
accord with the queen, set him free during the night,
wearing pants, from a window of the tower by tied
sheets. Bernardo thought that at the base of the tower
was clothes and horses to escape, but in reality, he
remained suspended captured into a trap. The
following day he was carried to the Ursino castle in
Catania and then obliged to go back to Spain and
never come back to Sicily.
Tenuta Giarretta agritourism
C.da Giarretta s.n.- 95100 Motta St. Anastasia
La fattoria dei nonni agritourism
C.da Renazzi s.n. -95047 Paternò
Dimora dei Normanni
via Matrice, 6 – 95047 Paternò
Get into an amazing tour
between history and legend
through the medieval castles of
the west side of the province of
Catania.
four light windows. The other half of the space is
divided into three square rooms reserved to the
military command. In the 18th century this area was
turned into prison. On the second floor the space has
a great gallery with a rib vault and lit by two large
mullioned windows, which are the second largest in
Europe. On the two sides of it lived the family.
Finally, the structure is topped by a large terrace.
The castle now contains a city museum and art
exhibitions.
The Normans in Sicily
After the Norman conquest of Sicily, it
became very important to have some
fortresses in strategic areas of the region in
order to control the territory and avoid
foreign attacks. As usual, the Normans
exploited some ancient rocks facing the sea or
the plain land and coming from millenary
eruptions. This is the case of all Norman
castles in the city and the province of Catania.
The castles of Paternò, Motta St. Anastasia
and Adrano were also visible one to each
other and this allowed their dwellers to
communicate one another through fire of
smoke signals in case of danger.
The castle of Paternò
This Norman castle was built on the hill of Paternò in
the second half of the 11th century as a fortified
outpost for the conquest of the plains below and to
keep control over the Simeto River Valley. The castle
was also the residence of the Angevine and Moncada.
The castle donjon consists of a rectangular and
irregular block, and is over 30 meters high with walls
made of lava stone. You enter the ground floor via a
staircase on the north side to find an interior space
divided into five rooms.
A large living room opens immediately after the
entrance, vaulted with pointed arches, and lit by two
single-light windows on the west side. On the floor
of this room there was once a huge pit, now covered.
The pit was reserved to prisoners.
The chapel of St. John is artistically important and
consists of a small rectangular room with a single
nave and a semi-circular apse. The walls of the
chapel show a series of mural paintings in tempera,
in places very faded, and thought to date from the
13th century. On some walls the figures are still
visible however, such as the Angel and the Virgin of
the Annunciation, St. John the Baptist and St.
Nicholas. Above the apse there are four symbols of
the evangelists within a few medallions. The rest of
the decoration shows various knights, among which
Saint George stands out.
You reach the first floor of the castle via a stone
staircase with two flights. It proceeds to the east with
a large hall covered by a rib vault and illuminated by
The Castle of Motta St. Anastasia
The castle of Motta actually is a Donjon. It was built
by the Norman Count Roger I d'Altavilla around
1074 as a military post. It is built on the tallest part
of the cliff for its strategic position as the portal to
the Plain of Catania, and for the determent of hostile
enemies. On the ground floor there is a large hall that
can be used for cultural meetings. There, the
militaries assembled and used to live and there is a
well filled with raining water. On the first and the
second floor there are two large rooms that are