Castello di Raffadali

Palazzo Principe stands on a low hill above the town of Raffadali in south-western Sicily. The building began as a fourteenth-century castle built by the Montaperto family, who ruled the area as feudal lords. It once had a square plan with four corner towers, high battlements and a moat around its walls. The castle served both as a power centre for the local lord and as a defence against Barbary corsairs. When pirate raids grew rare, the family turned it into a comfortable residence. The most important changes came in the sixteenth century under Pietro Montaperto, who gained royal permission to enlarge the settlement below the hill. His descendant Niccolò Montaperto later opened large windows, added frescoed halls and removed the moat, drawbridge and battlements. The inner courtyard became a garden, while the castle kept its role as the seat of the Principality of Raffadali. Today only one of the original towers remains, together with parts of the north and south wings. The surviving walls still show the remains of frescoes in the main rooms. Visitors walk through vaulted corridors and look out over the Sicilian countryside from the hilltop position. The town of Raffadali spreads below, its narrow streets leading back to the castle’s single remaining tower.