Castroreale - Castroreale

Castroreale (Castru in Sicilian) is a center in the Metropolitan city of Messina.

To know

The town is part of the circuit of the most beautiful villages in Italy.

Geographical notes

The main inhabited center of the municipality, Castroreale, rises on the Torace hill, a relief of the north-western Peloritani mountains flows the Longano stream.

Background

The first certain historical information can be found in a diploma dated 1324 with which Frederick III of Aragon orders the reconstruction of a (pre-existing) castle. The town that developed around the fort was renamed Castro (from the Latin castrum = castle, fortress) and later Castroreale (because it was the favorite residence of King Frederick III of Aragon) and always remained a state-owned city, increasing its importance, economic prosperity and territorial extension over the centuries thanks also to the strategic position it held both in the system of fortifications placed on the Tyrrhenian side to defend the Piana di Milazzo.

Castroreale was the seat of important offices until about the middle of the 19th century. However, already during the nineteenth century its decline began with the economic and demographic impoverishment of the mountainous part of the territory; the territorial disintegration process that ensued gave rise to the establishment of three other municipalities: Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto (in 1815), Rodì Milici (in 1947) and Terme Vigliatore (in 1966).

How to orient yourself

The urban fabric has a medieval imprint with narrow and steep streets and alleys, paved with a characteristic stone pavement (jacatu in the local dialect), which open onto squares-belvedere from which you can enjoy the many panoramas that unfold all around the town. The inhabited centers of the hamlets of Bafia, Catalimita, Protonotaro also belong to the current municipal territory; the latter was once a baronial fief and still retains the ancient fortified residence.

How to get

By plane

• 37.4706615.065971 Catania airport (Fontanarossa Airport), ☎ 39 0957239111. National, international and important hub flights charter is low cost. 
• 38.074315.65382 Reggio Calabria Airport (Strait airport), via Provinciale Ravagnese, 11, 89131 Reggio Calabria, ☎ 390965640517, fax: 390965636524, @[email protected]. Relations with Rome, Milan, Turin is Venice, through the companies Alitalia, Blue Express is Volotea. 
• 38.186613.10523 Palermo-Punta Raisi Airport (Falcone and Borsellino Airport), ☎ 39 0917020273. National and international flights, too low cost. 

By car

52 km from Messina, can be reached via the A20 motorway, junction exit of Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto. Take the SP 82 towards Palermo from the Levante side, or the SP 85 from the West.

On the train

The closest station is Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto.

By bus

With AST bus from Messina (2 hours) or from Milazzo (1 hour and a half)

How to get around

The best way to visit the country is on foot or by car for short distances.

What see

• 38.09937215.2106731 Castroreale Cathedral (Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta), Via Guglielmo Siracusa, 2. Mannerist style with baroque touches, inside which are kept large eighteenth-century canvases by local artists and marble statues of the sixteenth century by Antonello Gagini, Andrea Calamech and others; in the Duomo there is also a camera obscura sundial, one of the seven sundials built in Sicily between 1801 and 1896 (the others are located in Palermo, Messina, Acireale, Castiglione of Sicily is Modica and, except for the one drawn in the Cathedral of Messina destroyed in the earthquake of 28 December 1908, they are still functional today).  
  

  Church of SS Salvatore

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  Castroreale Cathedral

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  Main nave of the cathedral

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  Altar

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  Madonna of the Gagini

• 38.09877715.2110962 Church of the Holy Savior, Via Guglielmo Siracusa, 1. Church and bell tower from 1560; the latter severely damaged by the 1978 earthquake. Monumental complex located in the heart of Giudecca. The interior decorated with Baroque stucco, houses a valuable marble altar by Antonino Amato from Messina. 

• 38.09794915.2105923 Church of Candlemas, Climb Federico II. In which there is a sumptuous high altar in carved wood and gilded in pure gold from the 17th century. Outside there is only an incomplete facade.  
• 38.10178615.2126694 Church of Santa Marina, Via Guglielmo Siracusa, 57. From the Swabian period, together with the church of Sant'Agata, it constitutes the primitive complex built near the north-eastern medieval fortifications.  

• 38.10177315.2129135 Church of Sant'Agata, Piazza Santa Marina, 4. Inside is the marble group of the Annunciation, an exquisite work created by Antonello Gagini in 1519, one of the few signed by the artist, and the papier-mâché simulacrum of the Holy Crucifix dating back to the 17th century. The image is the subject of the religious tradition of Long Christ (U Signuri Longu). It is fixed on a pole about 13 meters long which is then secured by a heavy rope and raised (by means of a complicated game of long poles equipped with hairpins handled by hairpin masters) on a vara wooden, weighing about three quintals, which is then carried on the shoulder through the narrow and sloping streets of the town. The raised cross stands out over all the buildings with the exception of the bell tower of the church of the Santissimo Salvatore and the Duomo.  
• 38.09800715.2112256 Tower of Federico II, Climb Federico II 13. Last vestige of the castle mentioned in the 1324 diploma. Reconstruction and strengthening of a fortification from the Arab-Norman period. Today it is incorporated into a hostel.  
• 38.10045515.2118747 civic Museum, Via Guglielmo Siracusa, 31, ☎ 39 090 974 6534. Established at the convent of the Philippine Fathers.  
• 38.09918215.211518 Pinacoteca of Santa Maria degli Angeli, Via Guglielmo Siracusa, 7. Established in the homonymous church.  
• 38.09424415.2132599 Convent and church of Santa Maria del Gesù, SP 82 (Not far from the town, south-east of the center). 
• 38.09858115.21111210 Peculio Palace, Via Rivellino, 2. Town Hall of Castroreale. 

Events and parties

• Procession of the Long Christ. During the Holy Week, on 23 and 25 August. The simulacrum is carried in procession three times a year. August 25 commemorates the miracle of the town's liberation from cholera in the year 1854. 
• Jazz Festival. July August. 
• Festival of the pig and the wild boar. August. 
• "Castricianu" biscuit festival. August. 
• Living nativity scene. December 20 - January 6. 
• Feast of New Year's Eve. December 31st. Patron of Castroreale 

What to do

• 38.09932715.2105221 Astronomical planetarium, Via Trento 2 (At the Pro Loco), ☎ 39 349 7167804. Digital planetarium by the Andromeda amateurs association. 

Shopping

How to have fun

Where to eat

Average prices

• 38.09918515.2111331 Castropub, Via III Novembre, 8. Pub and restaurant 

Where stay

Moderate prices

• 38.09799915.2105491 Youth Eagles Hostel, Climb Federico II, 2. Inside the Frederick's castle. 

Average prices

• Faranda House, Via Guglielmo Siracusa 47. 

Safety

How to keep in touch

Keep informed

• 38.09932715.2105224 Castroreale Proloco (Pro Loco Artemisia), Via Trento 2 (Next to the cathedral), ☎ 39 0909746673, @[email protected]. 

Around

Other projects

• Wikipedia contains an entry concerning Castroreale
• Commons contains images or other files on Castroreale

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