CASTELLO NORMANNO E TEMPIO DI VENERE

According to legend this castle was built on the site of an ancient Roman temple that was dedicated to Venus. Before the Roman Siculans, Phoenicians and Greeks, it was a place where the seamen worshiped a goddess of love which protected them. In the twelfth century its existence was spoken of by an Arab historian but it was the Normans first then the Spanish that changed it into an impregnable fortress. The castle is situated on an isolated cliff where in ancient times could be reached by a bridge that could be raised. Above the main entrance door there is the coat of arms belonging to the Habsburgs of Spain, and this testifies how important it was to the Spanish from which they could control the islands (from Ustica to Pantelleria), the cities (from Alcamo to Mazara del Vallo) and the endless coast and sea surrounding it.