It is the symbol of Marettimo and perhaps also of the whole archipelago Egadi. The ancient castle rises majestically perched on a hill north of the island, as if the watchman of the stretch of sea that Marettimo arrival to the coast of Trapani. After years of neglect and degradation of the Punta Troia Castle was finally restored and opened in early May will be: will house a museum and observatory Egadi Islands Marine Protected Area. In short, the fort became a cultural center in the heart of the Mediterranean.
The Castle will be open on days 7 and 8 May, the day of the opening ceremony. In the following days will run the museum, which will be completed by early summer. Soon the building will also operate the Centre of the "Monk Seal" and the Marine Protected Area in the coming summer season will be scheduled on the cultural history of the castle and Egadi and some theatrical and musical performances.
Punta Troia Castle is one of the oldest monuments of Marettimo. Originally it was a Saracen tower. Around 1140 Roger II, King of Sicily, transformed the tower into a castle. From the promontory of Punta Troia really have gone centuries of history. The site for a period, was also a haven for pirates and privateers, when the few inhabitants of the island were forced to live in caves. Marettimo began to be popular in a permanent position at the end of the eighteenth century, when the islanders left their caves and began to build their houses of tuff. With the French Revolution, the "Real Marettimo Castle" became a horrid prison, especially for political prisoners in 1793, the Castle had at least 52 political prisoners, crowded into a prison made out of an old cistern that "the Pit". Prison conditions were described in his memoirs by William Pepper, who was imprisoned from 1802 to 1803. In 1844 King Ferdinand II, after having inspected the prison closed. The castle has also hosted the island's first church, dedicated to Our Lady of Grace, the only place up to that time when marettimari could receive the sacraments. The church was closed in 1844, when the castle fell into disrepair. During the war was used as a military lookout point. For a brief period he also hosted a telegraph station. For nearly a century and then left abandoned to his fate, threatening to collapse at any moment. But the intervention of the past few months established by the City of Favignana thanks to funding from the European Union has helped to save the ancient fortress. Making it finally reborn.
Source: telesud3.com
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