Torremuzza and Bolo Castles in Bronte
The Ruins of the Castles of Bolo and Torremuzza are located between Bronte and Troina, in the Bolo valley.
The two castles, inaccessible strongholds, were built on the top of very steep peaks and watched over the safety of travelers and trade. The wide valley of Bolo was in fact an obligatory passage for armies, pilgrims and traders, who wanted to go from the Norman capital of Troina or Palermo to the coast of Catania or Messina.
The Castle of Bolo, of which only a few ruins remain, had a narrow and elongated plan that occupied the entire space available on the top of the hill. From the wall remains the building is placed in medieval times. The walls are built with poorly hewn stones, bound together by a good quality mortar. No trace remains of the farmhouse that stood around the castle, documented by historical texts. The presence of a cistern is recognized in the few remaining wall remains. In 1535, the town of Bolo was abandoned, and the inhabitants gathered, together with the other hamlets, to form a single people in Bronte as ordered by Charles V.
The Castle of Torremuzza stands on a spur of limestone accessible only from the south, along the other sides there are overhanging walls. The fortress follows the rocky conformation and develops on several levels: below are the more recent structures, composed of residential areas, probably used as cells for detention in more recent times. There are also low perimeter walls characterized by numerous square or circular slits. The upper level, which is accessed via steps carved out of the rock, has a narrow entrance once well protected by a reinforced door, the hinges of which must have been sturdy, according to what can be deduced from the holes carved into the stone. It represented a place of observation for the surrounding area. In the north-west area there are the remains of a tower, which is believed to have been built during the Byzantine domination in Sicily. The structure rests on a rock outcrop on the western edge of the small fortress. The tower has a circular plan and is made up of local non-squared stones joined together by mortar. On the top there was a patrol walkway, probably accessible by means of a helical stone staircase, according to what some holes present along the surviving internal wall suggest. It is not possible to make a certain dating of the castle, it is assumed that it dates back to a period between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. A.D. However, it is likely that the tower pre-existed, although there is no historical data that traces its origin back to the Byzantine era.
