Bordonaro Castle in Cefalù
The Castello di Bordonaro in Cefalù is a 16th century building that stands in an expanse of centuries-old olive trees, a few meters from the sea of Mazzaforno.
It was built at the behest of the Ventimiglia family, based on a project by Antonio Lo Duca who was inspired by the nearby castle of Castelbuono. The castle will belong to the Ventiniglia family until about 1600, then it will pass to the Signorino family and then to the Ortolani. The last member of the Ortolani family, Bordonaro Gabriele, donates the castle to the municipality of the city as long as the official name was to be recognized as Castello Ortolani di Bordonaro , and that the castle was used as a center cultural and historical to host exhibitions, events, events of literary or religious interest.
The Castle originally consisted of only the tower , to which the other parts were gradually added: the baglio with well and warehouses, the main floor, the cellar and the trappeto. The perimeter of the baglio is closed by a crenellated tower, equipped with gittalore with trabucchi and trabocchetti. Inside the castle there are several secret paths that connected the various rooms to the tower, so that it could be reached quickly in case of danger. The rooms of the tower have valuable frescoes by an unknown artist: a cycle of frescoes depicts Garibaldi's events leading to the conquest of Sicily; a second cycle is oriental in nature. The adjoining church is worthy of note, dedicated to Santa Felicia and her seven martyr children. The interior consists of a wooden loggia that allowed the owners to privately attend masses. The coat of arms of the Signorino family stands out, blue with a gold band and a lion, depicted on a majolica tile.
Inside the castle there was also a mausoleum which, over the years, has been abandoned: they have been found inside a warehouse several remains including the plaque of Andrea Ortolano, on which the family coat of arms is engraved.
