Legend of the Ursini Giants
The legend of the Ursini Giants tells the story of the first inhabitants of the Ursino Castle in Catania.
According to legend, the first inhabitants of the castle were monstrous mythological creatures: the giants. It is said that the fearsome inhabitants of Ursino Castle defeated and driven out by the Norman Ruggero, who would become the new owner in the 11th century.
The historical foundation of this legend is evident, which overshadows the actual struggle of the Christian Normans against Muslim Arabs, as well as the attempt to give an explanation to the name of the most illustrious Catania monument, the Ursino Castle, which instead seems to owe its name to a Castrum Sinus, that is "castle by the sea", as the castle in Roman and Byzantine times it stood on a promontory, later leveled by the rivers of lava, to guard the port and the city.
Another version of this folktale, however, raises the famous Uzeta paladin .
