Barresi Castle in Pietraperzia
The Barresi Castle in Pietraperzia, also known as Barresio Castle, is a medieval fortress that dominates the village.
The place where the castle stands, a high limestone cliff from the ancient Tertiary, was the site of ancient fortifications which certainly date back to the Sicilian period.
The Barresi Castle of Pietraperzia was built by the Normans in a period between 1072 and 1088, on a pre-existing Saracen fortress. It was assigned to the Frenchman Abbon de Barres and used for war purposes. In particular, it was used as the headquarters of the French army for the conquest of Aidone, Naro and Caltanissetta during the clashes between the Angevins and the Aragonese. The castle was then destroyed in 1298 at the hands of Manfredi Chiaramonte and the Barresi family was forced to flee to Naples. In 1320 the castle returned to the hands of the Barresi family: Queen Eleonora d'Angio, then betrothed to Federico, master of the castle, gave the castle as a gift to her damsel Ricca La Matina on the occasion of her marriage to Abbo IV Barresi. On this occasion the castle was rebuilt in the Gothic-Catalan style which can still be admired today and took on a residential function. During the Renaissance the castle became an important cultural and artistic centre: great artists such as the Gaginis, humanists such as Lorenzo Valla and Matteo Scobar worked there, it became a center of madrigal music, an astronomical observatory was installed and it became the headquarters for the printing of rudimentary books. In the 16th century the Barresi family died out and a long and gradual decline of the Castle began.
From historical sources it has been found that the original perimeter of the castle, made up of high walls that reached 4 metres, enclosed an area of approximately 20000 square meters. Along the walls stood various towers and bastions of which unfortunately only the remains of the King's Crown and the Quadrangular Tower at the entrance remain.
According to popular tradition, the castle was divided into four floors, corresponding to the seasons of the year, along the walls stood twelve towers, equal to the months of the year, and had 365 rooms inside, equal to the days of the year.
