Burgimilluso Castle in Menfi
The Burgimilluso Castle in Menfi is a Swabian castle that stands on the main square of the city.
It was built at the behest of Frederick II of Swabia in 1238 in the hunting area of lower Belìce , the place where, by will of the king, the town of Memphis will be built. In fact, the castle was created to protect and control the nascent inhabited center.
Of the original structure, only the Federiciana Tower has survived to this day, destroyed by the 1968 earthquake, and rebuilt following the volume of the original structure.
The tower had an irregular octagon-shaped plan, was made up of two adjacent quadrangular bodies, and had a scalloped crown. The building was divided into four floors connected by a spiral staircase.
The new building follows the volume of the ancient tower, has external walls in local stone, tuff, and a large entrance portal which incorporates the fragment of the ancient structure. Inside, a new spiral staircase has been created.
