Calatubo Castle in Alcamo
The Castle of Calatubo in Alcamo stands on a rocky relief overlooking the Gulf of Castellammare and the hinterland up to Mount Bonifato, where the Ventimiglia Castle stands.
The site on which the castle stands has remains of an Elymian settlement and a necropolis .
Its construction date is not known, the first records of its existence date back to 1093, when Count Roger defined the boundaries of the new diocese of Mazara including also the fortress of Calatubo.
After the period of the anti-Muslim war conducted on the island by Frederick II, the castle, once its military function ceased, was transformed into a farm to control the vast fiefdom, a transformation documented by the numerous structures that overlapped the original structure useful for farm. Until the 1960s, the Castle was still in a good state of conservation, thanks to the continuous use of the ancient residence which, with heavy renovations, had however allowed the factories to be maintained. Then the castle was abandoned, the degradation caused by the grazing of animals, the earthquake of 1968 and the absence of interventions led to the collapse of the floors and walls. Today it is in a state of neglect .
The castle is inaccessible on three sides due to the steep walls of the rock on which it is built. The only accessible access is located to the west, where there is a stepped ramp. Inside the first walls there is a well, a classroom church and other rooms. From this you enter a courtyard that communicates with the second walls through a portal. The third circle, which wall includes an oblong tower, encloses the main nucleus of the castle, a rectangular structure located on the southern part of the fortress.
Three hundred meters from the castle of Calatubo is the Cuba delle Rose < / b>.
